Falling Toward Heaven

by John Bennion

Alone at the airport, Howard Rockwood considers two years spent away from home. He has said good-bye to his mission president, but now his head aches. Can he fall back into the routine and expectations of his parents in Utah? Can he muster the drive to follow his instincts to figure out what he has been unable to wrap his mind around? He thinks of Allison, the young woman he met, who visits his dreams. She is educated, quick-witted the kind of "man-eating pagan" that his senile grandfather warned him about but who nonetheless makes him feel alive. If in order to find yourself you first need to become lost, then Howard is taking a first step toward self-discovery.

Genres: Fiction

312 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2000

Reviews

[David Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this Mormon-themed novel. It's about faith and the compromises religious people must strike with loved ones who don't share their beliefs. Its strong points are the three-dimensional characters which inhabit the plot and Bennion's ability to create strong dialog.

My favorite character was Howard's mother, Emily, who is introduced to the reader early on in the novel through a letter she has written to her missionary son. In it, she confesses to him that she has been blessing women in the ward who have come to her with health problems or other stresses in their lives. She has been doing this by means of her husband's priesthood, which worries her. However, without exception, she informs her son, all have been healed. So how can this be wrong? she asks him.

I also enjoyed the varied venues in which the plot took place, these being Houston; a rural Utah farm; Salt Lake City; and Anchorage, Alaska.

[kyliemm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this book five stars because I think it's the only piece of Mormon fiction I've ever read that does what Mormon fiction should do: function as a novel about people dealing with elements of their Mormon faith without becoming trite or dramatic or forgetting to be a novel. This book is fabulously written with fully dimensional characters, gorgeous landscapes, and no trite, easy solutions. It's not typical "Mormon fiction," meaning something written by Mormons for Mormons (a la Chris Heimerdinger); instead it explores human relationships from a Mormon and non-Mormon perspective, raising issues about Mormon culture, American culture, and broader issues of faith and love. Therefore, Mormons and non-Mormons--or anyone interested in literature and the lovely craft of the novel, really--should invest in this gorgeous book. Mormon fiction ought to be a burgeoning part of the post-modern literary market, and I really hope that as postcolonial fiction picks up in America, other so-called "alternative" or "postmodern" genres, including Mormon fiction, start picking up too. And so, if people ever start to pick up books that explore the Mormon experience without neglecting the larger world and that still add a lot to literature, this book is the best place to start.

[Helynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It isn't easy to be an English professor at BYU and a novelist at the same time. I heard rumors from a friend of Dr. John Bennion, that after the publication of this 2000 novel, Bennion's job security was in question for a time. Fortunately, Bennion seems to have held on both to his teaching position and his integrity as a novelist. Falling Toward Heaven is not your usual Mormon novel that toes the party line and panders to the traditional and sentimental missionary spirit. Elder Howard Rockwood, a rancher's son from rural Utah, is nearing the end of his mission and the return to the girlfriend who has diligently written to him and waited for him during his two years in southern Texas. At a park concert in Houston, with only days left before his return home, Elder Rockwood meets comely, sarcastic Allison, who is several years his senior and already involved with a live-in boyfriend. Howard cannot seem to live up to the "return with honor" portion of his mission, but must dash from the homeward-bound airplane into Allison's arms, and then to the ensuing fornication and disfellowship from the church. But this is not just the usual story of sexual sin, regret, repentance, and redemption. There is much more to Howard and Allison's story that takes them from Utah to Alaska, to marriage, to conversion, to personal tragedy and the beginnings of resolution and peace. Much of the story is told in dialogue which Bennion does well. All in all, this is a bold and courageous novel about some of the more nitty-gritty aspects of Mormonism that not every writer would venture to tell.

[Lora · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm still torn as to how I'd rate this book. I vacillated between dislike and like. Maybe I should say it was worth 2.5 stars. I liked the imagery the author used to represent aspects of Howard's and Allison's personal journeys. I had a hard time initially buying their relationship at all, but by the end felt that Bennion painted a realistic portrait of the ways people allow love to change them.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novel. I liked the characters and felt like it was well written. It was a good story about someone struggling with his faith that I found still uplifting. i felt like the descriptions of the people were real. it was funny to read about rural utah and missionaries in Houston in the same novel.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like Bennion's writing style--very lush, vivid language and beautiful descriptions. I also liked his honest treatment of difficult spiritual issues.