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Falling
On a late summer day along the shores of Nova Scotia, a young woman makes a mistake that will claim her life, while at the other end of the beach her brother, Damian, is unaware that she is drowning. Beginning with this shattering event, Anne Simpson’s mesmerizing novel unfolds in unexpected ways.
A year after the accident, Damian and his mother, Ingrid, travel to Niagara Falls to scatter Lisa’s ashes and to visit Ingrid’s estranged brother, once a famous daredevil of the Falls, now blind, and his mentally disabled son. But old wounds and new misunderstandings soon collide. Damian, burdened by guilt, finds solace in an intense relationship with a girl he first glimpses in a tattoo parlour. A runaway with dreams of New York City, Jasmine has her own reasons for wanting to escape the past. Meanwhile, Ingrid, having reluctantly returned to her childhood home, finds herself at odds with her brother and besieged by memories. As the summer progresses, each of them becomes caught in the pull of the past — until an act of recklessness shocks them into a new course for the future.
In startling, luminous language, Anne Simpson captures both the natural beauty and tawdry eccentricity of Niagara Falls, while evoking the elemental bonds that tie us to the ones we love. By turns uncompromising and heartbreakingly tender, Falling is a riveting story of ordinary people poised on the knife-edge of grief and hope.
With this, her second novel, Anne Simpson proves herself to be one of our most striking and original writers.
From the Hardcover edition.
A year after the accident, Damian and his mother, Ingrid, travel to Niagara Falls to scatter Lisa’s ashes and to visit Ingrid’s estranged brother, once a famous daredevil of the Falls, now blind, and his mentally disabled son. But old wounds and new misunderstandings soon collide. Damian, burdened by guilt, finds solace in an intense relationship with a girl he first glimpses in a tattoo parlour. A runaway with dreams of New York City, Jasmine has her own reasons for wanting to escape the past. Meanwhile, Ingrid, having reluctantly returned to her childhood home, finds herself at odds with her brother and besieged by memories. As the summer progresses, each of them becomes caught in the pull of the past — until an act of recklessness shocks them into a new course for the future.
In startling, luminous language, Anne Simpson captures both the natural beauty and tawdry eccentricity of Niagara Falls, while evoking the elemental bonds that tie us to the ones we love. By turns uncompromising and heartbreakingly tender, Falling is a riveting story of ordinary people poised on the knife-edge of grief and hope.
With this, her second novel, Anne Simpson proves herself to be one of our most striking and original writers.
From the Hardcover edition.
328 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 18, 2009
3 ½ stars
Falling is about grief, from first to last page
..A lot of water, from the tiniest trickle to the roar of the Niagara Falls
....Lovely literature about life and loss and love
......Life after Lisa’s drowning; its aftermath for other characters
........I wanted to know more about Lisa
..........Nearly two-thirds through, a crafty countdown; no punctuation
.......... Given the ending, the reader can perhaps see a glimmer of hope
Falling is about grief, from first to last page
..A lot of water, from the tiniest trickle to the roar of the Niagara Falls
....Lovely literature about life and loss and love
......Life after Lisa’s drowning; its aftermath for other characters
........I wanted to know more about Lisa
..........Nearly two-thirds through, a crafty countdown; no punctuation
.......... Given the ending, the reader can perhaps see a glimmer of hope
May 2, 2015
Anne Simpson raises the stakes right off the bat - the book begins with a random tragic drowning, and unfolds from there. All of the characters that she has created here are touched by tragedy of one kind or another, though. Her thorough and brave examination of each of these is something that sets "Falling" apart. Wonderful to finally read this! Instructive.
October 15, 2017
3.5. Some descriptions were poetic.
May 29, 2020
I tried several times to finish this book. I got about 2/3 through and gave up. It’s just too, too sad.
January 23, 2022
I enjoyed the book
Found the storyline was like tetras.
The inserts of the past and present of multiple characters were distracting.
The ending left everyone open to interpretation.
Found the storyline was like tetras.
The inserts of the past and present of multiple characters were distracting.
The ending left everyone open to interpretation.
April 14, 2011
Excellent story line and subject matter, but the book was totally spoiled for me by this author's writing style. In fact I am 3/4 done and don't think I will finish...gives me a headache. Maybe poets should stick to poetry and not attempt to write a novel!! I kind of wish someone else had written it in a more readable fashion . And yes, I am NOT a poetry fan. If I was , I would buy books of poems.
February 16, 2011
Seemed like a promising book, but didn't quite work. Not sure if it was deliberate, but it was very hard to work out the age of the 'children'/young adults in the book. Too many unresolved plot lines and some very irritating literary devices- the huge unpunctuated section drove me mad and made me want to skip it.
August 6, 2009
Choisie sur un coup de coeur chez Chapters, j'ai été un peu déçue par Falling. L'histoire est intéressante, les personnages--déchirés par un drame familial--attachants, mais les différentes techniques littéraires de l'auteur étaient trop mécaniques, évidentes. À oublier.
August 18, 2013
Really, really enjoyed this book. The subject sounds sad (dealing with grief basically) but loved the writing. Anne Simpson is our new shared writer in residence (with Mac) and I can't wait to meet her after reading this novel.
November 18, 2009
A mother and son deal with their grief at the loss of their daughter/sister. Written with the sensitivity of a true poet.
March 18, 2012
sad ending
June 30, 2012
Quite a good read. Will be reading more of her books.
January 31, 2016
I read this in one sitting. I could not put it down. Brilliant study of human nature and what happens to family members after a tragic accident.
Want to read
November 18, 2009A Nove Scotia/Niagara Falls story. A tragedy strikes a family
Anne Simpson is loved by her poetry
Anne Simpson is loved by her poetry
March 5, 2015
Cute easy read
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews