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Fracture
Fracture | Andrés Neuman
7 posts | 1 read | 6 to read
Critically acclaimed, prize-winning author Andrés Neuman's Fracture is an ambitious literary novel set against Japan's 2011 nuclear accident in a cross-cultural story about how every society remembers and forgets its catastrophes. Mr. Yoshie Watanabe, a former electronics company executive and a survivor of the atomic bomb, has always lived like a fugitive from his own memories. He's spent decades traveling the world, making a life in different languages, only to find himself home again, living in Tokyo in his old age. On the afternoon of March 11, 2011, Watanabe, like millions of others, is stunned by powerful tremors. A massive earthquake has struck to the north, triggering the Fukushima nuclear disaster--and a stirring of the collective past. As the catastrophe unfolds, Watanabe's mind, too, undergoes a tectonic shift. With his native land yet again under nuclear threat, he braces himself to make the most surprising decision of his nomadic life. Meanwhile, four women who have known him intimately at various points in time narrate their stories to a strangely obsessive Argentinian journalist. Their memories, colored by their respective cultures and describing different ways of loving, trace sociopolitical maps of Paris, New York, Buenos Aires, and Madrid over the course of the twentieth century. The result is a metalingual, border-defying constellation of fractures in life and nature--proof that nothing happens in only one place, that every human event reverberates to the ends of the earth. With unwavering empathy and bittersweet humor, and facing some of the most urgent environmental concerns of our time, Andrés Neuman's Fracture is a powerful novel about the resilience of humankind, and the beauty that can emerge from broken things.
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ulyssesartmiller
Fracture | Andrés Neuman
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The complex relationship between anxiety and peace is a running thread in this novel. It explores what triggers these emotions, particularly regarding memory: the different ways people relate to their memories, and identify with them...or not. Neuman continues to be one of my favorite authors.

Palimpsest Nice review. I absolutely loved Traveller of the Century when I read it a few years back. It has so many elements. Looking forward to this one. 4y
ulyssesartmiller @Palimpsest YES. I own few books, but TotC is one of them! 4y
65 likes2 comments
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ulyssesartmiller
Fracture | Andrés Neuman
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Happily planning to spend my “Friday†reading this book. Roughly 150 pages left. goal is to finish it and then take a stab at using @Andrew65 ‘s #24b4Monday challenge to (hopefully) wrap up The Federalist Papers to clear the way for reading #BTBA2020 in June and starting #BigBookSummerReading for...some TBA chunkster. 😅 What do you all have planned?

Andrew65 Good luck, great to have you with us. 😊👠I‘m still trying to decide what I will be reading. 4y
51 likes1 comment
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ulyssesartmiller
Fracture | Andrés Neuman
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I mean, are we talking Banksy, or basic tags?

CarolynM 😂 4y
50 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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ulyssesartmiller
Fracture | Andrés Neuman
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The protagonist is determined to think about anything other than the elephant in the room. Absolutely anything. Including pets, which have not once been mentioned previously in this book. 🙄

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ulyssesartmiller
Fracture | Andrés Neuman
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I understand that labels create awareness, and that awareness is oftentimes in short supply. But what I love about literature (vs. mainstream fiction) is that labels are usually absent, which allows truths and perspectives to be FELT. Don‘t tell me my POV character is neurodiverse. That creates a sense of him being “other†and puts him at a safe emotional distance. Let me grasp who he is without labels, so I can instead see how much we are alike.

Severnmeadows A beautiful paragraph, pondering on beauty and impermanence. I really want to read the book. 4y
ulyssesartmiller @Severnmeadows you should. Such musings are a staple of Neuman‘s writing. 4y
Reggie Nice post! 4y
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ulyssesartmiller
Fracture | Andrés Neuman
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“The afternoon appears calm, and yet time is waiting to pounce.“ @ShyBookOwl #FirstLineFridays
By the way, is there some account or calendar I can watch that lists all the upcoming buddy reads and reading challenges on Litsy? I just found out that regardless of government decisions, I'm going to continue to be out of work for at least another month...which leaves plenty of time for reading.

MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm That‘s a good question! I‘ve just been typing in hashtags like “#litsygames†in the search and perusing what comes up, but if there‘s a list somewhere, that would be great! I‘ll be spying on this post to see if anyone has a solution. 😅😜 4y
ulyssesartmiller @Bookwyrm42 if a solid answer comes in, I‘ll tag you in a comment! 4y
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shortsarahrose @LitsyHappenings is a good one to follow for, well, what‘s happening on Litsy 4y
shortsarahrose Though it looks like they haven‘t posted in several months... 4y
MittenGirlPeach I looked for the same thing when I joined in March, but I really haven‘t found it. The Litsyhappenings hasn‘t been updated recently. Once I followed enough people I just nosed around their feeds to see what they were playing/hosting and have gone from there. The #readyoursign is the first big themed readathon for me. I know there are some that have been going on all year. Next year! 😉🧡 4y
Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick @ulyssesartmiller @Bookwyrm42 Are you looking for particular type of challenge or game? Simple tags are #readathon and #buddyread but most have more specific names. A few off my head are #bookspin which starts up a new month on June 2. #BOTMBuddyRead starts a new book in June. There's #readwithmrbook #authoramonth and some getting to know you games & daily picture/quote challenges like #ManicMonday #WondrousWednesday 4y
ulyssesartmiller @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick this is great, thank you! I couldn‘t find what I wanted so I just made up my own buddy read for June haha. But these hashtags will now be a regular search for me! 4y
Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick @ulyssesartmiller @Bookwyrm42 Yay! I'm so glad that helped. Starting your own is a great way to make new friends. Also, five days ago user @monalyisha asked users for their top 5 Littens to follow. These are active accounts who usually lead some sort of recurring events, so if you're looking for more people to follow, those are a great start. Click the profiles, look at what they post, and if you're interested, give them a follow! 4y
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ulyssesartmiller
Fracture | Andrés Neuman
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Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone! And happy Friday! This just came in today from indiebound.org — so stoked to have the Memorial Day weekend to read it!

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