Initially I was quite taken with the central conceit of this novel. The eponymous Jimmy Dice has a twin who dies at birth but somehow stays conscious to narrate some of the story about the Diaz family - who certainly suffer more than their fair share of disaster and tragedy. The dead twin comments and explains at intervals throughout the novel and I found this quite an effective way of progressing the storyline. However, I also found that there were far too many shifting perspectives and timelines, which made for some frustrating reading at times. The story roams far and wide, with a multitude of characters, some of whom seem superfluous to the plot and all the many elements make for a very fractured narrative. Jimmy Dice is at the centre of the story but the never-ending trials and tribulations of his life felt overdone and unconvincing. There is some good characterisation, especially of the minor characters, but the dialogue is occasionally wooden, and there’s far too much of it. Overall the novel could have done with a tighter focus and perhaps fewer disasters.

Jimmy Dice's life is definitely fractured, in fact his life is definitely not straightforward, or easy.
Born in Ireland to Eamon and Grace, Jimmy is unaware that he had a twin who died at birth. It is the lost twin who narrates various parts of the novel,
Jimmy doesn't seem to have much luck, losing his lower leg in a dog attack and three of his fingers when a spot of gambling goes wrong. He doesn't have much luck in love either, when the love of his life , Nicole commits suicide leaving him unable to move on and fall in love with someone else.
What Jimmy does have is a family that only wants the best for him even if the family is fractured and somewhat dysfunctional. His mother Grace is haunted by her own mother's mental illness and struggles with the rigours of motherhood, succumbing herself to the ravishes of depression.
Elder brother Tighe is focused and driven but hides dark secrets. Sister Elizabeth is expected to succumb to mental illness like her mother and grandmother but remains remarkably sane.
What the Fractured Life of Jimmy Dice is, is a novel of hope, love, loss and ultimately of a young, sensitive man trying to make sense of himself in a fast changing world.
A little strung out in places, but a well written debut novel.