Author: Susan Meissner
Reviewed by Chloe Fuksa, Putnam Six Bookstore
The Nature of Fragile Things is a wonderful work of historical fiction published in January 2022 by author Susan Meissner. It spans a few years in the early 1900s, but the main focal point, the decisive moment for the characters, is the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. It’s at that point too that the book takes on a little bit of a thriller element to it. There are secrets coming to light and secrets being hidden away, and the pace of the book picks up. Plus, dropped throughout the pages are snippets of a transcript from a formal police interview, and those cliff-hangers feed right back into the suspense of the story.
Sophie is a young Irish immigrant who answers an ad to marry a widow, Martin, in San Francisco, and raise his daughter, Kat. It’s advantageous for all of them, and Sophie can only hope that one day she and Martin will come to actually love one another. But when a pregnant woman, Belinda, shows up on their doorstep claiming that her husband is Martin, just with a different name, the two women start digging. Not only do they discover that Kat’s mother is actually alive, living in a sanatorium in Arizona, but also that there have been numerous suspicious deaths in the past of people around Martin. Sophie, Belinda, and Kat are ready to flee, but the very next morning is the earthquake. Afterwards, they are struggling to stay alive and find food and shelter along with the other thousands of people, all while not knowing if Martin is still alive or not. As the days go by and the group tries to start their lives anew, they just can’t shake the past.
This book does have suspense, but the overwhelming theme, the experience for readers, is just this extraordinary expression of love, time and time again. The love Sophie has for Kat, the love Belinda has for her new baby. The love and sacrifice of Kat’s mother. The love Sophie and Belinda have as friends. The story is very character-driven, and they are certainly marvelous characters. Even in the aftermath of awful things – whether an earthquake or an evil man – love can still bring forth beautiful things.
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