After the Fall

by Victoria Roberts

After the Fall introduces us to a brilliantly eccentric family from New York’s Upper East Side. Pops, a self-made millionaire, is a mad inventor who gleans his inspiration from popovers and Raquel Welsh. Mother is a fabulously dressed but mercurial socialite from Buenos Aires whose weapon of choice is a croquet mallet. Young Alan, our earnest and studious narrator, and his drama-queen little sister, Alex, love their parents but must turn to their good-natured housekeeper and cook for a better sense of reality.
One fateful day, Alan returns home to find that the family has gone bust, not even a penny to be found. The next morning, to the children’s surprise, the family wakes up in Central Park along with the entire contents of their penthouse arranged just as before—art, furniture, pugs, and all. Aided by their two loyal housekeepers and fed by the maitre d’ from their favorite restaurant, the family makes Central Park into a comfortable and creative home.


But soon the strains of life—and the weather, which is getting chilly—threaten to tear apart the parents’ marriage. As the holiday season approaches, the children rise to the challenge of bringing their family back together.


With more than two hundred drawings and featuring kimono-clad squirrels and a visit by a Yeti, this delicious tale is a love letter to family, creativity, and New York.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Graphic Novels, Comics, New York, Family

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 12, 2012

Reviews

[Terri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weird. I wish I could remember which reviewer prompted me to purchase this graphic novel/fairy tale/fantasy for a young adult library. I would surely never trust their opinion in the future...

"After the Fall" is written by Vicotria Roberts, a cartoonist for "The New Yorker." She says she has been thinking about this story for seventeen years. It might have been more relevant had she actually written it when she began thinking about it. I think James Thurber fans of old might have gotten a kick out of this pretentious little tale. It certainly has little to do with contemporary mainstream teens. The only possible use for it at the high school level might be as a comparative piece for literature of the late 1930's, 1940's and 1950's in a College in the Schools course.

A wealthy family ends up "homeless" after their father's business (he is an inventor) goes down the tubes. They end up living in Central Park, go through trials and tribulations, including the split and reuniting of the parents, all to learn that, "There is no place like home" ("The Wizard of Oz" film came out in 1939). Really...there is little more that is interesting to say about "After the Fall.".

I wasn't happy to have given a couple of hours to this piece.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quirky story of one very unique New York family. The narrator is 10 year old Alan, and through him we learn about his 7 year old theater obsessed sister Sis, his chain smoking, socialite Mother and his eccentric inventor father, Pops. The family is doing well until some financiers back out on some of Pops' inventions and the family wakes up one morning to find that they, and their stuff, are all set up in Central Park because they are penniless. It's written like a children's book, and lavishly illustrated with New Yorker style drawings by the author (she's been a cartoonist at The New Yorker since 1988), but the story itself is rather more for adults than for children. It's a delightfully odd book that keeps you turning the pages trying to figure out just what is happening to this family. There's a touch of magic to the whole thing that will leave you with a smile on your face. I certainly did on mine.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an odd but entertaining novella written by New Yorker cartoonist Victoria Roberts. It's categorized as a graphic novel, but I think there's too much text for that, even though it is heavily and charmingly illustrated. The story is of an eccentric and wealthy family who, after losing all their money, move into Central Park with all of their belongings and their three pugs. They live there for the better part of a year, surviving mainly due to the good graces of their cook and housekeeper and the maitre d' from their favorite restaurant.

I'm a bit surprised at all the harsh reviews. This book has kimono-wearing squirrels; if you don't like kimono-wearing squirrels, you don't like life.

[LOVEROFBOOKS · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate to give any author's work 1 star, so two stars it is.

I don't even know what category this book would be in. I thought it would be very whimsical and delightful, but it was just too odd for me. Very weird. I don't get the story; I don't get the point of any of it. I definitely wasted my time with this one.

[Katie O’Reilly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Huh. This is a "comic" novel about a family on New York's Upper East Side who find themselves penniless one day and all their belongings mysteriously transported to Central Park, where they make their new home.

It's a strange little book, obviously trying for "whimsical," but I guess I don't find chain-smoking as charming a personality trait as the author apparently does. There are a few mildly funny moments, mostly revolving around the daughter's attempts at producing a talk show in the park, but mostly it's very forced.

*SPOILERS*

I don't get a lot of what happened here. Why were all of their possessions transported magically to Central Park? Why did their mother have an affair with a random man and come back to be embraced by the family? It feels like there's supposed to be a grand MEANING to the whole book, but there really isn't one.

[Mimi Pond · Rating 5 out of 5]

"After the Fall" will surprise you. If you think this is is just a light, whimsical read, think again. Brilliant and nuanced, it sneaks up on you with its depth. And personally, I think all books should be illustrated! I loved it and I also recommend it as a great gift book for the holidays, for anyone who loves Victoria Roberts' cartoons, for anyone who loves New York City, for anyone who loves Central Park. "After the Fall" has it all!

[Stacy Schuttler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is insane. It made me laugh all the way through. If you love quirky and the New Yorker comics, then this is a must read. Pugs, Central park, trained squirrels, strange inventions...all there!

[Walt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Weird book. The events depicted in it are implausible and I'm not sure if it was intended to be funny, but it was about as funny as a New Yorker cartoon that no one can understand. But that's no surprise, since it was produced by a contributor to the New Yorker magazine.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read something a bit lighter after the roller coaster ride Chevy Stevens took me on so I picked up this little gem. Oh my goodness. I don't know if I can actually call it light. While the humor is mostly sophisticate dry New Yorker style. There are places where it turns a tad raw and has one in stitches. Still I had to pick it up, to see what one writers opinion and perspective would be on a rich man and his eccentric off spring would survive as a sudden poor family in the wilds and savagery of Central Park. I laughed a lot.

[Anita · Rating 2 out of 5]

has its moments, but doesn't capture Central Park as it might have, and the story is just weird.

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has a very weak story line and seems to scattered.

[Roger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of this made me laugh out loud a few times. I can’t recommend it strongly though.

[Sandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would never want my children to read this book on so many levels. I did like the illustrations.

[Barbara Morris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very weird

[Reading Fury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness, what an unusual novel. Very cute illustrations lend visual details to the characters and plot. And the plot is so unique. A family's finances are wiped out overnight, and they awake to find everything from their Manhattan apartment arranged in Central Park as if they were still at home. There are loyal folks who help see the family through. The father is fascinating. He doesn't call himself and inventor. He is a discoverer. I only wish that some of his discoveries were real. The world would be so much better for them. But it is the experience of the son/narrator, his sister, and mother that really perk things up. I really enjoyed this.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying this book! It's light & funny, but is about a serious topic.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written and illustrated by Victoria Roberts, an illustrator for The New Yorker, this book reminded me of why I both love and loathe The New Yorker. Sometimes I enjoy it, and sometimes I think it was founded as part of an elaborate Emperor’s New Clothes literary scheme, wherein bad stories and jokes are touted as funny and/or brilliant simply to see if wannabe intellectual urbanites will pretend said bad things are funny and brilliant to seem sophisticated and part of the in crowd (the other option is that I’m a backwoods country bumpkin incapable of understanding sophisticated literary work - for obvious reasons, I prefer my theory, because how wonderful would it be that a joke started in 1925 by America’s brightest literary talent to expose the insecurity of intellectual lemmings continues to this day?).

Don't get me wrong: the drawings are fun, the story of a family relocated to Central Park to live among the squirrels is amusing ... but it also reminded me of why I don't always enjoy The New Yorker. If, however, you enjoy The New Yorker and get their humor (or pretend to), you’ll enjoy this book. As for this country bumpkin, I’m going to go read a murder mystery. Quasi-recommended.

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Victoria Roberts is a cartoonist for The New Yorker. She says that she has been thinking about this story for 17 years which means she had it mind before she became a contracted cartoonist. That is a long time to think about a story and I suspect part of the reason is that she had to build up a reputation for excellence before anyone would publish this odd little book.

Don't get me wrong, although this is an unusual and weird tale, it is worth reading. I just recommend that you suspend all disbelief because if you don't this novel will lose you between chapter one and chapter two. I had to go back and make sure that I hadn't missed a page.

Once I got over my attempt to make the book follow my logic, I enjoyed it. Alan, the narrator was lots of fun and the rest of the family are quite amusing. It took me about two hours to read the book and study Roberts' entertaining sketches.

I am not sure to whom to recommend this book. I would hope that most readers of The New Yorker would sit down with this and many residents of NYC would love it. Outside of those two groups, I think this has a limited audience.

[Raeann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm glad this was a quick read, because it was kind of blah. It's classified as a graphic novel at the library, but it doesn't have panels and it looks and reads more like a kid's first chapter book. There were multiple illustrations per page and the text was a narration of the story that would not have worked in traditional, paneled graphic novel fashion.

Honestly, there was nothing special about this book. A rich family loses "everything" and then lives in Central Park until they can get back on their feet. Maybe this book was supposed to be read as satire or just plain ridiculous, but I ended up annoyed. The family has all their possessions, their pets, their maids, and even meals from high-class restaurants the whole time they're "homeless." It just really wasn't all that great, even though it was clearly the intent to juxtapose helplessness with excess for comedic effect. (Not successful.) I ended up bored and had zero connections with the characters.

So, I'll repeat. I'm glad this was short. Otherwise I would not have finished it.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the illustrations. The story was good---I wanted to like the whole book more but I wanted more more more to the story. That said, I am kind of nutty about wanting to dive deep into stories and this was not that kind of read. Originally I reviewed it at 2 stars because of that but upon further reflection realized that I should review it for what the book is-which is a quirky story with wonderful illustrations. That said, I gave it 4 stars. It is not my particular cup of tea, but I love the concept of the book and it is worth a read.

[Mayomouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starting with the positive....s ofcourse:
This was a very short and sweet thing of a book. I appreciated how Roberts put depth in her story, even as she depicted parts of the story in silly pictures.
Now.
I honestly do not see the hubbub, the hallelujah, the YOWZA bout this read. All the awesomesauce comments on the front and back of the book. I didn't see it as ALL THAT. And I thought there would be...more. Okay maybe because all the comments threw me off but the plot line was TOO simple, I felt.

Toodles! MayoMouse

[Alxandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

The delightful whimsy of this book fails to balance the darkness of the subject. For me, the horror of homelessness during the financial collapse topped off with "checked out" parents leaving two kids to survive in a magical Central Park left an awful taste in my mouth whenever I laughed at the imaginations and illustrations.

I can't say that I didn't enjoy the book. But,I have to be honest and admit that my gut is horrified by each and every chuckle this book gave me.

[Duckpondwithoutducks · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I picked up this graphic novel in the adult section of my library, I wasn't sure whether it had been shelved properly, and should actually have been in the YA section. But, I guess the story is more of an adult story (dealing with the loss of your fortune) even though it is told from the point of view of one of the children. It was alright.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This seems like the kind of book I'd be guaranteed to love--an illustrated chapter book for adults, set in the Manhattan of Wes Anderson's imagination. But guess what? I didn't love it. I didn't even like it very much. Will spare y'all my rant about poverty and privilege and provincialism, and just say that I was hoping for more heart, even in a satire.

[Jonathan Ytreberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure that this even really deserves 3 stars as a book or as a story. I abhor stories that exist solely for the purpose of eavesdropping on the characters when nothing REALLY happens to them and for me the only saving grace for this book was the pictures and the literary knowledge of the character "Sis". I just wish there had been a bit more substance here behind the cute pictures.

[Marc Mason · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting piece of illustrated fiction, done by one of the best cartoonists working today. The story meanders, and you do begin to wonder where Roberts is going with it all, but the last couple of pages deliver a solid, earned ending.

[Beth Blahut · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful! I have always loved Roberts cartoons and reading an entire book illustrated with her characters was a real treat. A wealthy New York family endures hard times, and after losing their home, they move to Central Park. It is a riot.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoy The New Yorker for the cartoons, think pugs and squirrels are superbly suited for fiction, want a quick read, and are prepared for each moment to be a delight, I highly recommend Victoria Roberts illustrated novel.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An entertaining illustrated novel about an eccentric and well-to-do family who, after a sudden change of fortunes, set up housekeeping in Central Park. Roberts is a cartoonist for The New Yorker, and the illustrations are a delight.

[P.]

It's a chapter book for adults who read the New Yorker and/or live in New York. A rich family loses its money and suddenly lives in Central Park, whimsically surviving, until their equilibrium is restored.