The Nature of Fragile Things

Finished May 11

The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner

In 1905 Sophie Whalen is a young immigrant from Ireland sharing a tenement room in New York City with other young women. She answers an advertisement from a San Francisco man, Martin Hocking, who is looking for a wife and a mother to his young daughter Kat. He sends the money for her to take the train west and marries her the day she arrives, but he doesn't push her to have a physical relationship until she's comfortable. Martin works for an insurance company and travels a lot for his job, sometimes being away multiple days at a time.

There are things that cause Sophie to have questions, but she is also happy to be living in the circumstances she is in now. Martin is very handsome and well off enough to live in a nice neighbourhood and well-equipped home. Why would he have to advertise for a wife? Why is Kat so quiet? Is it just the loss of her mother or are there more reasons? Why doesn't Martin introduce her to any of his work colleagues since that was part of the reason he said he needed a wife? What is going on with the second business line that he is suddenly working with? 

More than a year after she arrived in the city, Belinda Bigelow, a young pregnant woman, appears on her doorstep looking for Martin, hoping he has some information on Belinda's husband, but the women soon learn that the connections are closer than expected. As the two women piece together their stories and Kat's history, and make plans to leave, a massive earthquake takes place. They flee the house together with Kat, first to a temporary hospital, then to a city park filled with other refugees from the quake and subsequent fires. Eventually they make their way to Belinda's home south of the city, but soon learn that Martin has been there since she left. Sophie must return to the city to see if Martin is there, and if not, to file a missing persons report. That and the ongoing police interest in the case cause Sophie to worry about her own secrets that she hoped to leave behind. 

A story of relationships, those that mistreat others in a variety of ways, and what women might do to ensure their own safety and the safety of those they care about.