Fragile Beasts: A Novel [Hardcover]

Tawni O'Dell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 23, 2010

When their hard-drinking, but loving, father dies in a car accident, teenage brothers Kyle and Klint Hayes face a bleak prospect: leaving their Pennsylvania hometown for an uncertain life in Arizona with the mother who ran out on them years ago. But in a strange twist of fate, their town’s matriarch, an eccentric, wealthy old woman whose family once owned the county coal mines, hears the boys’ story. Candace Jack doesn’t have an ounce of maternal instinct, yet for reasons she does not even understand herself, she is compelled to offer them a home.

Suddenly, the two boys go from living in a small, run-down house on a gravel road to a stately mansion filled with sumptuous furnishings and beautiful artwork—artwork that’s predominantly centered, oddly, on bullfighting. And then there’s Miss Jack’s real-life bull: Ventisco—a regal, hulking, jet-black beast who roams the land she owns with fiery impudence.

Kyle adjusts more easily to the transition. A budding artist, he finds a kindred spirit in Miss Jack. But local baseball hero Klint refuses to warm up to his new benefactress and instead throws himself into his game with a fierceness that troubles his little brother. Klint is not just grieving his father’s death; he’s carrying a terrible secret that he has never revealed to anyone. Unbeknownst to the world, Candace Jack has a secret too—a tragic, passionate past in Spain that the boys’ presence threatens to reveal as she finds herself caring more for them than she ever believed possible.

From the muted, bruised hills of Pennsylvania coal country to the colorful, flamboyant bull rings of southern Spain, Tawni O’Dell takes us on a riveting journey not only between two completely different lands, but also between seemingly incompatible souls, casting us under her narrative spell in which characters and places are rendered with fragile tenderness.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In her fourth outing, novelist O'Dell returns to Pennsylvania coal country for more dysfunctional family drama. When teenage brothers Klint and Kyle, having already been abandoned by their mother, are left orphaned by the death of their father, they're unexpectedly taken in by an elderly, filthy rich recluse named Candace Jack, known for her family's mining company, J&P Coal. Taking in the two working-class kids, Candace is reminded of her own emotional wounds (a heart long-broken by the violent death of her bullfighter fiancé), and the damaged trio grope their way toward healing amid heated cultural and generational clashes. Under Candace's roof, likable and inquisitive Kyle begins to develop artistic skills, while sullen baseball prodigy Klint immerses himself even further in sports. When Kyle and Klint's cold-hearted mom appears, looking to get at Candace's money, a series of near-tragic events and terrible revelations ensue. O'Dell can overdo the sentiment, but she's a pro at capturing dialogue, and some characters' wisecracks are laugh-out-loud funny. Though predictable, this gritty novel is a memorable read. (Mar.)
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From Booklist

Their father was a notorious drunk; their mother, a self-absorbed shrew who callously abandoned them for life with another man. After their father is killed in a senseless accident, teenage brothers Klint and Kyle Hayes face being returned to their mother’s custody against their will. For Klint, the move to Arizona would mean sacrificing his attention-getting baseball career at the height of the college and pro-scouting season. For sensitive and artistic Kyle, holding onto the only home he has ever known is essential to making sure his brother achieves the success necessary to free them both from the oppression of their small, western Pennsylvania mining town. Salvation comes in the unlikely form of Candace Jack, a wealthy and reclusive elderly woman who is persuaded to give the boys a home, and herself a second chance to feel love again. In this tough and tender tale, O’Dell’s triumphant portrait of loss and rejection, sanctuary and redemption, shines with poignancy, dignity, and transcendent joy. --Carol Haggas

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Crown; Large Print edition (March 23, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307351688
• ISBN-13: 978-0307351685
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.4 x 9.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #325,701 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Waiting For The World To Discover O'Dell, April 11, 2010

By 

C. Lewis - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fragile Beasts: A Novel (Hardcover)

I'll admit: sometimes I am a little arrogant about finding authors who shine well before the general public does. When the author finally receives the accolades they deserve, I sit back, chest puffed up a bit, and think " Ah, I knew you when"..
I do not write reviews, I have only written 2 before this. One for Dennis Lehane's "Any Given Day" and Richard Russo's " Bridge of Sighs" I only write them when I feel I have to. I have to now.
As all of O'Dell's previous works, this is just a remarkable story. You can read the synopsis of Fragile Beasts on other reviews. I am not overly comfortable describing novels "Innards" to other folks. I just want people to read Tawni O'Dell.

I purchased, and read Back Roads well before Oprah did. I knew then that this writer was special. It is years later, and I still remember the novel vividly. Her second novel, Coal Run, while quieter than Back Roads was just so lovely. I don't know what it is about O'Dell that captures me so. I appreciate and demand good writing, and she delivers beautiful prose in all of her work. She is clever and raw, and a masterful storyteller. Her third outing, Sister Mine, was near perfection. O'Dell had it all in that book. Mother love, romantic love, sibling...love, a mystery, a yummy coalminer and plenty of humor.

She manages, in her last effort, to bring levity in just when she needs to. She is so intuitive on how deep to go, before sprinkling some comedic touches that shine. Fragile Beasts, for me, is my favorite novels of hers to date. It has something for everyone. I savored this book. I inhaled it. I fell in love with a Matador, a pair of adolescent boys, an aging wealthy matriarch, and a bull. I really haven't found an author in the last decade or so who moves me and pleases me on every level in my "world of books" than Tawni O'Dell.

I envy all of you readers who get to find her. She is dazzling.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very worthwhile read, March 27, 2010

By 

WriterMuse - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Fragile Beasts: A Novel (Hardcover)

I had not intended to read this book in one day, but I couldn't stop myself. Once again, Tawni O'Dell has created wonderfully rich, complicated characters in whom I felt deeply emotionally invested by the time I had finished the first few chapters. As in her previous novels, she captures the culture of Western PA (where I grew up) so exactly, and her portrayal of the contrasts between the working class and the affluent are spot on and often hilarious. In Fragile Beasts, O'Dell has expanded the cultural and geographic horizons of her story and this novel is all the richer for it. I was delighted to find myself immersed in the beautiful language and culture of Spain (particularly the bull fighting traditions) as seen through the eyes and hearts of her characters, Candace Jack (a native of PA) and the transplanted Spaniard, Luis. She explores the cultural contrasts between Spain and the U.S. with great clarity and insight and these add even more fascinating layers to her well-developed characters.

In her story telling, O'Dell often makes insightful commentary on social inequalities and injustices. Her heroes and heroines are often deeply wounded, imperfect people who are struggling to overcome trauma and loss and are not exactly people whose lives you might want to experience. This isn't light reading and she is not afraid to the take her readers on a ride of emotional extremes where a character's dark side can leave you feeling downright queasy or outraged. But she also has a gift for illustrating that it's not what happens to you that matters, but what you choose to do with it, and although there are certainly some dark themes in this novel, there is also a great deal of warmth, humor and courage. I was alternately laughing out loud at times and reaching for the Kleenex at others.

Bursting into laughter while in the middle of a good cry is something I have experienced only a few times in my life and never has an author been able to take me to both of those emotional extremes at the same time, until now. This was a very rewarding read.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful, complex story full of heartache and triumph, March 29, 2010

By 

J. Prather (IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fragile Beasts: A Novel (Hardcover)

Fragile Beasts opens with the death of Candace Jack's true love. He is gored by a bull in the opening pages, and then throughout the book we are transported between Spain and the coal country of Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania we meet Kyle and Klint, two teenage boys who are adrift after having lost their father in a drunk driving accident. How these three meet and manage to find a way to help each other makes for an utterly compelling read. These are all damaged people and Ms. O'Dells touching portrayal of their struggles to come to grips with their pasts and their futures is excellent. She has created some truly memorable characters here, but Candace Jack rules the stage. She is a woman who is larger than life in her small town and it is only gradually that we discover that she has placed herself in a prison since her true loves death, and it is only upon the arrival of Klint and Kyle and her desire to help them escape the opressive environment of their town and their upbringing that she also sees an escape for herself.

The culture of Spain and the art of bullfighting play a huge role in this story and they add a welcome exotic element to the story. Ms. O'Dell does a wonderful job of conjuring the beauty of Spain, the drama of the bullfight ring and the terrible beauty of a Pennsylvania coal town. I truly hope this story finds its way to the big screen; it is truly epic in scope. She invokes such powerful images; I really felt I was there.

This is a great read filled with great characters, great scenery, and a fabulous, well paced plot. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of literary fiction. I am a fan of this author and her latest effort did not disappoint!