My GoodReads Review of Fragile Bones by T.D. Green

Fragile Bones by T.D. Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I can't say I 'enjoyed' this book, because that term seems superficial against what is a dark and emotional read. Fragile Bones is a no holds barred examination of how low a soul can go and a struggle for...I was going to say 'redemption', but no, I don't think it's that, Nathan's struggle is to do with being more than what his terrible life has made him.

This book is first person POV, incredibly tightly so, since Nathan is very self-centred, and I don't mean that in a mean way, it is his fight to escape the barren, unfeeling background he had come from that makes him so. As Michael, Nathan's companion and 'saviour', says at one point, he has had much, much more time to come to terms with his past than Nathan and it is their darkness that brings the pair closer and closer. The writing style of this book is thus, sometimes not easy. I read it in two sittings, the first of those was slow going and I had to put it down for a breather. However, when I came back to it, something had clicked and I dived right on in and finished 80% of the book in one go, because there was always something more in the story that I wanted to find out, a little more growth in Nathan.
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At this point I want to mention a couple of beautifully imagined scenes: they are both moments of Nathan/Michael interaction. The first is set round a camp fire and is where Nathan finally begins to understand what is happening to him. It is tender and inspiring, one of those 'keep reading, there's more to come' moments I mentioned above. The second is just a small scene, an electrical storm and a power cut, nothing incredible, but the moment between Nathan and Michael is snarky and warm at the same time. There is a real connection between the characters.

This is an intensely character driven story, if you like complexly plotted, highly directional works, this one is not for you. If I'm being picky, I would have liked a wee bit more structure around what was happening to Nathan, something that linked things like his death, the attack by thugs when he is back in the city and his eventual grasp of himself, more definitely, but that's just me, lovers of pure character would have no such quibbles.

Finally, this book had the brutal frankness of the likes of 'The Lovely Bones', and an awakening in Nathan that reminded me of a book I read in school called, 'I Am David'. It's an emotional rollercoaster with very little relief for the reader, but that is what kept me reading. Get to the end, it's worth it.

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