The Shining Fragments is a family saga about the Irish in Canada
that explores the ramifications of abandonment, obsession, love, memory, and visionary power. Spanning the years 1882-1904, it follows Joseph Conlon from his early childhood in Ulster to his
experiences of youth and adulthood as an immigrant. Left behind as a small boy on a Toronto train-station platform like so much forgotten luggage, Joseph grows up in a city bleak with bigotry.
He discovers that he has artistic talent and becomes a designer of
stained-glass windows. He is haunted by the spirit of his unborn sister, Annie, and the powerful and often conflicting...
"The boy waited alone on a cold bench beneath a sign's gold letters. People checked the posters nailed on wood, dragged cases across cobble, and called to one another, waving. The day went down; still the boy sat. He'd stopped speaking hours ago.
The boy's trousers were damp with urine, his... "