As soon as I read this particular novel, I knew I was going to use it for bingo because I instantly wanted to be able to feature it more than once here on my blog. That’s how much I loved it.

Literary:

The Fragments by Toni Jordan

I adored this novel, a literary mystery, with it’s understated elegance and carefully rendered atmosphere. Told as a dual narrative through the eyes of two women: Cadence in Brisbane, 1986; Rachel, first in Pennsylvania and then later, in 1930s New York; both young and on the cusp of so much. This story appears on the surface to gently unfold, but it’s truly gripping, right from the first page through to the last. The mystery is meticulously planned, I really didn’t see the twist until the moment it occurred. The writing is just sublime, so much is conveyed through gesture and connection, the author not relying on dialogue alone to drive the narrative forward. This is a novel to savour, for much is inferred rather than explained. It’s such a delight to read. Brisbane is whimsically depicted as it was in the mid-1980s, still a big country town, with it’s cloying heat, rotting mangoes, hovering fruit flies, and blooming jacarandas. The atmosphere of this novel was truly transporting.

Read my full review here.

For 2019, I’m teaming up with Mrs B’s Book Reviews and The Book Muse for an even bigger, and more challenging book bingo. We’d love to have you join us. Every second Saturday throughout 2019, we’ll post our latest round. We invite you to join in at any stage, just pop the link to your bingo posts into the comments section of our bingo posts each fortnight so we can visit you. If you’re not a blogger, feel free to just write your book titles and thoughts on the books into the comments section each fortnight, and tag us on social media if you are playing along that way.