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.

Quakeland

Finished August 29

Quakeland: On the Road to America's Next Devastating Earthquake by Kathryn Miles

This science novel by journalist Miles looks at the nature of earthquakes, mainly in the United States, both those naturally occurring and those that happened as a result of human actions. Many people think of earthquakes as something that happens in specific parts of the country like California, Hawaii, and Alaska, but as Miles travels around the country, she goes to many locations that have experienced major earthquakes in the past and/or lie of fault lines and that pose real risks of catastrophic earthquakes in the near future. 

She looks at the relatively short history of our understanding of earthquakes and how we have learned what we do know. She talks to many scientists from across the country, sometimes going on expeditions with them and accompanying them on research trips, lectures, and other explorations. While her main focus is on the risk of earthquakes in different parts of the United States, her discussions include earthquakes that have happened in other parts of the world, both in the distant and near past. I really enjoyed how she explored the subject from so many different angles. She looks at the study of core samples from fault lines, using tree rings to date earthquakes from the past, how actions such as mining, fracking, reservoirs, and other human activities have caused earthquakes in different areas and how we discovered and are still studying this connection. 

As a journalist she shows her discoveries through the science she is explaining in easily understandable terms, and doesn't impose judgement. She talks about the difficulties of mitigating risk due to much of the existing infrastructure not built to withstand the complex forces that earthquakes can have, and how they are one of the few natural disasters that it is difficult to predict in advance. 

She shows the scientists she talks to as people, with their own quirks and personalities, and makes her explorations come alive through her personal experiences. I learned so much from this book, and found the research that is going on in this area of science fascinating. 

Swallow's Dance

Finished February 24

Swallow's Dance by Wendy Orr

This middle grade book takes us back to the Bronze Age in the Aegean Sea. As the book begins, an earthquake shakes the small island that Leira and her clan live on. Leira is about to start her initiation as a priestess and her mother is next in line to become the head priestess, or Lady. But her mother is badly injured in the earthquake, and is left unspeaking, in a state of disorientation, unable to walk or reason. Leira's father is the owner of a ship that trades goods all around the sea and their family is one of the leading families. Many homes are damaged and the population retreats into the hills and countryside, taking over the homes of others and struggling to find a way forward. 

After a short while, Leira's father decides to take her, her mother, and a servant along on their next voyage, to the large island of Crete, where they will request help and healing from the leaders there, and stay with her older brother who is acting as a trader for them there.

But even Crete has been affected by the earthquake and there are things that don't seem right in the relationship with the leaders there. Despite misgivings, Leira's father feels he must leave them there and return after his trading voyage. But things quickly go from bad to worse when another earthquake hits, and Leira must grow up quickly, taking charge of her small family unit and finding a way to survive that still honours her clan and provides the small group of women with a livelihood. 

Leira is a kind girl, relating to people of all classes even from the beginning, and this empathy and willing to connect serves her well in her challenges. She has pride, but also recognizes what she must do to survive. She finds a way to be true to her Swallow Clan, honor her origins in the priestess class, and accept a new way of making a livelihood in her situation. She asks for help in a respectful way, both from the people she meets and the gods, and she finds unexpected answers. 

The more I read, the more this story and the character of Leira drew me in. 

Kilometer 99

Finished November 8
Kilometer 99 by Tyler McMahon

This novel is set in 2001 in El Salvador. Malia is from Hawaii, and after finishing her engineering degree she decided to see a bit of the world through volunteering in the Peace Corps. She has been in El Salvador working on an aqueduct project for the last couple of years. In January 2001, a devasting earthquake hits the country, and Malia's aqueduct is destroyed. After checking out her own home and the aqueduct, she heads inland to find her boyfriend Ben. Ben is also in the Peace Corps, He is from North Carolina and working on an agriculture project. Ben's house is destroyed, but he has not suffered major injuries. However, the emotional impact of the earthquake has Ben urging Malia to pull out of their Peace Corps work, and move forward with their plans to travel into South America surfing the coast as they go.
The two met through their Peace Corps affiliation and their love of surfing. Both have surfing experience from their home states, and the surfing conditions in the popular relaxation spot of La Libertad are good. While their projects have them living in separate villages at a distance from each other, they often meet up for weekends and holidays at La Libertad to surf.
Just after they resign from their Peace Corps work they are approached by another American, one who has plans for a resort at another surf spot nearby, Kilometer 99. We only know this man by the nickname he has been given locally, Pelochucho. A local crackhead and former surfer gives out nicknames for money. Malia is known as Chinita, and Ben as Chuck Norris. Malia isn't sure of the new American, but Ben convinces her that the money they get from the short-term work they will do for him will be very helpful for their travels, and won't delay their trip by much.
It is at this time that things start to fall apart. People get hurt, money and documents go missing, and bad decisions are made.
A good novel with an interesting storyline.

Into That Darkness

Finished November 13
Into That Darkness by Steven Price
This is a dark novel, set in Victoria after a major earthquake. The story follows three characters. Arthur Lear is an older man who lives alone in the house his grandfather raised him in. Arthur is an artist, a painter who hasn't worked on his art in some time. He is a man who feels his age, but the earthquake draws him out of himself to assist with digging others out and assisting them. Mercia is a single mother of two children, Mason and Kat, who runs a small cafe. She is a strong character and puts her children above other needs. Mason is Mercia's son, a small boy who notices more than other people think.
When the earthquake occurs Arthur has just been to the cafe and is at the nearby tobacco shop, where his friend Axa works. Mason is in the cafe with Mercia. Arthur survives the collapse of the building with minor injuries, but Mercia and Mason are buried for quite a while.
As we get a sense of the devastation around them, the lawlessness that has come upon the city, and the barriers to their finding loved ones, we get into each of the character's heads and see their motivations and the way they try to protect each other.
A very good read.