Amelia Geist, Holly Schenck, and Tris Holloway are all broken - in one way or another.
In a lifelong act of penitence and defiance, Amelia Geist has remained a virgin and saved herself for Tris, her first love, who abandoned her more than fifty years ago.
A few weeks from retirement, Tris Holloway has led a separate life of his own in the hills above Silicon Valley, sealed by inertia within the confines of a loveless marriage and shattered by his decision to leave Amelia.
The only person who can repair the rift between Tris and Amelia is Holly, a single mother without means, who is trying somehow to mend her life while laid out in a hospital bed, a victim of her own suicide attempt.
The stories of Tris, Holly, and Amelia are presented in Fragile as broken fragments, woven together by profound truth and an astonishing connection that transcends the boundaries between this world and the next.
Fragile is a tight, richly textured literary novel that contrasts the differing points of view of the main characters to startling effect. The passages that describe Amelia's harrowing journey through the afterlife have the feel of a beautifully-flowing lyric poem. This unique voice is made even more astonishing by the sudden juxtaposition with scenes of Tris and Holly in the physical world, struggling with issues of their own and oblivious to Amelia's suffering.
The imagery of broken objects that appears throughout the novel helps to develop a sense of surrealism around events that are not quite tragic - but not easily resolved, either. Fragile examines how our lives are shaped and to some extent constrained by our relationships with others - how we view ourselves within the framework of how others see us.
Ultimately, each of the "broken" characters in Fragile finds their own way to freedom - and wholeness - through what are apparently very tenuous and flawed interactions with the other characters, in the end simply by letting go of the frameworks of old feelings and beliefs that have served to define them.
Reviews
"Fragile is a beautifully-written novel... the writing is uniquely refreshing. After reading Fragile, I found myself feeling very contemplative. Readers will enjoy Fragile and will find meaning in it that applies to their own lives... Highly recommended."
--Paige Lovitt, Reader Views
"Katsaropoulos does a wonderful job of developing the characters and intertwining their stories. The tale he creates is intriguing and attention-grabbing. Unlike anything you have read before...!"
--Kam Aures, Rebeccareads.com
"I really admire this author, and the courage he exhibits. Shifting viewpoint character mid-sentence does make the reader feel that there is only one Mind in the universe, and that we are all connected at a deep level. When I finished this book, I didn't want to start another for a while, so as to have a while to 'digest' the many concepts it contained. That, to me, is the sign of an excellent novel."
--Global Prof, Amazon reviewer
"There is an element of higher meaning in this story that makes it fascinating to finish and to contemplate the experience of reading it... For lovers of experimental literature this book is tasty."
--Grady Harp, poet - War Songs, critic - Literary Aficionado, art historian - The Art of Man, Vitruvian Lens, and PoetsArtists, writer for art museum catalogues
"Mesmerizing and beautiful, a truly stunning book! Katsaropoulos' first novel sets the bar incredibly high... In what can only be described as a truly unique style, the author takes us from the thoughts of one character directly into the next: an ongoing narrative of a brief portion of these three lives, to a moment of intersection so hauntingly profound and exquisite, it will leave the reader astounded and deeply moved."
"With a debut such as this, I see a wonderfully promising future for this author. A story and characters you will never forget, with a message as old and true as time itself. I have already read this twice, and marveled at it even more the second reading. I cannot recommend this book highly enough! A true classic for the ages."
--Lauri Crumley Coates, Vine Voice
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