The novel alternates chapters between Caddie in 1980s Brisbane and Rachel, an acquaintance of Inga’s, in 1930s New York. But where will it all lead? And should the mystery of Inga and her work be brought out into the light? She pursues the lead she thinks was presented by the stranger, and before long has revived interests and relationships that she thought she’d long laid to rest. She attends an exhibition of the fragments where she meets a mysterious person who seems to know more about them than anyone alive should, and suddenly Caddie finds purpose and direction like she hasn’t known since her father died and her academic career vanished following a rancid love-affair. In 1980s Brisbane, Caddie Walker is treading water with her life, working in a bookstore and not doing much else, despite being on track to a bright career in academia only a few years earlier. A mysterious fire claimed every copy of her second novel, as well as Inga herself and her publisher, Charles Cleborn, and the world has been obsessed with the missing novel, and what really happened to cause the fire, ever since. The fragments are seven charred pieces of text, representing the only surviving remains of a much-anticipated second novel from celebrated novelist Inga Karlson, an Austrian-born American author whose debut work, All Has an End, shot her to literary fame in the 1930s. The Fragments by Toni Jordan is a brilliant novel incorporating themes of coming of age, taking charge of one’s destiny, and learning to love again, all centred around a fictional historical literary mystery. She lives in Melbourne.This review was first published on the Underground Writers website Toni’s latest book is the literary mystery The Fragments. Our Tiny, Useless Hearts was shortlisted for the Voss Literary Prize 2017 and longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award 2018. Fall Girl was published internationally and has been optioned for film, and Nine Days was awarded Best Fiction at the Indie Awards, was shortlisted for the ABIA Best General Fiction award and was named in Kirkus Review’s top 10 Historical Novels of 2013. The international bestseller Addition was a Richard and Judy Bookclub pick and was long-listed for the Miles Franklin Literary Award. Toni Jordan is the author of five novels. Tickets: $15 (includes a complimentary glass of house wine or juice) BOOK NOW → Meet the author Toni Jordan in conversation with George Dunford. The Fragments is a superbly crafted and captivating literary mystery about a lost book and a secret love.
Jolted her from her sleepy, no-worries life in torpid 1980s Brisbane she is driven to investigate: to find the clues that will unlock the greatest literary mystery of the twentieth century.
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