''The Tracey Fragments'' is a

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

by Canadian author

Maureen Medved Maureen Medved is a Canadian writer and playwright. She is also an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia. She has been published in literary journals and magazines and has had her plays produced in Vancouver, British Columbia, ...

. It was first published in 1998 at

House of Anansi Press House of Anansi Press is a Canadian publishing company, founded in 1967 by writers Dennis Lee and Dave Godfrey. The company specializes in finding and developing new Canadian writers of literary fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. History Anans ...

. The construction of the narrative takes place as a series of vignettes, or the titular "fragments", of scenes from a young girl's life. The novel tells a story of rage, frustration and neglect in Tracey's life, and her search for salvation in the face of tragedy. Medved wrote the

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

for the

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

, which was directed by Bruce McDonald.

Plot

Tracey Berkowitz, a young Canadian teenager, suffers from mental health issues, and as an unreliable narrator, she gradually reveals a dark family trauma involving her little brother, Sonny Berkowitz, and a boy from Tracey's school. Tracey narrates as she travels from bus to bus naked under a shower curtain, unable to return home for fear that her emotionally distant parents won't accept her back. The closest person Tracey has to a friend is Dr. Hecker, a homely

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

whose ethical obligations prevent her from being emotionally invested in Tracey as a patient. Tracey also shares stories about her grandmother, a woman with the same mental afflictions as Tracey herself; Tracey's grandmother faced an apparent home invasion and

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

in her home in Poland. Tracey eventually reveals a

sexual encounter Human sexual activity, human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone (e.g., masturbation) t ...

with "Billy Speed", the boy from her school who she likes. Tracey fantasizes about starting a metalcore band with Billy under a stage name she's invented in her head, "Estuary Palomino." She hints at the possibility that during a bad blizzard in her home city, Sonny may have wandered off and drowned in a nearby river. She suggests that her parents never wanted Sonny, noting a bizarre story her father shared with her when she was young about a female dog being killed after birthing Sonny. Unable to cope with whatever has happened, Tracey continues to wander, staying with strangers and putting her life in danger as she travels from place to place. The novel ends with Tracey still on the public city bus, remarking (of finding Sonny) "we're getting warmer." The 2007 paperback release of ''The Tracey Fragments'', a media tie-in to the film adaptation, contained multiple pages of full-colour screenshots of the main featured actors including

Elliot Page Elliot Page (formerly Ellen Page; born February 21, 1987) is a Canadian actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Elliot Page, various accolades, including an Academy Award for Best Actress, Academy Award nomination, tw ...

, Julian Richings and

Slim Twig Max Turnbull (born in 1988), better known by his stage name Slim Twig, is a Canadian songwriter, musician, and film actor, who has performed both as a solo artist and as the leader of Badge Époque Ensemble. He was born the son of Toronto-based ...

References

1998 Canadian novels Canadian novels adapted into films House of Anansi Press books {{Canada-novel-stub