Before the Fall
I snagged Before the Fall from my book of the month subscription a couple of months ago. This is one of those books that generates a lot of buzz. It seemed to be everywhere: on the blogs I read, featured in Barnes and Noble's window, and on my favorite podcast.
I was not disappointed.
This book begins with a plane crash. A private plane, on a short trip, with important passengers. The majority of the book is spent uncovering the mysteries generated by the plane crash and learning about the people who were on it. If you like novels where a pivotal event changes everything, this book is for you.
Because of the title, I was searching for Biblical allusions. Instead of references to Adam and Eve, I found myself remembering War and Peace (which I just finished this spring). Not only does much of the description seem reminiscent of Tolstoy's work, but there is even a direct reference to him. However, this book is much less daunting and much shorter.
The themes were well developed and made me stop and think. I certainly didn't plow through this one. I would read a paragraph that made me consider just how much humanity has been altered by the 24 hour news cycle and stop to give it some actual thought. Money, Art, power, work life/home life, childhood experiences shaping adulthood. All great fodder for your next book club.
Hawley's dialogue was so close to modern American speech that I wanted to read it out loud. The staggered sentence fragments and subtle exchanges gave an air of reality to the characters that is missing from so much pop fiction.
The only thing that got a little tedious was Hawley's use of similes and metaphors. At first, I was marveling and then, because there were just so many, I got a little bored with that particular form of descriptive language.
Have you read it? What did you think?
I'm totally anticipating the movie now.
I was not disappointed.
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| rocking, reading, drinking coffee, and sunshine: #winning |
This book begins with a plane crash. A private plane, on a short trip, with important passengers. The majority of the book is spent uncovering the mysteries generated by the plane crash and learning about the people who were on it. If you like novels where a pivotal event changes everything, this book is for you.
Because of the title, I was searching for Biblical allusions. Instead of references to Adam and Eve, I found myself remembering War and Peace (which I just finished this spring). Not only does much of the description seem reminiscent of Tolstoy's work, but there is even a direct reference to him. However, this book is much less daunting and much shorter.
The themes were well developed and made me stop and think. I certainly didn't plow through this one. I would read a paragraph that made me consider just how much humanity has been altered by the 24 hour news cycle and stop to give it some actual thought. Money, Art, power, work life/home life, childhood experiences shaping adulthood. All great fodder for your next book club.
Hawley's dialogue was so close to modern American speech that I wanted to read it out loud. The staggered sentence fragments and subtle exchanges gave an air of reality to the characters that is missing from so much pop fiction.
The only thing that got a little tedious was Hawley's use of similes and metaphors. At first, I was marveling and then, because there were just so many, I got a little bored with that particular form of descriptive language.
Have you read it? What did you think?
I'm totally anticipating the movie now.
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