On the surface, a bullring blazing with sun in Spain has little in common with the coal-dusted hills of Central Pennsylvania. Yet in "Fragile Beasts," destiny waves its flag at brave young men in both settings and one remarkable woman ties their stories together.

Tawni O'Dell, born and raised in Indiana, Pa., again mines her childhood memories to weave her tales as she did in her New York Times best-sellers, including "Sister Mine" and "Back Roads," an Oprah Winfrey book club selection.

Here she stretches her narrative to Spain and the legacy of Manuel, aka El Soltero, a legendary bullfighter who falls in love with a lovely young American tourist. Candace Jack, the sister of a wealthy coal mine owner returns his affection with a single-minded ardor that lasts for more than 50 years. Longer, in fact, than El Soltero himself, who is gored to death in a bullfight just months into their relationship.

Candace buys the bull who killed her lover, proceeds to breed more bulls with it while keeping company in back in rural Pennsylvania coal country only with her memories, her money and Luis, a Spaniard who came to the States to care for the animal, but stayed to care for Candance.

Fast-forward a few decades and meet the Hayes family -- Kyle and Klint, teenage sons of a hapless single father with a drinking problem. Their mom split years ago with a new man, but then reappears, threatening to take to her Arizona home after dad dies.

The narrative is first-person throughout the novel, and Ms. O'Dell is to be applauded for her deftness in assuming each narrator's distinctive voice -- the sensitive, artistic Kyle, the sarcastic, enigmatic Candace and the cultured, wise Luis.

The author sketches indelible portraits of people with small, desperate lives without the means -- or interest -- in changing them. When the estranged Momma Hayes comes into play, you haven't despised a character this much since Fagin took up with poor little Oliver Twist.

Kyle is a lovely, lyrical creation; artistic, sensitive and plain-spoken, with a natural curiosity and touching eagerness to please. Klint is the silent jock, who bottles his feelings tighter than Coca-Cola, and is therefore catnip to the girls of the town.

One of his admirers, a young niece of Candace, suggests she take the boys away from Momma to her vast home and soon the brothers are living in her silent mansion, filled with Spanish art and posters of great matadors. Then the story really starts, as different generations learn to live together.

Strands of emotional tension weave throughout the novel so tightly that they eventually form a blanket, but will that blanket safely catch the troubled boys, or further smother them?

Ms. O'Dell has written a compelling, poignant story in "Fragile Beasts," so masterfully told that the reader closes the book with true regret and a longing for more.

First Published: April 18, 2010, 4:00 a.m.