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Fractures: A Novel
A Thousand Acres and Empire Falls meet during the present hydrofracking controversy as a beleaguered patriarch must decide the fate of his land and children in this enveloping family dramaThe Joyner family sits atop prime Marcellus Shale. When landmen for the natural gas companies begin to lease property all around the family's hundred acres, the Joyners start to take notice. Undecided on whether or not to lease the family land, Frank Joyner must weigh his heirs' competing motivations. All of this culminates as a looming history of family tragedy resurfaces.A sprawling family novel, Fractures follows each Joyner as the controversial hydrofracking issue slowly exacerbates underlying passions and demons. With echoes of Jonathan Franzen's Freedom, Fractures takes its reader deep into the beating heart and hearth of a family divided"Lamar Herrin's Fractures is a brilliantly conceived and executed novel that illustrates how coping with familial dysfunctions can help us understand and deal with the more deadly dysfunctions of society. Here's one of my favorite writers at his finest." —Ron Hansen, author of The Assassination of Jesse James
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 12, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
November 13, 2013
What the frack?
I’m always pleased to welcome novels with an environmental conscience, and this one will be memorable for me if only because it was my first book read on my new Nook. In essence, it takes the concerns of Jonathan Franzen’s last two novels (The Corrections and Freedom) and puts them together – giving the story of a dysfunctional family facing environmental and ethical crises.
Architect Frank Joyner has been holding out against the fracking companies encroaching on his town, but when his son warns him that he may face “compulsory integration” before too long, he starts cultivating a relationship with a Texarkana derrick man who’s come to negotiate with local landowners.
“[T]he confrontation between a Normal Rockwell vision of the country and a heedless rush to energy exploitation was too good to pass up.”
Indeed, an issue like fracking makes for good headlines, and decent narrative drama. Herrin is not always as subtle as one might hope (one woman says of fracking: “It sounds like animals in pain!”), but he uses the metaphors of rock and foundations to good effect:
“his father had always seemed like bedrock America to him.”
“He thought of a man moving to shore up the world, to hold off collapse”
The imagery might be a little obvious, but I enjoyed the almost biblical weight Herrin lends to what’s happening here: “the strangely futile clamor of some elemental transgression.” While not as successful as Freedom or Richard Russo’s Empire Falls, to which Fractures has also been compared, it’s a solid (no pun intended) modern American story.
Architect Frank Joyner has been holding out against the fracking companies encroaching on his town, but when his son warns him that he may face “compulsory integration” before too long, he starts cultivating a relationship with a Texarkana derrick man who’s come to negotiate with local landowners.
“[T]he confrontation between a Normal Rockwell vision of the country and a heedless rush to energy exploitation was too good to pass up.”
Indeed, an issue like fracking makes for good headlines, and decent narrative drama. Herrin is not always as subtle as one might hope (one woman says of fracking: “It sounds like animals in pain!”), but he uses the metaphors of rock and foundations to good effect:
“his father had always seemed like bedrock America to him.”
“He thought of a man moving to shore up the world, to hold off collapse”
The imagery might be a little obvious, but I enjoyed the almost biblical weight Herrin lends to what’s happening here: “the strangely futile clamor of some elemental transgression.” While not as successful as Freedom or Richard Russo’s Empire Falls, to which Fractures has also been compared, it’s a solid (no pun intended) modern American story.
May 22, 2014
This book is simply awesome. Such a depth of insight about this fractured, but still connected, family ... and reality of fracking as it is experienced by the people (and land) impacted. It seems a very fair treatment, showing the very tough decisions, and the people who do the work, and why.
Multiple points of view frame the events. You may not like all the characters, but you will see why they think the way they do, and how they act to hold their worlds together.
I'm still thinking about it.
Multiple points of view frame the events. You may not like all the characters, but you will see why they think the way they do, and how they act to hold their worlds together.
I'm still thinking about it.
November 20, 2013
Lamar Herrin’s new novel, “Fractures,” revolves around a technique for extracting natural gas from rock, which sounds about as interesting as extracting natural gas from rock, but it’s surprisingly moving. Here’s an environmental novel that does just what you want it to do: Frame an important contemporary debate in profoundly human terms.
Hydraulic fracturing — commonly known as “fracking” — involves drilling deep into the earth and then injecting liquid and sand under tremendous pressure to create small fissures that allow gas and oil to flow up the well. Something like that pressure is now being brought to bear on our politicians: Energy companies claim that fracking is an economical way to answer our thirst for cheap fuel; environmentalists argue that it’ll poison us for generations.
A novel is no place to adjudicate that scientific debate, but Herrin gives us family members forced to make the choice for themselves, and their struggle to reconcile economic demands with personal ideals transcends the shrill tone of so many environmental arguments. The story opens in central New York in a rural town where most of the farmers have already leased their land to a gas company. Frank Joyner, a 60-year-old architect, is a prominent hold-out and public critic of the derricks that have arisen all over the county. Although his neighbors may be irked, his 11-year-old grandson, filled with the righteousness of youth, considers him a hero for resisting the lucrative deal.
As is so often the case, it’s money that complicates this family situation. Frank inherited his 100-acre farm under a will that requires him to share the profits of the land with his siblings and children — and suddenly those profits could be very large, indeed. Frank’s lawyer warns him, “If you willfully neglect the value of the land by not signing a lease, you are willfully reducing its benefits,” giving a distant relative grounds to sue.
Herrin quickly pushes us through a lot of industrial information and introduces a number of family members, but that allows us to fully enjoy the story’s central event: a large Thanksgiving gathering during which relatives discuss the pros and cons of drilling on Frank’s farm. The scene is a fantastic orchestration of competing interests with all the subtly disguised hurts, jealousies and affections heaped on the table like so many dishes of turkey, cranberry sauce and sweet potato. Herrin is unusually good at adopting various points of view and allowing us to feel these loved ones as they try to influence Frank, while noting, politely, that the decision is his alone, of course.
“It’s going to happen whether we like it or not,” his sister tells him, “so we might as well share in the benefits. . . . Wisconsin has its cheese, Maine its lobsters, and we have our gas. We’re all pitching in.” His ex-wife, meanwhile, claims she doesn’t want the money. “All she wanted was for her husband — ex-husband! — not to embarrass them all.” And his younger son, Mickey, tells Frank to resist the gas money and “commit the symbolic act.”
How we should act is the real heart of this brooding novel, which moves beyond its timely environmental debate to consider more existential questions with great discernment. That’s particularly true of Mickey, a popular high school teacher who skates along with poses and ironical quips, burdened by too much feeling, too much intelligence and not enough discipline.
“Fractures” doesn’t overwork the metaphor implicit in its title, but clearly these characters are drilling deep into their lives, trying to find some bedrock they can depend on. Frank’s grandfather and great-grandfather committed suicide, and he made a halfhearted attempt in his 20s that still haunts him. Indeed, the novel opens with the most weirdly gorgeous act of self-harm I’ve ever read. A lifetime of restoring old buildings and making worn-out spaces useful again has given Frank a sense of the value of surviving. But can his children engineer that kind of purpose?
If “Fractures” has a flaw, it’s a tendency toward grandiosity that sometimes spoils the emotional authenticity of Herrin’s narration. The touches of antique diction — “He had plighted his troth” — often carry a note of irony that makes them work. But other sections are pumped full of meaning under high pressure. In the face of a devastating tragedy, for instance, one of the Joyners thinks, “All advances in civilization . . . had messy beginnings, some of them barbaric. Lewis and Clark themselves had left a trail of blood and butchered carcasses behind them. Of course, they’d had manifest destiny on their side, while the gas drillers had energy independence and a network of pipelines in handsomely cleared corridors across the land. At every turn a wise man took a long view.” That sounds a lot more like an Author trying to erect a Big Point than a real person mourning the death of a loved one.
But “Fractures” is uncommonly thoughtful about many issues, starting, of course, with the externalities of our energy needs and the costs of American ambition. At 73, Herrin also brings tender wisdom to his observations about the responsibilities of parenting, the duties of real manhood and the possibilities of romance. The novel offers a rare blend of candor and eroticism that doesn’t make you wince with embarrassment for the author. And Herrin is astute about the nature of love for older people, too. Frank’s relationship with a widow in town is one of the story’s many lovely moments. “She felt for him deeply,” Herrin writes, “as she knew he felt for her, but there was a limit to what they could do for each other. She might have been stationed on one side of a gorge, he on the other. They could make reassuring signals to each other. On good days they could even read the expressions on each other’s face. Some days shouting didn’t make it across, but on others, days of a blessed calm, a whisper did.”
Plenty of readers will enjoy Herrin’s book for its lustrous writing and poignant insight into the challenge of building a life worth living. But if you also want a novel that addresses a pressing political and environmental issue, “Fractures” is worth exploring.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/enterta...
Hydraulic fracturing — commonly known as “fracking” — involves drilling deep into the earth and then injecting liquid and sand under tremendous pressure to create small fissures that allow gas and oil to flow up the well. Something like that pressure is now being brought to bear on our politicians: Energy companies claim that fracking is an economical way to answer our thirst for cheap fuel; environmentalists argue that it’ll poison us for generations.
A novel is no place to adjudicate that scientific debate, but Herrin gives us family members forced to make the choice for themselves, and their struggle to reconcile economic demands with personal ideals transcends the shrill tone of so many environmental arguments. The story opens in central New York in a rural town where most of the farmers have already leased their land to a gas company. Frank Joyner, a 60-year-old architect, is a prominent hold-out and public critic of the derricks that have arisen all over the county. Although his neighbors may be irked, his 11-year-old grandson, filled with the righteousness of youth, considers him a hero for resisting the lucrative deal.
As is so often the case, it’s money that complicates this family situation. Frank inherited his 100-acre farm under a will that requires him to share the profits of the land with his siblings and children — and suddenly those profits could be very large, indeed. Frank’s lawyer warns him, “If you willfully neglect the value of the land by not signing a lease, you are willfully reducing its benefits,” giving a distant relative grounds to sue.
Herrin quickly pushes us through a lot of industrial information and introduces a number of family members, but that allows us to fully enjoy the story’s central event: a large Thanksgiving gathering during which relatives discuss the pros and cons of drilling on Frank’s farm. The scene is a fantastic orchestration of competing interests with all the subtly disguised hurts, jealousies and affections heaped on the table like so many dishes of turkey, cranberry sauce and sweet potato. Herrin is unusually good at adopting various points of view and allowing us to feel these loved ones as they try to influence Frank, while noting, politely, that the decision is his alone, of course.
“It’s going to happen whether we like it or not,” his sister tells him, “so we might as well share in the benefits. . . . Wisconsin has its cheese, Maine its lobsters, and we have our gas. We’re all pitching in.” His ex-wife, meanwhile, claims she doesn’t want the money. “All she wanted was for her husband — ex-husband! — not to embarrass them all.” And his younger son, Mickey, tells Frank to resist the gas money and “commit the symbolic act.”
How we should act is the real heart of this brooding novel, which moves beyond its timely environmental debate to consider more existential questions with great discernment. That’s particularly true of Mickey, a popular high school teacher who skates along with poses and ironical quips, burdened by too much feeling, too much intelligence and not enough discipline.
“Fractures” doesn’t overwork the metaphor implicit in its title, but clearly these characters are drilling deep into their lives, trying to find some bedrock they can depend on. Frank’s grandfather and great-grandfather committed suicide, and he made a halfhearted attempt in his 20s that still haunts him. Indeed, the novel opens with the most weirdly gorgeous act of self-harm I’ve ever read. A lifetime of restoring old buildings and making worn-out spaces useful again has given Frank a sense of the value of surviving. But can his children engineer that kind of purpose?
If “Fractures” has a flaw, it’s a tendency toward grandiosity that sometimes spoils the emotional authenticity of Herrin’s narration. The touches of antique diction — “He had plighted his troth” — often carry a note of irony that makes them work. But other sections are pumped full of meaning under high pressure. In the face of a devastating tragedy, for instance, one of the Joyners thinks, “All advances in civilization . . . had messy beginnings, some of them barbaric. Lewis and Clark themselves had left a trail of blood and butchered carcasses behind them. Of course, they’d had manifest destiny on their side, while the gas drillers had energy independence and a network of pipelines in handsomely cleared corridors across the land. At every turn a wise man took a long view.” That sounds a lot more like an Author trying to erect a Big Point than a real person mourning the death of a loved one.
But “Fractures” is uncommonly thoughtful about many issues, starting, of course, with the externalities of our energy needs and the costs of American ambition. At 73, Herrin also brings tender wisdom to his observations about the responsibilities of parenting, the duties of real manhood and the possibilities of romance. The novel offers a rare blend of candor and eroticism that doesn’t make you wince with embarrassment for the author. And Herrin is astute about the nature of love for older people, too. Frank’s relationship with a widow in town is one of the story’s many lovely moments. “She felt for him deeply,” Herrin writes, “as she knew he felt for her, but there was a limit to what they could do for each other. She might have been stationed on one side of a gorge, he on the other. They could make reassuring signals to each other. On good days they could even read the expressions on each other’s face. Some days shouting didn’t make it across, but on others, days of a blessed calm, a whisper did.”
Plenty of readers will enjoy Herrin’s book for its lustrous writing and poignant insight into the challenge of building a life worth living. But if you also want a novel that addresses a pressing political and environmental issue, “Fractures” is worth exploring.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/enterta...
April 18, 2014
I thought this was a great book, both in teaching me about an industry I know nothing about and framing the information within the lives of the Joyner family. Worth the effort.
October 4, 2023
This is probably the first time i have ever written "will not read this author again" on this site. I read the book because I did not know anything about drilling or more commonly known as "fracing." The story did revolve around signing away rights to land for drilling but revolved more around a dysfunctional family. I realize the world is full of dysfunctional families and/or individuals but Mr. Herrin has a special way of making said dysfunctional family, absolutely depressing. Additionally, I found his style somewhat lacking in direction. He starts new chapters with pronouns on the first page so it takes you to at least the second page to figure out who he is talking about. The literary world and/or academia may think Mr. Herrin is talented, but I am not sure about his appeal to the average retiree.
June 6, 2018
Sometimes I found Herrin's prose a little difficult to follow. But, I thought his exploration of the dynamics of fracking interesting, engaging, and thought provoking. It's a clear reminder that nothing is ever simple. Frank Joyner, who doesn't want to allow gas drilling on his family property is beset from all sides -- those who think he should maximize the profit for his family and support energy self-sufficiency for his country, making him a patriot and those who think it is an abuse of the land and are concerned with the effects caused by it. The title Fractures doesn't just refer to hydrofracking but also the fractures within families. The fractures in the Joyner family are played out against the backdrop of the fracking debate. Definitely worth a read.
December 26, 2021
Three stars because the writing was strong, but the book somewhat missed the mark and I found myself bored. It was mostly the content that was slow, but the pacing dragged. Additionally it felt like most of the characters didn’t fully grow. I was satisfied with the ending though. Overall, it feels more like a book that my parents and grandparents would enjoy.
July 23, 2024
not what I was expecting. hard to finish
October 31, 2013
"Fractures" by Lamar Herrin which I won from Goodreads Giveaways centres around the Joyner family whose land sits atop the Marcellus Shale; like gold to avaricious gas drillers who compete for drilling rights in the area. The story is not political in nature although it does expose some issues about the hydrofracking controversy, rather it revolves around Frank Joyner's decision whether or not to lease the land and the motivations of family members who try to sway his choice. Burdened already with a dark family legacy, the story looks at how a dysfunctional family handles the tension of competing opinions and emotions, and how tragedy could end the quarrel.
The language of the characters is simple and straightforward as a plot unfolds that takes the reader on an emotional roller-coaster, their problems eroding the bond of family as they argue about trading the beauty and peace of the farm for money. It's fascinating to watch as money and pragmatism outweigh any destructive implications of gas drilling in the family's assessment.
All of the characters suffer from personality flaws with the exception of young Danny who seems to have a level of maturity beyond that of his mother and Uncle Mickey. He wisely learns to counterbalance his negativity about gas drilling through his grandfather 's shrewd insights and Kenny's experience.
There is a marked contrast between the characters, both the women and the men and how they deal with the troubling events in their lives. Frank, the patriarch of the family is influenced by a generous, considerate nature succumbing to the stronger will of his sisters. He's troubled by his ineffectiveness in handling his family and that dark vulnerability that he identifies with the scar on his wrist. Family-oriented Gerald the oldest of Frank's two sons has a stronger disposition but he's distanced himself from the instability of his family while Mickey, the youngest is troubled, indecisive and tends to flee from responsibility, personally and professionally. Even Jennifer and Helen compare; one with low self-esteem identified by her innate sexuality who's adverse to commitment, and the other level-headed, loving and wise.
The story is well-written and is a gritty, no-nonsense look at a dysfunctional family struggling with a decision that will further impact their lives set amid a volatile social controversy. The ending although not surprising is tragic and although there is a sense of futility there is hope that the human spirit in this family will eventually triumph. I enjoyed the novel.
The language of the characters is simple and straightforward as a plot unfolds that takes the reader on an emotional roller-coaster, their problems eroding the bond of family as they argue about trading the beauty and peace of the farm for money. It's fascinating to watch as money and pragmatism outweigh any destructive implications of gas drilling in the family's assessment.
All of the characters suffer from personality flaws with the exception of young Danny who seems to have a level of maturity beyond that of his mother and Uncle Mickey. He wisely learns to counterbalance his negativity about gas drilling through his grandfather 's shrewd insights and Kenny's experience.
There is a marked contrast between the characters, both the women and the men and how they deal with the troubling events in their lives. Frank, the patriarch of the family is influenced by a generous, considerate nature succumbing to the stronger will of his sisters. He's troubled by his ineffectiveness in handling his family and that dark vulnerability that he identifies with the scar on his wrist. Family-oriented Gerald the oldest of Frank's two sons has a stronger disposition but he's distanced himself from the instability of his family while Mickey, the youngest is troubled, indecisive and tends to flee from responsibility, personally and professionally. Even Jennifer and Helen compare; one with low self-esteem identified by her innate sexuality who's adverse to commitment, and the other level-headed, loving and wise.
The story is well-written and is a gritty, no-nonsense look at a dysfunctional family struggling with a decision that will further impact their lives set amid a volatile social controversy. The ending although not surprising is tragic and although there is a sense of futility there is hope that the human spirit in this family will eventually triumph. I enjoyed the novel.
January 21, 2014
Fractures started out with so much potential but never came into fruition. We begin with the main character Frank talking about suicide running in his family and how he had struggled with it. Next we are given a tragedy of a little boy being hit by a large auto machine, while the boy lives the company of said vehicle tries to push the incident under the rug. Hm, that's interesting and dusting is probably more common than thought. Anyway, I felt these subjects were so subtlety recognized that I forgot they had been stated.
Understanding that the novel was entitled Fractures and is about fraking, but at times I felt it was rammed down my throat. I get it, fraking is bad. It almost felt like propaganda and was reading a leaflet rather than a novel.
When we move towards the close of the book Timmy reemerges but it came so out of the blue that it took me a moment to realize it was the little boy who was hit on his bike and turned the page without much reflection.
As I was reminded of Timmy, The suicidal trait in the Joyner line does come back into play and I thought perked up the plot (a weird thing to say about suicide I know) but by that point I was almost finished and just wanted to put the whole thing to rest.
The Joyner family did not bring me joy. They were actually a wreak and like the title of this novel -- fractured. Yes we all have our faults and I will not judge them for it, but I felt they lacked personality and didn't engagement me, nor did the plot for similar reasons.
Overall, Lamar Herrin had an interesting summary but unfortunately that's about it. Fractures had the potential to "go somewhere" but sadly missed the mark.
I received a copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Understanding that the novel was entitled Fractures and is about fraking, but at times I felt it was rammed down my throat. I get it, fraking is bad. It almost felt like propaganda and was reading a leaflet rather than a novel.
When we move towards the close of the book Timmy reemerges but it came so out of the blue that it took me a moment to realize it was the little boy who was hit on his bike and turned the page without much reflection.
As I was reminded of Timmy, The suicidal trait in the Joyner line does come back into play and I thought perked up the plot (a weird thing to say about suicide I know) but by that point I was almost finished and just wanted to put the whole thing to rest.
The Joyner family did not bring me joy. They were actually a wreak and like the title of this novel -- fractured. Yes we all have our faults and I will not judge them for it, but I felt they lacked personality and didn't engagement me, nor did the plot for similar reasons.
Overall, Lamar Herrin had an interesting summary but unfortunately that's about it. Fractures had the potential to "go somewhere" but sadly missed the mark.
I received a copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
September 20, 2015
Not every novel you read is great. Some novels are good and some are okay. This novel was a great read. Characters so well drawn that their actions and storyline are believable. Not once did I shake my head and think 'that made no sense' which unfortunately does happen sometimes but not this time.
The leasing of family property to a large natural gas company for hydrofracking (the process they use to drill for natural gas) is a part of this story but it's really the story of a family. The decision is up to the head of the family, Frank Joyner, who has been left the land by his parents with a proviso from his mother to share the benefits with the family. He wonders if leasing is the right thing to do at a time when there is a grassroots movement to stop the drilling because of the chemicals used in the process or is it better for the family to lease and share out the money with all of them.
His family has a dark history and his own children over the years have drifted in and out of his life. He and his wife divorced long ago. His daughter finally returned and settled with her son, who now lives with Frank, while she lives in town. His eldest son lives with his wife and two girls in California and his youngest son moves from job to job and state to state. The decision is his to make but can he make the right decision that won't drive his family further away then they already are.
I really enjoyed reading this very well written novel.
This book was won in a FirstReads giveaway.
The leasing of family property to a large natural gas company for hydrofracking (the process they use to drill for natural gas) is a part of this story but it's really the story of a family. The decision is up to the head of the family, Frank Joyner, who has been left the land by his parents with a proviso from his mother to share the benefits with the family. He wonders if leasing is the right thing to do at a time when there is a grassroots movement to stop the drilling because of the chemicals used in the process or is it better for the family to lease and share out the money with all of them.
His family has a dark history and his own children over the years have drifted in and out of his life. He and his wife divorced long ago. His daughter finally returned and settled with her son, who now lives with Frank, while she lives in town. His eldest son lives with his wife and two girls in California and his youngest son moves from job to job and state to state. The decision is his to make but can he make the right decision that won't drive his family further away then they already are.
I really enjoyed reading this very well written novel.
This book was won in a FirstReads giveaway.
January 31, 2014
Lamar Herrin has written a wonderful story of family with Frank Joyner as the father. He is an architect who loves to turn dilapidated buildings into useable structures like his old high school into apartments and shops. He is looking at a problem that may tear his family apart. His farm lies atop the Marcellus Shale that holds huge quantities of natural gas. Neighbors have already been contracted about selling their rights and Frank realizes he must make a decision. He has three children: The eldest Gerald, highly successful and living in California; his daughter Jen whose son is living with Frank; and Mickey, the wayward high school teacher. Gerald maintains impartial while Jen and Mickey think he should refuse to sell out.
Kenny who works for the Transatlantic Drilling Company befriends Frank and promises the company will adhere to Frank's instructions about the land while Wilson Michaels is a New York attorney divorced from Jen who wants in on the deal.
At Thanksgiving the family return to the farm to celebrate the season and discuss the offer to drill on the farm. Mickey is the most adamant against it and cites facts about the hydrofracking process that employs harmful chemicals and has ruined people's wells.
Lamar is divorced from the children's mother and seeing Helen who puts no pressure on him, but lets make the decision on his own. Larmar loves his farm and walks over it every morning. What choice will he make to make the family happy?
Kenny who works for the Transatlantic Drilling Company befriends Frank and promises the company will adhere to Frank's instructions about the land while Wilson Michaels is a New York attorney divorced from Jen who wants in on the deal.
At Thanksgiving the family return to the farm to celebrate the season and discuss the offer to drill on the farm. Mickey is the most adamant against it and cites facts about the hydrofracking process that employs harmful chemicals and has ruined people's wells.
Lamar is divorced from the children's mother and seeing Helen who puts no pressure on him, but lets make the decision on his own. Larmar loves his farm and walks over it every morning. What choice will he make to make the family happy?
February 15, 2014
I felt I should rate this read higher but I was so disappointed not to love it more that it really was just "okay." Diane Ackerman and Julie Orringer gave positive reviews so I thought to give it a chance and slogged through to the end, mostly to see how he worked it all out. I would say they book-blurbed simply because he wrote about fracking or knew him, not because they loved this book. They don't write like this, with the remove from their characters or at least not in their books i have read and loved. This felt very superficial, even though he was dealing with serious subjects; like I was watching his characters from behind a screen rather than live. His writing and descriptive patches were sometimes beautiful but I cared little about most of his characters. I never developed any strong pull toward any of them although I wanted to. It certainly had the degree of pathos and angst I prefer in my preferred reads and coupled with the topical Fracking subject, it should have been perfect for me.
But it was not, and I really wanted it to be so much more. That makes it so much more disappointing in the end.
But it was not, and I really wanted it to be so much more. That makes it so much more disappointing in the end.
January 26, 2016
Frank Joyner is a sixty year old man living on the ancestral farm land of his family. With him is his eleven year old grandson, a skateboard aficionado and the son of Franks promiscuous daughter who finds it difficult to care for her son and make her way in life. Frank is something of a naturalist and at first resists gas fracking companies that want to lease his land for drilling. Frank's family had a history of suicide and he himself attempted it at age twenty to help him decide if he had the desire to go on living. He became an architect specializing in re-purposing buildings. In addition to his daughter, Frank as a successful son living in California and another who seems to have a great deal of difficulty finding his way in life. Add to the mix an ex-wife and a very understanding girlfriend as well as sisters, in-laws, etc. all of whom seemingly intent on cashing in on the money that the gas company is willing to pay to lease their land. Bring on a land agent from Texas and Frank succumbs to pressure...There are some very gratifying chapters and at times the characters of this mostly dysfunctional family can be interesting, but I often found the story dragging.
November 26, 2013
Fractures by Lamar Herrin is a story about a family in the natural gas rich region of northern Appalachia that is becoming populated with fracking.
Family patriarch Frank Joyner is initially against letting his land be leased by gas companies, but finds himself more and more torn as warring opinions of his children, siblings, and even his grandson come into play.
Herrin does an excellent job fleshing out the motivations of each family member and how these affect Frank, who must also take into account the family history of his land. I appreciated the plotline and the tie in of various members of the family but felt that some characters were superfluous to the storytelling. Daughter Jen's boyfriend and Frank's sister's ex husband come to mind. However, the novel had a page turning ending and I recommend it to those interested in family dramas or learning about fracking in a fictional setting.
I received this book free to review as part of Goodreads First Reads giveaway program.
Family patriarch Frank Joyner is initially against letting his land be leased by gas companies, but finds himself more and more torn as warring opinions of his children, siblings, and even his grandson come into play.
Herrin does an excellent job fleshing out the motivations of each family member and how these affect Frank, who must also take into account the family history of his land. I appreciated the plotline and the tie in of various members of the family but felt that some characters were superfluous to the storytelling. Daughter Jen's boyfriend and Frank's sister's ex husband come to mind. However, the novel had a page turning ending and I recommend it to those interested in family dramas or learning about fracking in a fictional setting.
I received this book free to review as part of Goodreads First Reads giveaway program.
September 20, 2013
Amidst the controversy of hydrofracking, Frank Joyner the patriarch of the family is trying to decide whether or not to sell his land to the gasmen while various members of his immediate and extended family offer their input from both sides. The struggle threatens to further fracture a family that is already broken apart. Generations of family tragedy are also brought to the surface as the controversy envelopes the family.
This book really looks at the issue outside of the political sphere and examines it based around the benefits or drawbacks to this particular family. It's an ok book, but nothing that I found overly compelling. It certainly didn't live up to Empire Falls, which is one of my favorite books, and to which I have seen it compared.
This book really looks at the issue outside of the political sphere and examines it based around the benefits or drawbacks to this particular family. It's an ok book, but nothing that I found overly compelling. It certainly didn't live up to Empire Falls, which is one of my favorite books, and to which I have seen it compared.
October 16, 2013
I won an ARC of this book through Goodreads. I grew up in an oil and gas region of Pennsylvania and lived in Ohio for a significant number of years. Consequently, when I saw this book listed, I added it to my "Want to Read" list since I was familiar with the Marcellus Shale drilling.
I had not read anything by Lamar Herrin previously. After reading this book, I am going to find other books to read from this same author. Lamar Herrin does a nice job of creating a dysfunctional family and then following the interactions as Frank wrestles with unwinding the feelings and motives of the many family members on whether to agree to drilling on the 100 acres or not.
Overall, I found the story easy to follow and an enjoyable book to read.
I had not read anything by Lamar Herrin previously. After reading this book, I am going to find other books to read from this same author. Lamar Herrin does a nice job of creating a dysfunctional family and then following the interactions as Frank wrestles with unwinding the feelings and motives of the many family members on whether to agree to drilling on the 100 acres or not.
Overall, I found the story easy to follow and an enjoyable book to read.
November 5, 2013
I received a copy of this book for free though the goodreads first reads program.
This book taught me a lot about hydrofracking which is a subject I have not explored. The author did a great job depicting a divided family, riddled with depression. Devastation and regret are what happens when decisions are made, and those family members considered "weak" are ignored
This book taught me a lot about hydrofracking which is a subject I have not explored. The author did a great job depicting a divided family, riddled with depression. Devastation and regret are what happens when decisions are made, and those family members considered "weak" are ignored
March 13, 2014
ola "I really liked" the information concerning fracking in our country. The story line could get bogged down in the issues. Several times I put it aside, picking up a fast read, however returning later to finish.
January 2, 2014
This book had tons of potential. Between the family conflict and the hydrofracking controversy, it could have been a Pat Conroy novel on steroids. It fell a little short, hence, the three stars.
December 19, 2013
Reviewed in Shelf Awareness for Readers, 11/26/2013:
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/reader...
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/reader...
January 20, 2014
i ignored my new rule that if by page 50 i couldn't stand it to put it down. awful!
May 29, 2014
I loved some of the richness of this novel that dealt with complex relationships and themes. Sadly, it was a bit uneven and didn't fully come together by the end. Still, worth the read.
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