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The Falling Woman
First, it’s just a barely believable rumor: one person may have survived the midair explosion of a passenger jet on a cross-country course from Washington, DC, to San Francisco. But soon she becomes a national media sensation when “the Falling Woman,” as the press dubs her, is said to have been taken to a Wichita hospital—and then to have disappeared without a trace.
As a dedicated National Transportation Safety Bureau agent joins the search for clues, he becomes drawn into the woman’s moving and personal fight to keep secret the story of her survival, even from her own family, and possibly at risk to his own career.
The Falling Woman is a novel that asks compelling and controversial questions about the value of life and what should be sacrificed in the name of love.
As a dedicated National Transportation Safety Bureau agent joins the search for clues, he becomes drawn into the woman’s moving and personal fight to keep secret the story of her survival, even from her own family, and possibly at risk to his own career.
The Falling Woman is a novel that asks compelling and controversial questions about the value of life and what should be sacrificed in the name of love.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published June 23, 2020
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July 24, 2020
3.5 stars
When I read the premise-A woman falling from the sky, when a plane breaks apart midair, and surviving, I expected perhaps a whimsical tale, because what are the odds of THAT happening??
Turns out, there HAVE been a few people who have beaten the odds...falling or ejecting out of planes with no parachutes:
Ivan Chisov-a Soviet Air Force Lieutant-23,000 ft
Nicholas Stephen Alkemade-a rear gunner in the Royal Airforce-18,000 ft
U.S. Army Air Force Staff SGt. Alan Magee-22,000 ft
Juliane Koepcke-a passenger on Lansa Flight 508, fell 10,000 ft, still strapped to her seat
Vespa Vulovic, a Serbian flight attendant who was trapped in the tail of her aircraft by a food cart,as her plane blew up at 30,000-JAT flight 367
And, now we have the fictional Erin Geraghty, a woman who has pancreatic Cancer, and just a short time left to live, as the sole survivor of Pointer Air flight 795 from Washington Dulles to San Francisco.
There is rumor of a Falling Woman, a miracle, after the crash, but SHE disappears and the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) puts Charlie Radford, in charge of investigating to determine if the rumor is a hoax or if it isn’t, the name of the survivor.
But, Erin doesn’t want to be found.
She would rather live out her remaining days in Peace, without further treatment, without goodbyes.
Does she owe her family, or the World, anything?
There are some thought provoking questions raised which would make for great book club discussions.
The strength of the book is the research about Cancer, Crash Sites, and Personal Rights.
The weakness is that Erin, despite surviving Cancer and a plane crash, did not come off as a sympathetic character to me!
I enjoyed the things that I learned...more than I enjoyed the fictional story.
(I even googled all of the people who “fell” and walked away practically unscathed for more information)
Thank you to Algonquin Books, for providing a digital ARC through Edelweiss in exchange for a candid review!
Available Now!
When I read the premise-A woman falling from the sky, when a plane breaks apart midair, and surviving, I expected perhaps a whimsical tale, because what are the odds of THAT happening??
Turns out, there HAVE been a few people who have beaten the odds...falling or ejecting out of planes with no parachutes:
Ivan Chisov-a Soviet Air Force Lieutant-23,000 ft
Nicholas Stephen Alkemade-a rear gunner in the Royal Airforce-18,000 ft
U.S. Army Air Force Staff SGt. Alan Magee-22,000 ft
Juliane Koepcke-a passenger on Lansa Flight 508, fell 10,000 ft, still strapped to her seat
Vespa Vulovic, a Serbian flight attendant who was trapped in the tail of her aircraft by a food cart,as her plane blew up at 30,000-JAT flight 367
And, now we have the fictional Erin Geraghty, a woman who has pancreatic Cancer, and just a short time left to live, as the sole survivor of Pointer Air flight 795 from Washington Dulles to San Francisco.
There is rumor of a Falling Woman, a miracle, after the crash, but SHE disappears and the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) puts Charlie Radford, in charge of investigating to determine if the rumor is a hoax or if it isn’t, the name of the survivor.
But, Erin doesn’t want to be found.
She would rather live out her remaining days in Peace, without further treatment, without goodbyes.
Does she owe her family, or the World, anything?
There are some thought provoking questions raised which would make for great book club discussions.
The strength of the book is the research about Cancer, Crash Sites, and Personal Rights.
The weakness is that Erin, despite surviving Cancer and a plane crash, did not come off as a sympathetic character to me!
I enjoyed the things that I learned...more than I enjoyed the fictional story.
(I even googled all of the people who “fell” and walked away practically unscathed for more information)
Thank you to Algonquin Books, for providing a digital ARC through Edelweiss in exchange for a candid review!
Available Now!
July 28, 2020
3.5 stars
When I sat down with this book one afternoon, I had no intention of finishing it in a day. But yet, something about this story made me stay up past my bedtime just so I could find out how it was going to end. And then I talked the ear off of my husband as I felt this compelling need to discuss the story and some of the character's decisions. Is this the best book I have ever read? No, but when a book gets you thinking, it's a good thing.
I normally give a brief synopsis in my book reviews but it's kinda tricky with this one. By the time my book arrived all I remembered was the plot involved a plane crash and not knowing much more actually worked in my favor. I enjoyed this book because I was surprised at some plot developments. I've now gone back and read a few different versions of the publisher's synopsis including on the book's jacket and on Goodreads, and I'm glad I went into the book without a heads up because it made for a much better reading experience.
The main appeal of the story for me was the opportunity to put myself in the characters' shoes and try to figure out what I would do given the situation. And that applies to both of the main characters as the story alternates between the two of them. The premise is excellent for this book and makes up for some of the not so great aspects of the writing. There really is a lot to discuss here in regards to the characters and plot so I think it would make a good book club selection. Whether or not you enjoy this book might come down to how fascinated you are in people and the choices they make.
I won a free copy of this book in a giveaway by Shelf Awareness but was not obligated to post a review.
When I sat down with this book one afternoon, I had no intention of finishing it in a day. But yet, something about this story made me stay up past my bedtime just so I could find out how it was going to end. And then I talked the ear off of my husband as I felt this compelling need to discuss the story and some of the character's decisions. Is this the best book I have ever read? No, but when a book gets you thinking, it's a good thing.
I normally give a brief synopsis in my book reviews but it's kinda tricky with this one. By the time my book arrived all I remembered was the plot involved a plane crash and not knowing much more actually worked in my favor. I enjoyed this book because I was surprised at some plot developments. I've now gone back and read a few different versions of the publisher's synopsis including on the book's jacket and on Goodreads, and I'm glad I went into the book without a heads up because it made for a much better reading experience.
The main appeal of the story for me was the opportunity to put myself in the characters' shoes and try to figure out what I would do given the situation. And that applies to both of the main characters as the story alternates between the two of them. The premise is excellent for this book and makes up for some of the not so great aspects of the writing. There really is a lot to discuss here in regards to the characters and plot so I think it would make a good book club selection. Whether or not you enjoy this book might come down to how fascinated you are in people and the choices they make.
I won a free copy of this book in a giveaway by Shelf Awareness but was not obligated to post a review.
July 17, 2020
“The Falling Woman” is another story involving a survivor of a plane crash. Where “Dear Edward” was a fantastic novel focusing on grief and privacy. This one is more about privacy. When there is a disaster, such as a plane crash, and there is a survivor, the public and media want to know details: who this person is; how did they survive; what are there injuries; basically everything. But do those survivors deserve privacy? Do we, as a society, have a right to demand their identity?
Author Richard Farrell is a former pilot and knows much about flying, and from this story, I’m assuming the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Farrell gets into the politics of the NTSB (and the organization does NOT come off well).
The idea of the novel is fantastic. The characters are difficult to like. I did not understand the main character’s reason for not wanting to come forward; but that’s probably because I’m a healthy adult. The NTSB agent assigned to find her is weak and unconvincing as a character.
It’s a good read with all those flaws. Farrell does a tremendous job showing the weaknesses within the NTSB (which all organizations have flaws). I hope he writes another novel. As a debut, this one is good.
Author Richard Farrell is a former pilot and knows much about flying, and from this story, I’m assuming the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Farrell gets into the politics of the NTSB (and the organization does NOT come off well).
The idea of the novel is fantastic. The characters are difficult to like. I did not understand the main character’s reason for not wanting to come forward; but that’s probably because I’m a healthy adult. The NTSB agent assigned to find her is weak and unconvincing as a character.
It’s a good read with all those flaws. Farrell does a tremendous job showing the weaknesses within the NTSB (which all organizations have flaws). I hope he writes another novel. As a debut, this one is good.
July 6, 2020
Erin Geraghty is on a flight from Washington, DC to California to attend a retreat for cancer patients. She has grown tired of her battle with pancreatic cancer and knows that her days are limited. Back at home are her grown children and a deteriorating marriage. While en route, the plane encounters turbulence over Kansas and explodes. Erin is the only survivor.
Charlie Radford is on his first assignment with the NTSB. He is sent to Kansas to identify the victims and help determine what caused the crash. The local news announces that a woman survived the crash and Charlie sets out to confirm her existence. At the same time, Erin goes into hiding to live out the remainder of her life alone. She does not want to put her family through the chaos of finding her alive and then losing her a few months later. It is up to Charlie to locate her before she drifts into solitude.
The Falling Woman is a debut novel by Richard Farrell. This is a fast-paced thought-provoking novel. I look forward to more works from this author in the future.
Charlie Radford is on his first assignment with the NTSB. He is sent to Kansas to identify the victims and help determine what caused the crash. The local news announces that a woman survived the crash and Charlie sets out to confirm her existence. At the same time, Erin goes into hiding to live out the remainder of her life alone. She does not want to put her family through the chaos of finding her alive and then losing her a few months later. It is up to Charlie to locate her before she drifts into solitude.
The Falling Woman is a debut novel by Richard Farrell. This is a fast-paced thought-provoking novel. I look forward to more works from this author in the future.
May 5, 2021
This book has a very intriguing premise--a plain crashes, basically exploding midair, but supposedly, a woman survives the crash basically unharmed. This is actually a thing that has happened quite a few times, so it's not as fantastical as it seems on the surface.
This book is a character study of two people in the midst of this occurrence: Erin, a married mother of two who has been suffering from pancreatic cancer and is on the plane on her way to a cancer patient retreat, she knows she doesn't have much longer and needs a breather, and Charlie, who works for the NTSB investigating the crash. The two intersect, but not in the way that you might imagine.
I didn't like Erin throughout this book. I could not relate to her although I could generally understand why she made the decisions she did. This did pull me out of the story because I was just angry with her choices. This would make a good book club book because there's a great deal here to discuss: how much are we in charge of our own lives? In the light of a tragedy like this, how much privacy should be expected or deserved?
I read Dear Edward last year and loved it. I connected with it emotionally. This book is similarly themed, yet I never truly connected with it as much as I hoped to. It is definitely a book worth reading and readers searching for a contemplative and engaging story should pick it up.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
This book is a character study of two people in the midst of this occurrence: Erin, a married mother of two who has been suffering from pancreatic cancer and is on the plane on her way to a cancer patient retreat, she knows she doesn't have much longer and needs a breather, and Charlie, who works for the NTSB investigating the crash. The two intersect, but not in the way that you might imagine.
I didn't like Erin throughout this book. I could not relate to her although I could generally understand why she made the decisions she did. This did pull me out of the story because I was just angry with her choices. This would make a good book club book because there's a great deal here to discuss: how much are we in charge of our own lives? In the light of a tragedy like this, how much privacy should be expected or deserved?
I read Dear Edward last year and loved it. I connected with it emotionally. This book is similarly themed, yet I never truly connected with it as much as I hoped to. It is definitely a book worth reading and readers searching for a contemplative and engaging story should pick it up.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
September 1, 2020
One of the blurbs for this book was "Part mystery and part prayer" and I think that's a perfect description of this book. The mystery is compelling and the character development is flawless. An intelligent gem of a book. Keeping my eye on this author. Most highly recommended.
May 12, 2021
3.5 stars
Compelling and off-kilter, this novel was a very quick read. But I wanted more as a mystery reader?
Writing: ★★★★
Concept: ★★★★★
Mystery elements: ★★
Conclusion: ★★
This is another one of those books where I have to preface my review and say "oh hey, it was me again—I thought this book would be something else. Whoops!" That doesn't happen too often these days as I'm getting better and better at figuring out my own reading preferences... but clearly there are still some one-offs that sneak past my radar.
I was looking for a more standard whodunit, complete with a detective, a perpetrator, and a solution. The Falling Woman is more lyrical than that, and less tied to those rules and regulations. This is a novel about humanity, struggle, and what we do when faced with impossibilities.
It's a beautiful novel in it's own way.
At first it's just a rumor. A woman survived a mid-air plane explosion? Impossible. Literally, unbelievable. But the rumor grows, and soon the investigators in charge of explaining the plane crash take a leap into the impossible - maybe the "falling woman" is real. And if so, how exactly did she survive?
Plane crash investigator Charlie Ranford is on the case. Well, he's mostly on the case. Okay, partially on the case. He doesn't exactly want to be on the case, but that's the way it is, alright? (Charlie is a very contradictory, anxiety-ridden personality. It's a little exhausting.)
A reluctant advocate for the "Falling Woman," as she is dubbed by the press, Charlie starts to unpeel the layers from fact and fiction to see if maybe, just maybe, she's a legitimate story. But if she's real... why can't they find her? Why did she go off the grid? Does she not want to reunite with her family? Why?
The Falling Woman unpeels like an complicated wrapping, and as we uncover the motivations and situations that led to Charlie speaking in front of a tribunal about his actions following the crash, we as the reader come to realize that this isn't a mystery about who or what ended the lives of those on the plane. It's a story about humans, and the struggles and realities that we all face when confronted with impossible choices.
Give this one a try if you like novels centered on the complexities of our decisions, humans stuck in hard places, and the ties that connect us all in the end. This isn't a novel with a "who crashed the plane and why ending" and I feel like that's not a bad spoiler to share - because if that's a spoiler to you, then this isn't the right novel to read.
Come for the characters and stay for the characters—it's a fascinating journey.
Thank you to Algonquin for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
Compelling and off-kilter, this novel was a very quick read. But I wanted more as a mystery reader?
Writing: ★★★★
Concept: ★★★★★
Mystery elements: ★★
Conclusion: ★★
This is another one of those books where I have to preface my review and say "oh hey, it was me again—I thought this book would be something else. Whoops!" That doesn't happen too often these days as I'm getting better and better at figuring out my own reading preferences... but clearly there are still some one-offs that sneak past my radar.
I was looking for a more standard whodunit, complete with a detective, a perpetrator, and a solution. The Falling Woman is more lyrical than that, and less tied to those rules and regulations. This is a novel about humanity, struggle, and what we do when faced with impossibilities.
It's a beautiful novel in it's own way.
At first it's just a rumor. A woman survived a mid-air plane explosion? Impossible. Literally, unbelievable. But the rumor grows, and soon the investigators in charge of explaining the plane crash take a leap into the impossible - maybe the "falling woman" is real. And if so, how exactly did she survive?
Plane crash investigator Charlie Ranford is on the case. Well, he's mostly on the case. Okay, partially on the case. He doesn't exactly want to be on the case, but that's the way it is, alright? (Charlie is a very contradictory, anxiety-ridden personality. It's a little exhausting.)
A reluctant advocate for the "Falling Woman," as she is dubbed by the press, Charlie starts to unpeel the layers from fact and fiction to see if maybe, just maybe, she's a legitimate story. But if she's real... why can't they find her? Why did she go off the grid? Does she not want to reunite with her family? Why?
The Falling Woman unpeels like an complicated wrapping, and as we uncover the motivations and situations that led to Charlie speaking in front of a tribunal about his actions following the crash, we as the reader come to realize that this isn't a mystery about who or what ended the lives of those on the plane. It's a story about humans, and the struggles and realities that we all face when confronted with impossible choices.
Give this one a try if you like novels centered on the complexities of our decisions, humans stuck in hard places, and the ties that connect us all in the end. This isn't a novel with a "who crashed the plane and why ending" and I feel like that's not a bad spoiler to share - because if that's a spoiler to you, then this isn't the right novel to read.
Come for the characters and stay for the characters—it's a fascinating journey.
Thank you to Algonquin for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
May 24, 2020
The Falling Woman by Richard Farrell is a recommended debut novel about tragedy, privacy, and the right to control your own story.
A plane on a cross-country flight comes apart in mid-air over Kansas. A young National Transportation Safety Board investigator, Charlie Radford, is sent as part of the team that will investigate and determine what caused the crash. When people begin to talk about a woman who survived the crash, everyone knows that surviving such a crash is nearly impossible. It is said that she was found in a barn, still strapped into her seat. She was taken to the hospital, but later quietly left without telling anyone. Charlie ends up investigating the woman, starting with the crash and then trying to find her.
Erin Geraghty, a lawyer who is married and has two children in college, has pancreatic cancer. When she embarked on her flight and impossibly survived, she was already essentially on her way to death, so she wanted to live out her days in peace without media scrutiny and allow her family to grieve her. She called her former lover who drove her to his cabin, where she hid out and did not contact her family. When Charlie Radford ends up finding her, he wants her to come forward, but she's not interested.
The focus of the plot is the right to control our own story, the right of privacy, and our responsibilities to our love ones. The narrative alternates between the characters of Charlie and Erin. A big part of the plot involves the personal lives of these two characters. Charlie does not want children, but his wife does. Erin does not want to put her husband and twin daughters through any more turmoil after her ongoing cancer treatment. In many ways the inclusion of trivial details about Charlie and Erin's personal lives detracted from the overriding message of the plot. For example, Erin's marriage lacks passion so she had an affair, but she also left her husband and children not knowing she was alive as they were trying to identify victims. Speaking as a mother, this is unthinkable and a cruel thing to do to your family. Charlie's constant fights with his wife over having a child needed a serious discussion and not just a constant mention. The writing is good in this debut novel, but also seems to drag on for too long in the middle. The plot is an interesting story but at times it strains credulity.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2020/0...
A plane on a cross-country flight comes apart in mid-air over Kansas. A young National Transportation Safety Board investigator, Charlie Radford, is sent as part of the team that will investigate and determine what caused the crash. When people begin to talk about a woman who survived the crash, everyone knows that surviving such a crash is nearly impossible. It is said that she was found in a barn, still strapped into her seat. She was taken to the hospital, but later quietly left without telling anyone. Charlie ends up investigating the woman, starting with the crash and then trying to find her.
Erin Geraghty, a lawyer who is married and has two children in college, has pancreatic cancer. When she embarked on her flight and impossibly survived, she was already essentially on her way to death, so she wanted to live out her days in peace without media scrutiny and allow her family to grieve her. She called her former lover who drove her to his cabin, where she hid out and did not contact her family. When Charlie Radford ends up finding her, he wants her to come forward, but she's not interested.
The focus of the plot is the right to control our own story, the right of privacy, and our responsibilities to our love ones. The narrative alternates between the characters of Charlie and Erin. A big part of the plot involves the personal lives of these two characters. Charlie does not want children, but his wife does. Erin does not want to put her husband and twin daughters through any more turmoil after her ongoing cancer treatment. In many ways the inclusion of trivial details about Charlie and Erin's personal lives detracted from the overriding message of the plot. For example, Erin's marriage lacks passion so she had an affair, but she also left her husband and children not knowing she was alive as they were trying to identify victims. Speaking as a mother, this is unthinkable and a cruel thing to do to your family. Charlie's constant fights with his wife over having a child needed a serious discussion and not just a constant mention. The writing is good in this debut novel, but also seems to drag on for too long in the middle. The plot is an interesting story but at times it strains credulity.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2020/0...
September 3, 2020
"Hiding is a way of holding ourselves until we are ready to come into the light."
On a stormy night in May, a plane took off from Dulles bound for California. The Boeing 737 carrying 123 passengers and crew inexplicably exploded and everything rained down on the Kansas prairie outside of Wichita. The NTSB mobilized its investigators who headed to the site in an attempt to figure out what happened and why. "Investigating a crash is one part archeology, one part guesswork, and one part origami." But this wasn't a story about the methods of that agency. The most startling aspect of this terrible disaster was that there was rumor of a survivor. This wasn't really a story about her, either, after all.
The narrative shifts between the viewpoints of Erin Geraghty (wife, mother, lawyer, cancer patient) and Charlie Radford (a member of the NTSB GO Team). The information about the procedures of the Pointer 795 crash investigation is very interesting. The plausibility and believability of a person defying the laws of physics to survive such an event even more so. But at the heart of this tale is the question -- what rights do people have to privacy and the choice about self-determination.
This book begs to be chosen for book club discussion and I've enjoyed reading all the other reviews. Although I likely would not have made the same choices as either of the main characters, I respect their ability to do so. The reality is that we often don't have the ability to control our own narratives, especially if the public is clamoring for explanations, reasons, or answers. I could not put this down until I finished it in a single sitting. Very thought-provoking and I think I'll remember this one for a long time.
Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.
On a stormy night in May, a plane took off from Dulles bound for California. The Boeing 737 carrying 123 passengers and crew inexplicably exploded and everything rained down on the Kansas prairie outside of Wichita. The NTSB mobilized its investigators who headed to the site in an attempt to figure out what happened and why. "Investigating a crash is one part archeology, one part guesswork, and one part origami." But this wasn't a story about the methods of that agency. The most startling aspect of this terrible disaster was that there was rumor of a survivor. This wasn't really a story about her, either, after all.
The narrative shifts between the viewpoints of Erin Geraghty (wife, mother, lawyer, cancer patient) and Charlie Radford (a member of the NTSB GO Team). The information about the procedures of the Pointer 795 crash investigation is very interesting. The plausibility and believability of a person defying the laws of physics to survive such an event even more so. But at the heart of this tale is the question -- what rights do people have to privacy and the choice about self-determination.
This book begs to be chosen for book club discussion and I've enjoyed reading all the other reviews. Although I likely would not have made the same choices as either of the main characters, I respect their ability to do so. The reality is that we often don't have the ability to control our own narratives, especially if the public is clamoring for explanations, reasons, or answers. I could not put this down until I finished it in a single sitting. Very thought-provoking and I think I'll remember this one for a long time.
Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.
May 7, 2020
More Annoying Than Captivating
It wasn’t disbelief that a woman, Erin Geraghty, could survive falling from an exploding airplane that annoyed me while reading, “The Falling Woman”, by Richard Farrell, it was the utter incredulity in the actions and inaction of said woman after the fall, and even more so the actions and inaction of the NSTB agent, Charlie Radford as he hunts for her.
Both main characters are so inconsistent, so often unhinged, so DUMB, that I couldn’t love them or hate them or understand them at all. I should have known from Chapter 1 when all of Radford’s answers to questions from a U.S. House of Representative Panel investigating the crash were non-sequiturs, that I was going to be more annoyed by the characters than captivated by the story.
Basically the characters of Radford and Geraghty are both utter jerks, while not even villainous enough to be interesting. None of their actions or inaction made sense, even though Farrell tried again and again to make them make sense.
And yet I finished it. Mostly to see if it was ME (it wasn’t me), and if the plot would start to make better sense as the story went on, but it actually got worse as the climax unfolded.
It wasn’t disbelief that a woman, Erin Geraghty, could survive falling from an exploding airplane that annoyed me while reading, “The Falling Woman”, by Richard Farrell, it was the utter incredulity in the actions and inaction of said woman after the fall, and even more so the actions and inaction of the NSTB agent, Charlie Radford as he hunts for her.
Both main characters are so inconsistent, so often unhinged, so DUMB, that I couldn’t love them or hate them or understand them at all. I should have known from Chapter 1 when all of Radford’s answers to questions from a U.S. House of Representative Panel investigating the crash were non-sequiturs, that I was going to be more annoyed by the characters than captivated by the story.
Basically the characters of Radford and Geraghty are both utter jerks, while not even villainous enough to be interesting. None of their actions or inaction made sense, even though Farrell tried again and again to make them make sense.
And yet I finished it. Mostly to see if it was ME (it wasn’t me), and if the plot would start to make better sense as the story went on, but it actually got worse as the climax unfolded.
August 10, 2020
I’m not sure exactly how I feel about this book. Maybe 3 stars. Maybe 4. It sure makes one think about how you would live out your final days if you were diagnosed with an incurable disease and only months to live. Erin is on her way to a cancer retreat. The plane she is in explodes and she falls to earth (falls through a barn roof) and suffers only minor injuries. Radford, a safety board investigator, is forced to find the “falling woman”. Along the way he discovers a lot about himself, Erin, politics, and life itself. Does anyone have the right to tell your story? What is privacy and what are your responsibilities to loved ones. Food for thought. Makes for a good discussion. 3.5 stars.
August 30, 2020
This debut novel written by an actual pilot is credible, fascinating and suspenseful. I zipped through the pages filled with multi-dimensional characters and vibrant sensory details. The thought-provoking concepts will make The Falling Woman a book club favorite.
June 20, 2020
Thanks to Algonquin and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
This book had a compelling story although at first I didn’t get into it. A young woman is dying of cancer and takes a trip to a cancer retreat. On the way she’s in a plane crash and is the sole survivor. The story is also told from the perspective of the man leading the investigation of the plane crash.
I don’t want to give too much away but this book makes you think about how much a person can control their narrative and their life.
Overall a good concept but I wish it had been told a little differently to hold my interest more.
This book had a compelling story although at first I didn’t get into it. A young woman is dying of cancer and takes a trip to a cancer retreat. On the way she’s in a plane crash and is the sole survivor. The story is also told from the perspective of the man leading the investigation of the plane crash.
I don’t want to give too much away but this book makes you think about how much a person can control their narrative and their life.
Overall a good concept but I wish it had been told a little differently to hold my interest more.
June 6, 2020
3.5 stars. I enjoyed this quick read which I'd describe as (thoughtful) suspense lit. It tells the alternating story of a middle age woman (Erin Geraghty) who plans to attend a retreat for cancer patients but her plane crashes en route, and the NTSB investigator Charlie Radford is tasked in the aftermath with identifying the bodies and figuring out if a lone survivor at the hospital is indeed for real, but before he can get to the supposed survivor (Erin), she checks out and goes into hiding.
I liked how the story goes into the backstory of the two main characters: Charlie, a former pilot who loved flying but no longer can, due to a heart problem, has a wife who wants kids but he's resisting as he's geared toward his work on his first big crash site; and Erin, who's a lawyer in the DC area with a husband & 2 grown kids, who's been through many rounds of chemo and has tired of her marriage and has had an affair years ago. These two characters, who held my interest, their stories eventually intersect and the suspense builds well ... as to if Erin was on the flight & survived and whether Charlie will get to the truth of what happened and announce it at the crash hearing.
I liked the novel's themes of fate, randomness, privacy ... and the miracle of life, which it offers up with an empathetic sensibility. You might not like or agree with everything these characters do ... but I found it was their decision to make. My only other critique is there's a bit of repetition with descriptions of following the evidence etc. I was okay with going with the premise (whether the situation seems implausible) ... you'll likely need to suspend some disbelief ... to see other points it's making. Such a miraculous kind of premise reminded me a bit of Stephen Kiernan's novel The Curiosity about a man trapped in ice coming to life ... you just go with it & see where it takes you.
I received an ARC of this novel and thank the publisher Algonquin Books for making it possible.
I liked how the story goes into the backstory of the two main characters: Charlie, a former pilot who loved flying but no longer can, due to a heart problem, has a wife who wants kids but he's resisting as he's geared toward his work on his first big crash site; and Erin, who's a lawyer in the DC area with a husband & 2 grown kids, who's been through many rounds of chemo and has tired of her marriage and has had an affair years ago. These two characters, who held my interest, their stories eventually intersect and the suspense builds well ... as to if Erin was on the flight & survived and whether Charlie will get to the truth of what happened and announce it at the crash hearing.
I liked the novel's themes of fate, randomness, privacy ... and the miracle of life, which it offers up with an empathetic sensibility. You might not like or agree with everything these characters do ... but I found it was their decision to make. My only other critique is there's a bit of repetition with descriptions of following the evidence etc. I was okay with going with the premise (whether the situation seems implausible) ... you'll likely need to suspend some disbelief ... to see other points it's making. Such a miraculous kind of premise reminded me a bit of Stephen Kiernan's novel The Curiosity about a man trapped in ice coming to life ... you just go with it & see where it takes you.
I received an ARC of this novel and thank the publisher Algonquin Books for making it possible.
June 1, 2020
Farrell's love of aviation is evident from the first page. His writing is especially lyrical when he describes flight, a metaphor aptly used throughout this enthralling debut novel.
Charlie's and Erin's lives are about to intersect in a strange and unimaginable way. Charlie Radford is a young team member at the National Transportation Safety Board, a man whose greatest desire, to be a pilot, was thwarted by a heart condition. Attorney Erin Geraghty's life trajectory has also been curtailed by pancreatic cancer. Erin, a passenger on Pointer Flight 795, is on the plane that disappears in the vast fields of Kansas. No one believes that anyone could have survived this horrendous disaster, but there is a strong rumor that one female did, and now she has disappeared. Charlie draws the short straw when he is told to verify if there is a survivor and if she is legitimate.
Both Erin and Charlie have spent their lives doing the right thing, even at the great cost of life satisfaction. When they meet, many nuanced questions arise about the right to privacy, the right to die, what people owe their families and what they owe themselves, The issues are complicated and give this novel great depth. The final ode to finding one's wings is rich and memorable.
Charlie's and Erin's lives are about to intersect in a strange and unimaginable way. Charlie Radford is a young team member at the National Transportation Safety Board, a man whose greatest desire, to be a pilot, was thwarted by a heart condition. Attorney Erin Geraghty's life trajectory has also been curtailed by pancreatic cancer. Erin, a passenger on Pointer Flight 795, is on the plane that disappears in the vast fields of Kansas. No one believes that anyone could have survived this horrendous disaster, but there is a strong rumor that one female did, and now she has disappeared. Charlie draws the short straw when he is told to verify if there is a survivor and if she is legitimate.
Both Erin and Charlie have spent their lives doing the right thing, even at the great cost of life satisfaction. When they meet, many nuanced questions arise about the right to privacy, the right to die, what people owe their families and what they owe themselves, The issues are complicated and give this novel great depth. The final ode to finding one's wings is rich and memorable.
Want to read
May 12, 2021The Falling Woman
BY Richard Farrell
The Falling Woman is a wonderful novel that is both fast paced and thought provoking read about a lone survivor and a woman battling Pancreatic Cancer.
Erin Geraghty survives a plane explosion over Kansas as she is coming from a Cancer retreat on a flight from from DC to San Francisco. The NTSB investigates the crash and sends Charlie Radford to determine the cause of the crash and confirm Erin's existence. However, Erin wants to live out the remainder of her life alone and goes into hiding. She is tired of battling this cancer and does not want to cause additional heartache for her loved ones, to only survive this tragic plane explosion then to have to lose her a few months later.
This was such a great read for me. I always navigate to how medical information is written in books as a nurse and appreciate all the research that have gone to write a well-researched topic. I was also quite intrigued with the idea of survivors and lone survivors especially of plane crashes and other major catastrophic events. This book makes for a great group discussion for a book club and buddy reads.
I really enjoyed this one a lot.
BY Richard Farrell
The Falling Woman is a wonderful novel that is both fast paced and thought provoking read about a lone survivor and a woman battling Pancreatic Cancer.
Erin Geraghty survives a plane explosion over Kansas as she is coming from a Cancer retreat on a flight from from DC to San Francisco. The NTSB investigates the crash and sends Charlie Radford to determine the cause of the crash and confirm Erin's existence. However, Erin wants to live out the remainder of her life alone and goes into hiding. She is tired of battling this cancer and does not want to cause additional heartache for her loved ones, to only survive this tragic plane explosion then to have to lose her a few months later.
This was such a great read for me. I always navigate to how medical information is written in books as a nurse and appreciate all the research that have gone to write a well-researched topic. I was also quite intrigued with the idea of survivors and lone survivors especially of plane crashes and other major catastrophic events. This book makes for a great group discussion for a book club and buddy reads.
I really enjoyed this one a lot.
December 20, 2019
This is not a book I would urge you to run out and buy as soon as it's published. It is one, however, I would say don't overlook it.
This is one of those stories where you think, this could never happen.....or could it. Erin Geraghty has just been given a reprieve from her diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. She decides to take some time to herself and fly cross country to California for a retreat. She never reaches her destination. Instead she finds herself on the floor of a barn in Kansas after apparently falling from her exploding flight.
How could she possibly survived when every other passenger perished?
NTSB investigator Charlie Radford is assigned to find out if this person really exists after she disappears from the hospital and drops off the face of the earth. Why would she do such a thing and why does Charlie put everything on the line to find out the truth?
An interesting take on two people tormented in their lives and searching for answers as they grasp with what most people would say is the impossible.
This is one of those stories where you think, this could never happen.....or could it. Erin Geraghty has just been given a reprieve from her diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. She decides to take some time to herself and fly cross country to California for a retreat. She never reaches her destination. Instead she finds herself on the floor of a barn in Kansas after apparently falling from her exploding flight.
How could she possibly survived when every other passenger perished?
NTSB investigator Charlie Radford is assigned to find out if this person really exists after she disappears from the hospital and drops off the face of the earth. Why would she do such a thing and why does Charlie put everything on the line to find out the truth?
An interesting take on two people tormented in their lives and searching for answers as they grasp with what most people would say is the impossible.
September 18, 2020
This is Richard Farrell's debut novel. He is a former pilot and the story line is about an airplane that explodes in mid-air over Kansas. The protagonist, Charlie, who works for the National Transportation Safety Board, goes to Kansas to investigate. Soon there are rumors that a woman has survived and it's Charlie's job to find out the truth.
This novel started slowly for me, there was too much repetition regarding the investigation, and the suspense built very slowly. However, the ending was strong.
There are two side stories (1) Charlie's marriage and, (2) the life of Erin who is the survivor and has terminal cancer. She's found in a barn still in her airline seat by the owners of the farm, taken to a local hospital, and then just disappears. So now Charlie has the job of finding her.
This novel will make you think about the right to privacy. Do you have the right to just disappear? What about the rights of others involved in the situation? What about job responsibility? Yes, there's lots to digest and think about.
Sometimes survival is truly a miracle. One reviewer Googled the names of real people mentioned in this novel who fell through the air and found that, indeed, people have lived to tell about it.
Thanks to LibraryThing for a copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
This novel started slowly for me, there was too much repetition regarding the investigation, and the suspense built very slowly. However, the ending was strong.
There are two side stories (1) Charlie's marriage and, (2) the life of Erin who is the survivor and has terminal cancer. She's found in a barn still in her airline seat by the owners of the farm, taken to a local hospital, and then just disappears. So now Charlie has the job of finding her.
This novel will make you think about the right to privacy. Do you have the right to just disappear? What about the rights of others involved in the situation? What about job responsibility? Yes, there's lots to digest and think about.
Sometimes survival is truly a miracle. One reviewer Googled the names of real people mentioned in this novel who fell through the air and found that, indeed, people have lived to tell about it.
Thanks to LibraryThing for a copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
March 13, 2021
There were so many things about this book that I liked. It was filled with characters who did the right thing along with a few you loved to hate. I especially liked the character of Erin. She was a good person who was trying to do the right thing in spite of the fact that she was ripe for being exploited by the press. I also liked Charlie and his wife Wendy. Charlie was a decent person who was trying to resist the easiest path forward at the cost of the victim. Wendy wanted a baby very badly but Charlie wasn't convinced he would be a good father. Much of this story takes place in Wichita, Kansas, and being a Kansas girl myself I loved the setting of the plains, the wide open spaces, and the thunderstorms. Most of all I love it when what at first seems like a straight forward story turns out to have something profound to say.
April 19, 2020
Does anyone really survive cancer treatment ? Or are they inevitably changed by it? A new person on the other side of their brush (or rush) toward death?
Accident investigator, Charles Radford with the National Transportation Safety Board is as prepared as anyone to deal with Erin Geraghty in the late stages of "this is as good as it gets with pancreatic cancer." Which means Erin's situation is completely beyond Radford's control. Or is it?
Radford's mentor counsels him that "If you ask the right questions, the rest will follow" and that "to get from chaos to order, you have to trust cause and effect."
He has a legal right to question any witness involved in an accident but when his investigation leads to Erin will the right questions be enough to satisfy both of them?
Not since Nevil Shute 's novel No Highway have I so much enjoyed accompanying an accident investigator on the story of "What if?"
Richard Farrell takes the reader inside a confounding accident investigation . He writes with a lively and often humorous attention to detail that aviation enthusiasts will appreciate and beltway residents will recognize.
Thanks to NetGalley from whom I received a complimentary ARC copy of The Falling Woman: A Novel to read and give an honest review.
Accident investigator, Charles Radford with the National Transportation Safety Board is as prepared as anyone to deal with Erin Geraghty in the late stages of "this is as good as it gets with pancreatic cancer." Which means Erin's situation is completely beyond Radford's control. Or is it?
Radford's mentor counsels him that "If you ask the right questions, the rest will follow" and that "to get from chaos to order, you have to trust cause and effect."
He has a legal right to question any witness involved in an accident but when his investigation leads to Erin will the right questions be enough to satisfy both of them?
Not since Nevil Shute 's novel No Highway have I so much enjoyed accompanying an accident investigator on the story of "What if?"
Richard Farrell takes the reader inside a confounding accident investigation . He writes with a lively and often humorous attention to detail that aviation enthusiasts will appreciate and beltway residents will recognize.
Thanks to NetGalley from whom I received a complimentary ARC copy of The Falling Woman: A Novel to read and give an honest review.
April 1, 2020
I really enjoyed The Falling Woman by Richard Farrell, which tells the story of a woman who miraculously survives a fall from an exploding airplane on its way to crashing to the ground. In fact, she was still strapped into her seat! However, Erin Geraghty is no ordinary crash survivor. She is already dying from cancer and sees no reason to rejoin her life. She doesn't want to be found and the bulk of the story centers around Charlie Radford, NTSB investigator, as he searches for this supposed survivor after she disappeared from the hospital without giving her name.
The premise of this book intrigued me. The mere fact of someone surviving such an accident seemed hard to believe, and still harder to believe, that the person would NOT immediately go back to her family. I never did completely buy why she would not want to connect with her children. I know she felt she didn't have much time left to live, but as a mom, I can't imagine not grabbing onto a few more moments with my children. Still, the writing was strong and the characters were developed well.
I felt the pacing of the book could have used some editing. The beginning was really compelling, and the ending was very strong and satisfying, although I had a pretty good guess how it would turn out. The middle, however, spun its wheels for far too long. There were too many scenes with Charlie and his superior arguing about finding answers when there were no ready answers to be found.
Overall, a strong debut novel. Many thanks to Algonquin Books and NetGalley for providing advance access to a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
The premise of this book intrigued me. The mere fact of someone surviving such an accident seemed hard to believe, and still harder to believe, that the person would NOT immediately go back to her family. I never did completely buy why she would not want to connect with her children. I know she felt she didn't have much time left to live, but as a mom, I can't imagine not grabbing onto a few more moments with my children. Still, the writing was strong and the characters were developed well.
I felt the pacing of the book could have used some editing. The beginning was really compelling, and the ending was very strong and satisfying, although I had a pretty good guess how it would turn out. The middle, however, spun its wheels for far too long. There were too many scenes with Charlie and his superior arguing about finding answers when there were no ready answers to be found.
Overall, a strong debut novel. Many thanks to Algonquin Books and NetGalley for providing advance access to a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
Read
June 22, 2020Erin Geraghty just wants to die in peace. Facing a losing battle with cancer, she boards a plane to attend a cancer retreat, one last hurrah before her big finale. However, she never makes it there. Her plane explodes mid-flight and she is found in a barn, still strapped to her seat. Miraculously alive, she sees this as her way out, a chance to die peacefully without her family having to mourn her again.
Charles Radford is a young up and coming investigator brought on to determine the cause of the crash. When rumors of a survivor dubbed “the falling woman” bubbles up, Charles, always a skeptic, notes it as impossible. A woman surviving a fall from an exploding plane? No way. However, the rumor mill won’t give this one up and he’s soon tasked to find this missing woman. Grudgingly, he goes on a wild goose chase that leads him to Erin.
But, when their paths cross and Charles understands that Erin wants to be left out of the spotlight, will Charlie respect her dying wishes, especially when his job is on the line?
I really enjoyed this book. The idea of a sole survivor thrust from a mid-air explosion, tumbling down to earth and somehow living is unfathomable to me. However, the meat of the story is centered around humanity and the lengths that we go for survival. Whether for Erin, it was a the survival of a horrific plane crash on top of having terminal cancer and just wanting to hide out and die, to Charles, who is tasked to finding Erin, but his training, logic and understanding tells him that it’s impossible.
Charles Radford is a young up and coming investigator brought on to determine the cause of the crash. When rumors of a survivor dubbed “the falling woman” bubbles up, Charles, always a skeptic, notes it as impossible. A woman surviving a fall from an exploding plane? No way. However, the rumor mill won’t give this one up and he’s soon tasked to find this missing woman. Grudgingly, he goes on a wild goose chase that leads him to Erin.
But, when their paths cross and Charles understands that Erin wants to be left out of the spotlight, will Charlie respect her dying wishes, especially when his job is on the line?
I really enjoyed this book. The idea of a sole survivor thrust from a mid-air explosion, tumbling down to earth and somehow living is unfathomable to me. However, the meat of the story is centered around humanity and the lengths that we go for survival. Whether for Erin, it was a the survival of a horrific plane crash on top of having terminal cancer and just wanting to hide out and die, to Charles, who is tasked to finding Erin, but his training, logic and understanding tells him that it’s impossible.
June 30, 2020
“The Falling Woman” is Richard Farrell’s first book. It’s the story of a woman’s survival in a plane crash, that killed everyone else on the plane. It’s also the story of a woman dying from pancreatic cancer. The women are the same and the story is told by Farrell in an ironic tone.
The main character is Charlie Radford, a man who loves airplanes and the world of flying. He’s an investigator for the US government who goes to Wichita with the rest of his team after the plane crashes. The department is full of politics and personal and professional back stabbing. Frankly, I found the government inquiry less interesting than the other aspects of the story, particularly those involving Erin Geraghty, the “Falling Woman.”
I read Richard Farrell’s novel as I would a movie script. It seems perfect for a TV movie. That’s not a bad thing; sometimes we need some escape reading.
The main character is Charlie Radford, a man who loves airplanes and the world of flying. He’s an investigator for the US government who goes to Wichita with the rest of his team after the plane crashes. The department is full of politics and personal and professional back stabbing. Frankly, I found the government inquiry less interesting than the other aspects of the story, particularly those involving Erin Geraghty, the “Falling Woman.”
I read Richard Farrell’s novel as I would a movie script. It seems perfect for a TV movie. That’s not a bad thing; sometimes we need some escape reading.
May 18, 2020
If I were to describe this book in one word it would be, repetitive. The plot held promise if not for the monotony, which in my opinion dulled the characters making it difficult to care one way or another for them. The author did the story an injustice by publishing it as a novel, if pared-down it could have made an amazing novella. Five stars for the prologue though...now that was amazing.
*I received an advanced copy of this book as a Goodreads giveaway.*
*I received an advanced copy of this book as a Goodreads giveaway.*
March 16, 2020
A woman that survives falling from an airplane, then goes into hiding...such an original story! I really enjoyed this book. It's well written, I liked the main characters, Charlie and Erin. I had no idea that there were actually real people who survived falls like this; I googled the names mentioned and was shocked!
April 18, 2020
I won this book on a goodreads giveaway. What an unusual concept. This book, although it’s, at first a little difficult to get into and sort out characters, is well worth the effort. This book makes you ponder questions about privacy versus research and the true value of relationships and life. This makes a great summer read.
April 3, 2020
3.5 rounded up for the intriguing beginning and strong finish. It would make a great summer read.
July 13, 2020
I loved this book, personal, intimate, beautifully written, many layers, thrilling, touching, soul searching, unique, for me it was an excellent debut.
June 25, 2020
Rich's book.
This book surprised me - and then surprised me again. I wasn't expecting the packaging: the dramatic plot complete with exploding planes, cancer, adultery, investigations and government hearings. Those elements put the book into "summer reading" or "travel reading" (good thing almost nobody is flying these days - definitely not a good book to pick up in an airport) category.
But in between the dramatic plot elements there's a deeper heart, a sense of humanity and understanding and some beautiful moments of writing that pull the novel beyond "crime fiction" or "summer reading" and explore something more about the human condition. There's also social commentary - not one that bangs you over the head but one that, to employ my favorite metaphor about good writing, shines a flashlight in a dark corner and lets you look at what's there.
I write - in pen - in books that I like (a trait which horrifies my children) and while I'm not comparing this novel to either Fitzgerald or Shakespeare, there were glimpses of that level of craft apparent in the novel. The opening paragraph of Ch. 5 was my first glimpse of "Gatsby" in both writing style and theme. I circled words in that paragraph - 14 - which, like the descriptions in the opening paragraph of the party chapter in Gatsby, foretold what was to come. I'm not suggesting that we have a "great American novel" on our hands but sections like this one exemplify some of the writers talent, not only to set a mood but to convey a larger truth. I did the same thing in the opening of Chapter 7.
One of my first notations was on page 6 (the second full page of the novel) when I first encountered one of the novel's central themes: "I don't deal in answers," Radford says. "My job was to ask the right questions." This point is made again and again throughout the novel (though not to the point of dead horses) but here, where it first occurred, I thought of Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson and A Few Good Men. My comment: "A 'You can't handle the truth' moment." There were several other times that I noted the "cinematic" writing with precisely written descriptions that brought you into the novel like the opening scene of the hearing with "sticky chairs and sweating pitchers of water". Chapter 9, Charlie walking home with Wendy ... another "cinematic" scene.
I did my graduate work in Shakespeare studies and came to appreciate Shakespeare's craft for inserting humor after particularly dramatic scenes. Near the end of Ch. 26 Farrell does the same thing when Charlie Radford has this intense moment with his dad where maybe his dad will finally "get" him and you, the reader, almost feel like the sadness when he doesn't is your own. And then Farrell inserts a somewhat cliche comical moment at a bar (turns out to be a key moment). I enjoyed the levity after the weight of the preceding phone call and found it Shakespearean.
There were other phrases that belied the greater themes amidst the bigger-than-life plot:
"rented solemnity"
"Passions constrained by protocols"
"Maybe the whole goddam thing was one great big act"
"Didn't they realize how tentative all of it was?"
"Nothing heroic about this work, and he felt foolish for assuming there would be."
"I've done my part."
This book is easy to read (I finished it in a day and so did my father) and will appeal to women and men. This book provides a lot of material for book clubs to discuss and the fact that it's easy to read is a bonus.
This book surprised me - and then surprised me again. I wasn't expecting the packaging: the dramatic plot complete with exploding planes, cancer, adultery, investigations and government hearings. Those elements put the book into "summer reading" or "travel reading" (good thing almost nobody is flying these days - definitely not a good book to pick up in an airport) category.
But in between the dramatic plot elements there's a deeper heart, a sense of humanity and understanding and some beautiful moments of writing that pull the novel beyond "crime fiction" or "summer reading" and explore something more about the human condition. There's also social commentary - not one that bangs you over the head but one that, to employ my favorite metaphor about good writing, shines a flashlight in a dark corner and lets you look at what's there.
I write - in pen - in books that I like (a trait which horrifies my children) and while I'm not comparing this novel to either Fitzgerald or Shakespeare, there were glimpses of that level of craft apparent in the novel. The opening paragraph of Ch. 5 was my first glimpse of "Gatsby" in both writing style and theme. I circled words in that paragraph - 14 - which, like the descriptions in the opening paragraph of the party chapter in Gatsby, foretold what was to come. I'm not suggesting that we have a "great American novel" on our hands but sections like this one exemplify some of the writers talent, not only to set a mood but to convey a larger truth. I did the same thing in the opening of Chapter 7.
One of my first notations was on page 6 (the second full page of the novel) when I first encountered one of the novel's central themes: "I don't deal in answers," Radford says. "My job was to ask the right questions." This point is made again and again throughout the novel (though not to the point of dead horses) but here, where it first occurred, I thought of Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson and A Few Good Men. My comment: "A 'You can't handle the truth' moment." There were several other times that I noted the "cinematic" writing with precisely written descriptions that brought you into the novel like the opening scene of the hearing with "sticky chairs and sweating pitchers of water". Chapter 9, Charlie walking home with Wendy ... another "cinematic" scene.
I did my graduate work in Shakespeare studies and came to appreciate Shakespeare's craft for inserting humor after particularly dramatic scenes. Near the end of Ch. 26 Farrell does the same thing when Charlie Radford has this intense moment with his dad where maybe his dad will finally "get" him and you, the reader, almost feel like the sadness when he doesn't is your own. And then Farrell inserts a somewhat cliche comical moment at a bar (turns out to be a key moment). I enjoyed the levity after the weight of the preceding phone call and found it Shakespearean.
There were other phrases that belied the greater themes amidst the bigger-than-life plot:
"rented solemnity"
"Passions constrained by protocols"
"Maybe the whole goddam thing was one great big act"
"Didn't they realize how tentative all of it was?"
"Nothing heroic about this work, and he felt foolish for assuming there would be."
"I've done my part."
This book is easy to read (I finished it in a day and so did my father) and will appeal to women and men. This book provides a lot of material for book clubs to discuss and the fact that it's easy to read is a bonus.
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