This month my book club is reading FRACTURE by Megan Miranda.
With elements of fantasy blended with science, Miranda’s debut novel is full of suspense and beautiful writing. The story focuses on Delaney Maxwell and what happens after she falls through the ice on Falcon Lake. After eleven minutes under the water, Delaney should have died. But she didn’t. And nothing is the same after the accident.
Filled with evocative scenes from Delaney’s small Maine town, FRACTURE is narrated by Delaney in the first person. As Delaney tries to take a pragmatic approach to understand who she is after those eleven minutes in the water, she weaves a story that is both haunting and surprisingly authentic.
I run an online book club so in addition to choosing a book I enjoyed, it’s important to find one that has a lot of things I want to talk about. Because my club doesn’t meet in real life, or even in a live chat, I need to have discussion questions set up ahead of time in lieu of letting the mood of the club steer the direction of the discussion.
As soon as I read FRACTURE I knew it would be a great book club choice. At 272 pages (hardcover) it’s a short read that I knew everyone would be able to manage before it’s time to move onto our next book. A bit of a supernatural subplot combined with scientific details about Delaney’s recovery also confirmed that the book would appeal to everyone whether their preference veered toward realistic fiction or fantasy. Having the author agree to answer some of my questions in an interview confirmed that FRACTURE would have to be a book club selection. You can read the interview here.
Speaking more personally, I particularly appreciated how Miranda handled the aftermath of Delaney’s accident. In many cases it is easy to think that the person who has the accident is the only one directly involved. FRACTURE expertly handles an already difficult topic and illustrates that an accident—any kind of accident—has far-reaching consequences for both the person immediately involved as well as all of their friends and family.
My online book club will be reading FRACTURE for the remainder of March through April 30 if you want to join the discussion at http://missprint.wikispaces.com. If not, maybe you’ll consider it as the next title for your own book club.
