It's been so long since I've read a book that I love as much as The Nature of Fragile Things. It just punches all the right buttons for me.
It takes place in the early 1900s, and Sophie, an immigrant from Ireland, is miserable in her tenement in New York City. She answers an ad for a mail-order bride and heads to San Francisco to marry a man with a young daughter who she has never met.
The man, Martin, is kind but distant. He doesn't seem to want to have a close relationship with Sophie but provides well for her and his 5-year-old daughter, Kat. Kat doesn't speak since her mother died from tuberculosis, but she is easy for Sophie to love.
Martin travels a lot for his work selling insurance. Sophie is a bit lonely in her large house and tries to make friends with a neighbor lady and her young son, but since Sophie is obviously lower class, it doesn't go well. Everything explodes when a young woman comes to Sophie's door looking for her husband who apparently works with Martin.
I'll not go any farther with the plot, but here is what I loved.
- The characters are sympathetic, and I easily became attached
- The setting is so vivid, it puts you in San Francisco in the 1900s
- The description of the 1906 earthquake and its aftermath. It felt real, and I learned much
- The depiction of tuberculosis and how it was treated and kept from spreading
- One of the evilest bad guys I've ever read. Chilling.
Also, the narrator, Alana Kerr Collins, had the most beautiful Irish brogue that made it easier to listen to and really added to the story.
The huge coincidence at the end, although far-fetched, just put the icing on the cake. I'm partial to historical fiction, but The Nature of Fragile Things had so much more. The story hooked me right away, and I couldn't stop listening. Highly recommended.
Published by Berkley, 2021, audio by Penguin
Audiobook obtained from the library
384 pages
Rating: 5/5
Annette, So happy to read you loved this one. I loved this story as well. I had the eBook book just thought it was great
ReplyDeleteWow! 5 hats! I remember reading other reviews of this book and hearing such good things about it. I really do need to add it to my TBR list.
ReplyDeleteI loved this one, too. It ticked all of my boxes as well. Meissner's books are almost always winners for me.
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