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These Fragile Things
As Streatham, South London, still reels from the riots in neighbouring Brixton, Graham Jones, an ordinary father, grows fearful for his teenage daughter Judy who faces a world where the pace of change appears to be accelerating. But even he cannot predict what will happen next. A series of events is about to be unleashed over which he will have no control, and the lives of his family will change forever. When Judy claims to be seeing visions he will call it a miracle, and, to his wife’s horror, the hungry press will label their daughter ‘The Miracle Girl.’ Elaine, present when she came close to losing her daughter a first time - knowing it was the paramedics and surgeons who saved her - will demand a medical explanation. But Judy, refusing to become caught in this emotional tug-of-war, is adamant. She must tread her own path, wherever it takes her. Delusion, deception, diabolic…or is it just possible that Judy’s apparitions are authentic? ‘A brilliantly imaginative and quirkily fresh take on the world. Brimful of originality and creativity.’ The Literary Consultancy ‘An elegant and understated prose style with a very satisfying rhythm. This is really very good writing indeed.’ Debi Alper ‘Leaves one panting to read more.’ Jill Foulston
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420 pages, Paperback
First published April 23, 2013
6 people are currently reading
441 people want to read
About the author
Jane Davis
14 books160 followersHailed by The Bookseller as 'One to Watch', Jane Davis writes thought-provoking page-turners, exploring a diverse range of subjects, from pioneering female photographers to relatives seeking justice for the victims of a fictional disaster. Interested in how people behave under pressure, Jane introduces her characters when they're in highly volatile situations and then, in her words, throws them to the lions. Expect complex relationships, meaty moral dilemmas and a scattering of dark family secrets!
Her first novel, 'Half-Truths and White Lies', won a national award established by Transworld with the aim of finding the next Joanne Harris. Further recognition followed in 2016 with 'An Unknown Woman' being named Writing Magazine's Self-Published Book of the Year as well as being shortlisted in the IAN Awards. In 2019 'Smash all the Windows', won the inaugural Selfies Book Award. Her novel, 'At the Stroke of Nine O'Clock' was featured by The Lady Magazine as one of their favourite books set in the 1950s and was a Historical Novel Society Editor's Choice.
Jane lives in Surrey, in what was originally the ticket office for a Victorian pleasure garden, known locally as 'the gingerbread house'. Her house frequently crops up in her fiction. In fact, she burnt it to the ground in the opening chapter of 'An Unknown Woman'. Her latest release, 'Small Eden', is a fictionalized account of why one man chose to open a small-scale pleasure garden at a time when London's great pleasure gardens were facing bankruptcy.
When she isn't writing, you may spot Jane disappearing up the side of a mountain with a camera in hand.
Find out more about Jane at:
Website:jane-davis.co.uk
Get a FREEcopy of her time-slip, photography-themed eBook, I Stopped Time, when you signup to her mailing list at jane-davis.co.uk/newsletter
Her first novel, 'Half-Truths and White Lies', won a national award established by Transworld with the aim of finding the next Joanne Harris. Further recognition followed in 2016 with 'An Unknown Woman' being named Writing Magazine's Self-Published Book of the Year as well as being shortlisted in the IAN Awards. In 2019 'Smash all the Windows', won the inaugural Selfies Book Award. Her novel, 'At the Stroke of Nine O'Clock' was featured by The Lady Magazine as one of their favourite books set in the 1950s and was a Historical Novel Society Editor's Choice.
Jane lives in Surrey, in what was originally the ticket office for a Victorian pleasure garden, known locally as 'the gingerbread house'. Her house frequently crops up in her fiction. In fact, she burnt it to the ground in the opening chapter of 'An Unknown Woman'. Her latest release, 'Small Eden', is a fictionalized account of why one man chose to open a small-scale pleasure garden at a time when London's great pleasure gardens were facing bankruptcy.
When she isn't writing, you may spot Jane disappearing up the side of a mountain with a camera in hand.
Find out more about Jane at:
Website:jane-davis.co.uk
Get a FREEcopy of her time-slip, photography-themed eBook, I Stopped Time, when you signup to her mailing list at jane-davis.co.uk/newsletter
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 2, 2022
This is the second book I read of Jane Davis after ‘I stopped Time’. Her stories do tend to be quite different.
Graham and wife Elaine have a fairly good life. Their lives, however, go through a massive upheaval after their daughter Judy has an accident when a wall collapses on her. With help from some people who rush her to hospital, she survives. Her dad Graham takes to praying for her. Judy has a near death experience, and senses being out of her body and thinks she can recall conversations the hospital staff had when they assumed she was unconscious. Judy makes a near complete recovery despite most not willing to give a positive prognosis. Both Graham and daughter Judy feel prayers and something supernatural has played a part in her recovery. Elaine entirely credits the doctors and care-givers for Judy’s recovery. Graham and Judy both become regular church-goers. Judy enrols in a catholic school and forms a close friendship with Miranda. Miranda is expelled, however, when she asks questions the school believes are rebellious. After a while, Judy claims to have had divine visions. This causes stress in the family, galvanizes religious fervour among many, divides community opinion and fuels strong media interest in her case.
A subject like this obviously needs careful treatment, and that Jane Davis manages very well – striking a balance between rationality and religious belief. However, in many ways, this story represents a lost opportunity as too many things are understated and the later stages feel listless. An imaginative story but poor build-up & finish.
This story made me recall Irving Wallace’s ‘The Miracle’ which I read many years back, and had liked.
I hope to read ‘A Funeral for an Owl’ by the author which has largely very good reviews.
Graham and wife Elaine have a fairly good life. Their lives, however, go through a massive upheaval after their daughter Judy has an accident when a wall collapses on her. With help from some people who rush her to hospital, she survives. Her dad Graham takes to praying for her. Judy has a near death experience, and senses being out of her body and thinks she can recall conversations the hospital staff had when they assumed she was unconscious. Judy makes a near complete recovery despite most not willing to give a positive prognosis. Both Graham and daughter Judy feel prayers and something supernatural has played a part in her recovery. Elaine entirely credits the doctors and care-givers for Judy’s recovery. Graham and Judy both become regular church-goers. Judy enrols in a catholic school and forms a close friendship with Miranda. Miranda is expelled, however, when she asks questions the school believes are rebellious. After a while, Judy claims to have had divine visions. This causes stress in the family, galvanizes religious fervour among many, divides community opinion and fuels strong media interest in her case.
A subject like this obviously needs careful treatment, and that Jane Davis manages very well – striking a balance between rationality and religious belief. However, in many ways, this story represents a lost opportunity as too many things are understated and the later stages feel listless. An imaginative story but poor build-up & finish.
This story made me recall Irving Wallace’s ‘The Miracle’ which I read many years back, and had liked.
I hope to read ‘A Funeral for an Owl’ by the author which has largely very good reviews.
May 27, 2015
If one reads a lot, book after book (as I do), you sometimes get a sense of repeated themes, story arcs, and plot points that begin to run together in ways that make it hard to discern what's outstanding or noteworthy from the book before. Then a story jumps out at you with a raw burst of originality and thought-provocation that goes deeper than most, leaving you thinking and pondering the issues and plot lines unfolding in front of you. That would be These Fragile Things.
Written with tremendous skill and thoughtfulness, the story follows events surrounding a family impacted by their only child's massive injury in a wall collapse. The myriad twists of fate that seem to follow this horrific happenstance not only turn each of their lives upside down, but take interesting narrative detours. What seems to be heading in the direction of a "triumph over adversity" tale morphs into explorations of faith, religion, miracles, belief; the anguish of both physical and psychic pain, the loneliness of an altered existence that seems out of one's control, and the unfolding impact of all these events on everyone involved.
As young Judy Jones attempts to find as normal a life as her injuries will allow, both her parents, Graham and Elaine, smack hard into their own very disparate reactions: he, to religion, converting to Catholicism in fulfillment of a hospital-made promise; her, to reckless flouting of fidelity and commitment. But when Judy, ultimately ensconced in a Catholic school, becomes convinced she's having visions of the Blessed Mother, visions that become a form of viral religious zealotry amongst the countless people and media that begin to hound and surround their lives, everything crescendos into a powerful, unexpected conclusion that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat... not something one expects in a story of this nature!
Jane Davis has a beautiful way with words and a deeply engaging narrative style that keeps you involved and anticipatory. I so appreciated her taking on a story that shines new, contemporary light on spiritual concepts—miracles, visions, visitations—we've read about and explored over the centuries, and I very much look forward to reading her other work.
Written with tremendous skill and thoughtfulness, the story follows events surrounding a family impacted by their only child's massive injury in a wall collapse. The myriad twists of fate that seem to follow this horrific happenstance not only turn each of their lives upside down, but take interesting narrative detours. What seems to be heading in the direction of a "triumph over adversity" tale morphs into explorations of faith, religion, miracles, belief; the anguish of both physical and psychic pain, the loneliness of an altered existence that seems out of one's control, and the unfolding impact of all these events on everyone involved.
As young Judy Jones attempts to find as normal a life as her injuries will allow, both her parents, Graham and Elaine, smack hard into their own very disparate reactions: he, to religion, converting to Catholicism in fulfillment of a hospital-made promise; her, to reckless flouting of fidelity and commitment. But when Judy, ultimately ensconced in a Catholic school, becomes convinced she's having visions of the Blessed Mother, visions that become a form of viral religious zealotry amongst the countless people and media that begin to hound and surround their lives, everything crescendos into a powerful, unexpected conclusion that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat... not something one expects in a story of this nature!
Jane Davis has a beautiful way with words and a deeply engaging narrative style that keeps you involved and anticipatory. I so appreciated her taking on a story that shines new, contemporary light on spiritual concepts—miracles, visions, visitations—we've read about and explored over the centuries, and I very much look forward to reading her other work.
July 16, 2013
I found this to be a haunting memorable tale that lives on in your mind.
It is an extraordinarily well written book, in that it moves fast, draws the reader quickly into the story, and never wastes a word. Fast moving and punchy, it starts with a bang, when Elaine’s daughter Judy is seriously injured, simply as a result of bad luck. The tale unfolds section by section, and it might spoil the story if the sequence of events is given here, but I can say that right the way through it’s a highly charged, emotional, fairly shocking and dramatic story of how the principle characters’ lives change.
Various contentious subjects are handled sensitively: the mysteries of the catholic faith, nymphomania, near death (out of body) experiences and, at its heart, the roots of the main characters’ happiness and misery. Loneliness in all its forms is examined too, some of those we meet being enmeshed in a loneliness they cannot break free of, but are stolidly getting on with their lives in the only way they can, driven by their feelings and desires. There’s the sadness of nostalgia, the yearning for ‘what might have been if only . . .’ And it’s interesting also in the way that bizarre and strange occurrences are experienced by the characters, usually tackled head on, using a combination of common sense and hope.
The book takes on some pretty big issues and presents them carefully, examining just what might occur if such and such were to happen, and predicting logically the kind of events that might transpire. As a result of Judy’s accident, the lives of her parents are never going to be the same again, and this ‘changeability' of the fragile human psyche, to me, was what this book was all about. The frustrating reality of how one small decision can lead to catastrophe, and catastrophe can lead off into an unknown that overtakes your life, and there’s no going back.
It’s a thought provoking ‘what if’ book that I thoroughly enjoyed.
It is an extraordinarily well written book, in that it moves fast, draws the reader quickly into the story, and never wastes a word. Fast moving and punchy, it starts with a bang, when Elaine’s daughter Judy is seriously injured, simply as a result of bad luck. The tale unfolds section by section, and it might spoil the story if the sequence of events is given here, but I can say that right the way through it’s a highly charged, emotional, fairly shocking and dramatic story of how the principle characters’ lives change.
Various contentious subjects are handled sensitively: the mysteries of the catholic faith, nymphomania, near death (out of body) experiences and, at its heart, the roots of the main characters’ happiness and misery. Loneliness in all its forms is examined too, some of those we meet being enmeshed in a loneliness they cannot break free of, but are stolidly getting on with their lives in the only way they can, driven by their feelings and desires. There’s the sadness of nostalgia, the yearning for ‘what might have been if only . . .’ And it’s interesting also in the way that bizarre and strange occurrences are experienced by the characters, usually tackled head on, using a combination of common sense and hope.
The book takes on some pretty big issues and presents them carefully, examining just what might occur if such and such were to happen, and predicting logically the kind of events that might transpire. As a result of Judy’s accident, the lives of her parents are never going to be the same again, and this ‘changeability' of the fragile human psyche, to me, was what this book was all about. The frustrating reality of how one small decision can lead to catastrophe, and catastrophe can lead off into an unknown that overtakes your life, and there’s no going back.
It’s a thought provoking ‘what if’ book that I thoroughly enjoyed.
August 9, 2013
Near-death experience and religious fervor and other fragile things
That Jane Davis is an important new writer is a given. For those who have not yet had the visceral experience of reading her novels this particular book THESE FRAGLE THINGS is a terrific starting point. Davis has found confounding concepts and plays them out in her craftsmanly prose like an experienced professional.
The story is compelling and has been summarized for us: `As Streatham, South London, still reels from the riots in neighboring Brixton, Graham Jones, an ordinary father, grows fearful for his teenage daughter Judy who faces a world where the pace of change appears to be accelerating. But even he cannot predict what will happen next. A series of events is about to be unleashed over which he will have no control, and the lives of his family will change forever. When Judy claims to be seeing visions he will call it a miracle, and, to his wife's horror, the hungry press will label their daughter `The Miracle Girl.' Elaine, present when she came close to losing her daughter a first time - knowing it was the paramedics and surgeons who saved her - will demand a medical explanation. But Judy, refusing to become caught in this emotional tug-of-war, is adamant. She must tread her own path, wherever it takes her. Delusion, deception, diabolic...or is it just possible that Judy's apparitions are authentic?'
This is a book that deals with conflicts - between religion and superstition and acts of nature and science and perhaps luck - and how an earth-shattering act affects an ordinary family. But in addition to the Grand Guignol effects of the novel, the shining light is in Jane Davis' ability to create characters who rise out of bland reality and become various forms of heroes, victims, and lines of communication from the world beyond, profound religious faltering - or simply move along, s stagnant in their roles that they are frozen in time. These characters Davis creates move form the epitome of ordinary to the peak of extraordinary in the most reasonable manner. This is a fine story, written by a gifted author who has her feet firmly planted in the echelon of significant writers of today.
Grady Harp
That Jane Davis is an important new writer is a given. For those who have not yet had the visceral experience of reading her novels this particular book THESE FRAGLE THINGS is a terrific starting point. Davis has found confounding concepts and plays them out in her craftsmanly prose like an experienced professional.
The story is compelling and has been summarized for us: `As Streatham, South London, still reels from the riots in neighboring Brixton, Graham Jones, an ordinary father, grows fearful for his teenage daughter Judy who faces a world where the pace of change appears to be accelerating. But even he cannot predict what will happen next. A series of events is about to be unleashed over which he will have no control, and the lives of his family will change forever. When Judy claims to be seeing visions he will call it a miracle, and, to his wife's horror, the hungry press will label their daughter `The Miracle Girl.' Elaine, present when she came close to losing her daughter a first time - knowing it was the paramedics and surgeons who saved her - will demand a medical explanation. But Judy, refusing to become caught in this emotional tug-of-war, is adamant. She must tread her own path, wherever it takes her. Delusion, deception, diabolic...or is it just possible that Judy's apparitions are authentic?'
This is a book that deals with conflicts - between religion and superstition and acts of nature and science and perhaps luck - and how an earth-shattering act affects an ordinary family. But in addition to the Grand Guignol effects of the novel, the shining light is in Jane Davis' ability to create characters who rise out of bland reality and become various forms of heroes, victims, and lines of communication from the world beyond, profound religious faltering - or simply move along, s stagnant in their roles that they are frozen in time. These characters Davis creates move form the epitome of ordinary to the peak of extraordinary in the most reasonable manner. This is a fine story, written by a gifted author who has her feet firmly planted in the echelon of significant writers of today.
Grady Harp
September 2, 2013
These Fragile Things is an essay on survival: what does it mean to survive? How do we define successful survival? And when one's life has changed dramatically, how are those around us dragged in to our experience of surviving? When teenager Judy is almost killed in 1982 by a falling tree, her parents respond in very different ways. Her mother, Elaine, is bogged down by the practicalities while her father, Graham, makes a pact with God. In this intense, emotionally complex novel, we witness (in the Biblical sense as well as the literal narrative sense) how Judy's survival impacts not only on her parents, but those around her. And we wonder - along with all the characters in the book - whether and how that pact with God has manifested itself in the deeply spiritual visions Judy then has.
This book could be seen as an exploration of the impact of the embrace of religion on routine domestic life, but that would be to oversimplify what I think the author is trying to do. This book is more about our desire to explain what happens to us, to justify the tipping of the scales of existence to one side or the other, and our desire to maintain an equilibrium when everything changes. For me, the novel became particularly interesting once Judy began to experience her visions, and the author has done a clever balancing act herself by showing the impact of these extraordinary claims by Judy on two religious figures, Sister Euphemia from Judy's new convent school, and Father Patrick, Graham's priest. Their negotiations of their religion with the tensions of the real world are an interesting counterbalance to Graham's absorption in Catholicism as the means of his salvation and Judy's.
Without giving away the plot of the novel, what becomes apparent in the last part is that Graham's initial evaluation of what it means for Judy's to survive is challenged. Just as the novel explores in great detail the dynamics of a marriage under pressure, and the pervasive influence of memory and the past in shaping our present choices and how we remember what is happening to us right now, it also explores the dynamics of guilt about that survival. When Judy is labelled the Miracle Girl, she becomes the focus for everyone else's grief and trouble, not to mention the focus for some equally faithless and lurid speculation about her family. Judy is positioned as responsible for the fates of others because hers seems to have been decided by God.
I would like to have read more about what Judy herself thought about that. We learn quite a lot about Judy's experiences of her visions, but less about the impact of their consequences on her, such as what she feels about all the people who flock to her door. And while the author has evoked the social and cultural atmosphere of 1982 very effectively, for me there is a bit of a muddling in the narrative voice between the subjective stream of consciousness of Elaine and Graham in particular, and the omniscience of the writer, which occasionally makes Elaine and Graham sound a bit too objective about what is happening to them.
This novel will be about different things depending on who is reading it: about the internal pressures on a family in a crisis; a meditation on how teenagers and their parents negotiate changes brought on by growing up; about the difference between religion and faith and the sheer power of belief. Whatever you take away though, this book will make you think.
This book could be seen as an exploration of the impact of the embrace of religion on routine domestic life, but that would be to oversimplify what I think the author is trying to do. This book is more about our desire to explain what happens to us, to justify the tipping of the scales of existence to one side or the other, and our desire to maintain an equilibrium when everything changes. For me, the novel became particularly interesting once Judy began to experience her visions, and the author has done a clever balancing act herself by showing the impact of these extraordinary claims by Judy on two religious figures, Sister Euphemia from Judy's new convent school, and Father Patrick, Graham's priest. Their negotiations of their religion with the tensions of the real world are an interesting counterbalance to Graham's absorption in Catholicism as the means of his salvation and Judy's.
Without giving away the plot of the novel, what becomes apparent in the last part is that Graham's initial evaluation of what it means for Judy's to survive is challenged. Just as the novel explores in great detail the dynamics of a marriage under pressure, and the pervasive influence of memory and the past in shaping our present choices and how we remember what is happening to us right now, it also explores the dynamics of guilt about that survival. When Judy is labelled the Miracle Girl, she becomes the focus for everyone else's grief and trouble, not to mention the focus for some equally faithless and lurid speculation about her family. Judy is positioned as responsible for the fates of others because hers seems to have been decided by God.
I would like to have read more about what Judy herself thought about that. We learn quite a lot about Judy's experiences of her visions, but less about the impact of their consequences on her, such as what she feels about all the people who flock to her door. And while the author has evoked the social and cultural atmosphere of 1982 very effectively, for me there is a bit of a muddling in the narrative voice between the subjective stream of consciousness of Elaine and Graham in particular, and the omniscience of the writer, which occasionally makes Elaine and Graham sound a bit too objective about what is happening to them.
This novel will be about different things depending on who is reading it: about the internal pressures on a family in a crisis; a meditation on how teenagers and their parents negotiate changes brought on by growing up; about the difference between religion and faith and the sheer power of belief. Whatever you take away though, this book will make you think.
August 2, 2013
What would you do if your child was named the “Miracle Girl” and she claimed to have ethereal visions? For the Jones family this scenario is about to be played out in their lives.
Judy Jones was a typical fourteen-year-old teenager growing up in Streatham, England in the 1980’s, when a brick wall fell down on her, trapping her in a phone booth. Against all odds she survives. Distraught over the realization that his daughter may never be the same again, her father turns to the church to save his little girl while her mother focuses on the pragmatic details of nursing her broken daughter back to health. Before the Jones family has time to heal from the trauma of the accident Judy and her father leap into the open arms of the Catholic Church while, her mother battles with the reality that her role in the house has changed.
Just as everyone in the family is settling down, Judy starts to have visions. A woman in white has a message for her, and Judy is determined to find out what that message is. When the news that a saint is living among the people of Streatham is leaked, crowds of believers set up camp in front of the Jones’s house, again throwing their routine into chaos.
These Fragile Things is a beautiful and thoughtfully written story about a family that is struggling with the harsh reality that life is fleeting. Author Jane Davis paints the picture of a typical suburban family whose lives are turned upside down not once, but multiple times. With each curve ball that Davis throws at the Joneses you can’t help but ache for this family that is desperate to keep some senses of normalcy.
Davis is a phenomenal writer whose ability to create well rounded characters that are easy to relate to felt effortless. Every person in the story could have easily been your next door neighbor or your best friend from school. The attention to these details instantly sucks readers into this world. In addition to the strong characters, Davis incorporates strong themes around religion, family, and loyalty that take this book to a whole new level of literary perfection.
I would strongly recommend this book to all book clubs. I think you will find that the discussion following the reading will be intriguing. I also would encourage anyone who struggles with the concept of religion or those who believe in miracles to read this book. I am confident that you will walk away with new questions and insight into the Church that you may not have had. Either way, the concepts, ideas and prose found in These Fragile Things will stick with you for a long time.
(This book was provided to Compulsion Reads for review by the author.)
Judy Jones was a typical fourteen-year-old teenager growing up in Streatham, England in the 1980’s, when a brick wall fell down on her, trapping her in a phone booth. Against all odds she survives. Distraught over the realization that his daughter may never be the same again, her father turns to the church to save his little girl while her mother focuses on the pragmatic details of nursing her broken daughter back to health. Before the Jones family has time to heal from the trauma of the accident Judy and her father leap into the open arms of the Catholic Church while, her mother battles with the reality that her role in the house has changed.
Just as everyone in the family is settling down, Judy starts to have visions. A woman in white has a message for her, and Judy is determined to find out what that message is. When the news that a saint is living among the people of Streatham is leaked, crowds of believers set up camp in front of the Jones’s house, again throwing their routine into chaos.
These Fragile Things is a beautiful and thoughtfully written story about a family that is struggling with the harsh reality that life is fleeting. Author Jane Davis paints the picture of a typical suburban family whose lives are turned upside down not once, but multiple times. With each curve ball that Davis throws at the Joneses you can’t help but ache for this family that is desperate to keep some senses of normalcy.
Davis is a phenomenal writer whose ability to create well rounded characters that are easy to relate to felt effortless. Every person in the story could have easily been your next door neighbor or your best friend from school. The attention to these details instantly sucks readers into this world. In addition to the strong characters, Davis incorporates strong themes around religion, family, and loyalty that take this book to a whole new level of literary perfection.
I would strongly recommend this book to all book clubs. I think you will find that the discussion following the reading will be intriguing. I also would encourage anyone who struggles with the concept of religion or those who believe in miracles to read this book. I am confident that you will walk away with new questions and insight into the Church that you may not have had. Either way, the concepts, ideas and prose found in These Fragile Things will stick with you for a long time.
(This book was provided to Compulsion Reads for review by the author.)
September 6, 2013
First off, I want to apologize for posting such a late review. In the midst of starting my junior year of college, I became a bit occupied with classes and homework. I, however had finished this book a few weeks back and loved it so much that I decided to write about it in my college newspaper as well. Here is my review!
These Fragile Things is a mesmerizing work of fiction written by up and coming author, Jane Davis. The book entails many fragile topics including near death experiences,revelations, family crises, and religious fervor.
What was supposed to be a mundane trip to the post office, turned into a pivotal catastrophe that changed the Jones family lives forever. Judy Jones was sent out to retrieve stamps for her mother when the face of danger crashed into her, quite literally. After surviving this horrific event, the Jones family was put into the limelight as Judy became known as Streatham, England's own Miracle Girl.
With her new found fame and an altered lifestyle, Judy's whole life quickly spirals into a paradox. As she struggles to regain her strength and relearn things she once knew, she is taken by surprise when she begins to experience apparitions. Furthermore,despite her mother's wishes, Judy also takes a sudden interest in the Catholic Church.
While her family desperately tries to grasp back into the realm of normal, Judy's visions only become more frequent and more alarming. As a result of these visions, her parents become torn as to what they believe the cause of the “visions” are. Her mom who had witnessed paramedics revive her insists that there must be a medical explanation for her visions. On the other hand, her Dad who resorted to prayer during Judy's hospitalization insists that Judy's visions are a spiritual occurrence. Once the news of Judy's visions become public, the people of Streatham are driven into a frenzy. Those who believe Judy is a Saint begin to camp outside the Jones's house. With their world flipped upside down, you begin to sympathize and ache for the Jones family who doesn't seem to be given even a moment of peace.
The family continues to endure many of life's challenges and heart aches that can result in strengthening a family's bond or completely tearing it apart.
These Fragile Things is an invigorating and memorable story full of many twists and turns which leave you grasping for more.
(This book was given to me complimentary for review by the author.)
These Fragile Things is a mesmerizing work of fiction written by up and coming author, Jane Davis. The book entails many fragile topics including near death experiences,revelations, family crises, and religious fervor.
What was supposed to be a mundane trip to the post office, turned into a pivotal catastrophe that changed the Jones family lives forever. Judy Jones was sent out to retrieve stamps for her mother when the face of danger crashed into her, quite literally. After surviving this horrific event, the Jones family was put into the limelight as Judy became known as Streatham, England's own Miracle Girl.
With her new found fame and an altered lifestyle, Judy's whole life quickly spirals into a paradox. As she struggles to regain her strength and relearn things she once knew, she is taken by surprise when she begins to experience apparitions. Furthermore,despite her mother's wishes, Judy also takes a sudden interest in the Catholic Church.
While her family desperately tries to grasp back into the realm of normal, Judy's visions only become more frequent and more alarming. As a result of these visions, her parents become torn as to what they believe the cause of the “visions” are. Her mom who had witnessed paramedics revive her insists that there must be a medical explanation for her visions. On the other hand, her Dad who resorted to prayer during Judy's hospitalization insists that Judy's visions are a spiritual occurrence. Once the news of Judy's visions become public, the people of Streatham are driven into a frenzy. Those who believe Judy is a Saint begin to camp outside the Jones's house. With their world flipped upside down, you begin to sympathize and ache for the Jones family who doesn't seem to be given even a moment of peace.
The family continues to endure many of life's challenges and heart aches that can result in strengthening a family's bond or completely tearing it apart.
These Fragile Things is an invigorating and memorable story full of many twists and turns which leave you grasping for more.
(This book was given to me complimentary for review by the author.)
July 30, 2013
Jane Davis has created beautiful world for readers to step into in These Fragile Things. She uses breathtaking descriptions that make the story come to life for the reader. The tensions that build in this work weigh on the read just as they would the characters. Readers will feel the pressure Judy feels, the desperation Graham is consumed by, and the betrayl Elaine feels. To read this is to walk in their shoes and see their story from three very different points of view.
I found this work consuming. I did not want to put it down or say goodbye to the characters, even for a minute. Davis' masterful approach to prose mixed with her rich diction brought me into her world, just as she promised (Backstory: I won a copy of this and Jane had signed it "welcome to my world").
I do agree with a previous reviewer on two points. The decade the story takes place isn't clear for the first few chapters. That is a point that did not bother mer as I was more wrapped up with the switching points of view, making a beautifully woven introduction. The religious aspect took me by surprise. Considering myself a recovering Catholic, this is not my prefered cup of tea (...which is hibiscus herbal mixed with lime green tea). I am pleased that I didn't let that stand in my way. Davis has offered a unique perspective on Catholocism and those who follow it, convert, and disagree with it. My suggestion is to give this work a try, even if you generally don't read or agree with religious stories. It is captivating.
I found this work consuming. I did not want to put it down or say goodbye to the characters, even for a minute. Davis' masterful approach to prose mixed with her rich diction brought me into her world, just as she promised (Backstory: I won a copy of this and Jane had signed it "welcome to my world").
I do agree with a previous reviewer on two points. The decade the story takes place isn't clear for the first few chapters. That is a point that did not bother mer as I was more wrapped up with the switching points of view, making a beautifully woven introduction. The religious aspect took me by surprise. Considering myself a recovering Catholic, this is not my prefered cup of tea (...which is hibiscus herbal mixed with lime green tea). I am pleased that I didn't let that stand in my way. Davis has offered a unique perspective on Catholocism and those who follow it, convert, and disagree with it. My suggestion is to give this work a try, even if you generally don't read or agree with religious stories. It is captivating.
August 16, 2013
Having read both Half-truths & White Lies and I Stopped Time, two very different books, I was keen to see what delights were on offer in this book. I was not disappointed.
The story is set in Streatham, London in the early 80's. Judy Jones, pops into a telephone box to have a conversation, without her mother listening in, when a wall collapses on her. Religion, in particular Catholicism, feature strongly as themes of near-death experiences and religious fervour, not subject matter I'd normally seek out, but the strength of the writing lifts the subject matter making it immensely readable. I was instantly drawn into the book and really wanted to know how the family would cope with all the changes including Judy's father converting to Catholicism against her mother's wishes.
Jane Davis really does bring characters to life, mothers, fathers, friends, teachers are all perfectly described along with their actions and reactions to events. I love the occasional asides, an overheard conversation here, or a mental comparison of one home with another there, all of which helps to anchor the story.
Ultimately relationships, albeit in extraordinary circumstances, are central to this book.
I was pleased to see there is a preview of another book included in the kindle edition by this talented writer
The story is set in Streatham, London in the early 80's. Judy Jones, pops into a telephone box to have a conversation, without her mother listening in, when a wall collapses on her. Religion, in particular Catholicism, feature strongly as themes of near-death experiences and religious fervour, not subject matter I'd normally seek out, but the strength of the writing lifts the subject matter making it immensely readable. I was instantly drawn into the book and really wanted to know how the family would cope with all the changes including Judy's father converting to Catholicism against her mother's wishes.
Jane Davis really does bring characters to life, mothers, fathers, friends, teachers are all perfectly described along with their actions and reactions to events. I love the occasional asides, an overheard conversation here, or a mental comparison of one home with another there, all of which helps to anchor the story.
Ultimately relationships, albeit in extraordinary circumstances, are central to this book.
I was pleased to see there is a preview of another book included in the kindle edition by this talented writer
April 18, 2013
Elaine sends her thirteen year old daughter to the shop when she runs out of stamps. After a while when Judy doesn’t return, she goes to look for her. Judy has been in a horrendous accident and only just escapes with her life. Her father Graham goes to the hospital chapel to pray for his daughter and meets a nun. They share a special moment together that changes him forever.
Judy and her father become closer and Elaine feel pushed out. Judy feels that she was saved for a reason and she is determined to fulfil her mission in life.
Elaine her mother is falling deeper and deeper into a pit of emotional despair. The divide between her and Graham is widening as each day passes. Will they be able to resolve their individual problems before the divide splits them all apart?
This book will take you on a journey into parts of the psyche we never normally explore. It will make you look at life differently and ask yourself the big questions we all normally avoid.
Judy and her father become closer and Elaine feel pushed out. Judy feels that she was saved for a reason and she is determined to fulfil her mission in life.
Elaine her mother is falling deeper and deeper into a pit of emotional despair. The divide between her and Graham is widening as each day passes. Will they be able to resolve their individual problems before the divide splits them all apart?
This book will take you on a journey into parts of the psyche we never normally explore. It will make you look at life differently and ask yourself the big questions we all normally avoid.
April 8, 2013
A different type of book for me as I wouldn't normally read books with a religious theme, but I had enjoyed "I stopped time".
It was strange that it took me a few chapters to realise that it was set in the 80's as the mention of riots in London misled me into thinking it was set only a few years ago.
Once I aligned myself in the right time period I appreciated all the references from that era.
An interesting story.
It was strange that it took me a few chapters to realise that it was set in the 80's as the mention of riots in London misled me into thinking it was set only a few years ago.
Once I aligned myself in the right time period I appreciated all the references from that era.
An interesting story.
August 16, 2014
I was excited to read this because there were so many high reviews. This book started out good, but I just didn't like where it went, and I really didn't like the ending. I liked the whole concept of near death experiences and visions of Mary and I hoped the book would go down more of that route. I'm probably misunderstanding where the author was trying to go with this.
September 22, 2015
This is a beautifully written novel, moving and heart-breakingly sad at times. Immensely evocative of both time (it is set in the eighties) and place (Streatham, South London), I quickly became drawn into the lives of the main characters and the ebb and flow of their very real emotions. The descriptions and use of language are both wonderful and I look forward to reading more from this author.
March 1, 2015
Review to come...
July 4, 2015
Really good story. Well written. Didn't care for the ending. The author did NOT tie up many loose ends :(
March 25, 2014
Great read from a talented author who will surprise you every step along the storyline.
October 24, 2016
Moving, Convincing, Delightful
Another wondrous novel from Jane Davis
This is paced perfectly and written beautifully. Can’t give many details without the risk of spoilers; but there are numerous intersecting viewpoints; each character feels so real and the story convincing – despite the outline premise perhaps being a little off beat.
I’m of an age with the child in the story so each cultural reference resonated; even in small details like the way she wears her uniform (I did the same with my socks!).
I particularly liked the way real events were woven throughout….2016 has been called by many of my acquaintances an apocalyptic year; this novel demonstrates that many years could feel like the end-time if one were so inclined, or had the benefit of hindsight. I enjoyed this so much I just bought another 2 of this authors novels. Highly recommended. Detailed, moving, thought provoking. Everything I look for in a novel.
Another wondrous novel from Jane Davis
This is paced perfectly and written beautifully. Can’t give many details without the risk of spoilers; but there are numerous intersecting viewpoints; each character feels so real and the story convincing – despite the outline premise perhaps being a little off beat.
I’m of an age with the child in the story so each cultural reference resonated; even in small details like the way she wears her uniform (I did the same with my socks!).
I particularly liked the way real events were woven throughout….2016 has been called by many of my acquaintances an apocalyptic year; this novel demonstrates that many years could feel like the end-time if one were so inclined, or had the benefit of hindsight. I enjoyed this so much I just bought another 2 of this authors novels. Highly recommended. Detailed, moving, thought provoking. Everything I look for in a novel.
May 4, 2017
Finished up this book today and must say not quite the ending I expected but totally creative and leaves you wanting to read more by Ms. Davis. This is the first time I have read anything by Jane Davis and can understand why she merited an award first "rattle out of the box".
A freak accident and a family in South London is changed forever. A wall falls on Judy Jones, a young teenager and after her recovery she starts to have seizures and visions. Her father, Graham Jones, calls her visions miracles and her mother, Elaine, a pragmatist, was at the site of the accident and saw what it took to rescue Judy. It was the paramedics and the doctors who saved Judy and she wants a medical explanation for the seizures. Judy refuses to become part of the emotional battle between her parents, she travels her own path accepting the seizures and the visions as part of her recovery. Truth or fiction?
I recommend this book. It is a very good read, well worth the time.
A freak accident and a family in South London is changed forever. A wall falls on Judy Jones, a young teenager and after her recovery she starts to have seizures and visions. Her father, Graham Jones, calls her visions miracles and her mother, Elaine, a pragmatist, was at the site of the accident and saw what it took to rescue Judy. It was the paramedics and the doctors who saved Judy and she wants a medical explanation for the seizures. Judy refuses to become part of the emotional battle between her parents, she travels her own path accepting the seizures and the visions as part of her recovery. Truth or fiction?
I recommend this book. It is a very good read, well worth the time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 24, 2016
Moving, Convincing, Delightful
Another wondrous novel from Jane Davis
This is paced perfectly and written beautifully. Can’t give many details without the risk of spoilers; but there are numerous intersecting viewpoints; each character feels so real and the story convincing – despite the outline premise perhaps being a little off beat.
I’m of an age with the child in the story so each cultural reference resonated; even in small details like the way she wears her uniform (I did the same with my socks!).
I particularly liked the way real events were woven throughout….2016 has been called by many of my acquaintances an apocalyptic year; this novel demonstrates that many years could feel like the end-time if one were so inclined, or had the benefit of hindsight. I enjoyed this so much I just bought another 2 of this authors novels. Highly recommended. Detailed, moving, thought provoking. Everything I look for in a novel.
Another wondrous novel from Jane Davis
This is paced perfectly and written beautifully. Can’t give many details without the risk of spoilers; but there are numerous intersecting viewpoints; each character feels so real and the story convincing – despite the outline premise perhaps being a little off beat.
I’m of an age with the child in the story so each cultural reference resonated; even in small details like the way she wears her uniform (I did the same with my socks!).
I particularly liked the way real events were woven throughout….2016 has been called by many of my acquaintances an apocalyptic year; this novel demonstrates that many years could feel like the end-time if one were so inclined, or had the benefit of hindsight. I enjoyed this so much I just bought another 2 of this authors novels. Highly recommended. Detailed, moving, thought provoking. Everything I look for in a novel.
January 10, 2022
AIBA Book of the Day: 10 January, 2022: 041/41867
Awesome Indies Book Awards is pleased to include THESE FRAGILE THINGS by JANE DAVIS in the library of Awesome Indies' Badge of Approval recipients.
March 1, 2015
I struggled severely through this book just to finish. what the description had to say did nothing to the book.
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