Fragile

Chris Katsaropoulos
Luminis Books (2009)
ISBN 9781935462279
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (8/09)

 

“Fragile” takes us into the lives of three individuals who have based their lives on choices that they now regret having made.  Amelia Geist has spent her whole life missing her first love Tris. Tris left her during a misunderstanding with her family when they were very young, fifty years ago.  She spent her life honoring her vow to never love another man.  Tris feels trapped in a marriage to a woman whom he no longer loves.  Nearing retirement, he reflects back on what could have been if he hadn’t left Amelia.  Meanwhile, Holly is wasting her life by abusing her body with alcohol and an abusive man.  Her daughters suffer from this.

Holly’s life becomes linked to Tris and Amelia when she takes Amelia on as a walk-in client at the hair salon where she works.   Little does she know how her life will change after this meeting occurs.  When a tragedy happens, Holly finds a way to reconnect Tris to Amelia.  However, it is done in an unusual manner.  Holly also encounters her own wake-up call to get her life back in order.

“Fragile” is a beautifully written novel.  It is unusually written in how the stories blend in to each other.  I felt that this style of writing was very appropriate for the story; however, I also had to be careful and make sure that I stayed focused when I was reading so that I knew exactly whom I was reading about.  This technique of writing was uniquely refreshing.  The author also does a beautiful job of bringing both the scenes and intense emotions experienced in them to life. 

After reading “Fragile” I found myself feeling very contemplative.  The character's lives were drastically affected by decisions that they made early on.  Two of them spent a lifetime of regret for having made those choices.  It was sad that it had to be that way, but it was also sad that once that choice had been made, they really didn’t allow themselves to move on.  This was especially true in the case of Amelia.  Holly, the youngest of the three, was able to wake up and see that she had choices to make for herself.  By reading this story, I thought about how many of us tie up our opportunities for a happy future based on our past decisions. I see this so many times.  Reading “Fragile” was a wake-up call to me to keep myself aware that this can happen.

The spiritual component of the story added beauty to the book.  I believe that readers will really enjoy reading this book and find meaning in it to be applied to their own lives.  “Fragile” by Chris Katsaropoulos is highly recommended.

Make comment on weblog