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Fallsy Downsies
Winner of the Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction
Lansing Meadows has one last shot to get it right. With the clock ticking, he sets out on the road one last time, to sing his songs to anyone who’ll listen, and to try to right his wrongs, before it’s too late.
Fallsy Downsies is a novel about aging, art, celebrity and modern Canadian culture, told through the lens of Lansing Meadows, the godfather of Canadian folk music; Evan Cornfield, the up and comer who idolizes him; and Dacey Brown, a young photographer who finds herself along for the ride.
Lansing Meadows has one last shot to get it right. With the clock ticking, he sets out on the road one last time, to sing his songs to anyone who’ll listen, and to try to right his wrongs, before it’s too late.
Fallsy Downsies is a novel about aging, art, celebrity and modern Canadian culture, told through the lens of Lansing Meadows, the godfather of Canadian folk music; Evan Cornfield, the up and comer who idolizes him; and Dacey Brown, a young photographer who finds herself along for the ride.
362 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 15, 2013
3 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
About the author
Stephanie Domet
4 books12 followersStephanie Domet lives in Halifax with her husband. Her debut novel, Homing, won the Margaret and John Savage First Book Award. Her second, Fallsy Downsies, won the Jim Connors Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction. Both are published by Invisible Publishing (Halifax); she is at work on a third. She is forever trying to perfect homemade ravioli, and a piano rendition of Sweet Caroline.
She has worked as a mall mascot, in a balloon factory, as a graveyard-shift pastry chef and in many, many diners and bookstores. She vastly prefers writing books to just about anything else she's done.
She has worked as a mall mascot, in a balloon factory, as a graveyard-shift pastry chef and in many, many diners and bookstores. She vastly prefers writing books to just about anything else she's done.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 1, 2014
Fallsy Downsies quickly became my favourite new read of the year,and I am thrilled to have encountered the work of such a warm and intelligent author. Domet presents the story of an aging folk music icon and his young travelling companion and protégé with sensivity born of a deep love for the characters, and a warm understanding of Canadian folk music history and the lived reality of its practitioners. The female lead of the novel's trio of protagonists was a particularly delightful surprise, deftly side-stepping the expected roles of siren or muse while navigating her own personal journey with integrity and authenticity. At some points this novel made me cry. At many others, it made my heart swell with respect. Throughout, its imagery took me on a beautifully rendered journey "on the road" that I wanted to never end. Furthermore, Fallsy Downsies is not a long novel and is a highly engaging and accessible read - I have already given over a half dozen copies as gifts. Highly, highly recommended.
August 4, 2015
Loved this book, from the moment the characters began their journey (I love a good road trip) to the very last page. Beautiful story and characters and I loved the writing style. This book made me laugh and it made me cry. It has become one of my favourite books, a book whose characters will stay with me long after I place it on the shelf.
June 11, 2017
3.5 stars. Slow moving, especially in the beginning, but quite likable.
May 1, 2018
Soo good! LOVED it! Canadiana fiction at it's best. I loved the connection I felt with the characters and followed right along on their ups and downs. But mostly, I LOVED her writing style.
April 22, 2022
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I would have enjoyed a bit more substance at the end.
August 30, 2014
This was a charming summer read, and I very much enjoyed it.
The last scene, the last paragraph, define the book. Or should. The story should have been about how that time and space between audience silence and Lansing Meadows beginning his song make all of his life problems disappear. My main beef with the story is that we are presented with all of his problems, but are given very little of his time in front of the mic. We see the aftermaths. A black box approach. I think the final sentence demands that author bring us up close and personal with Lansing each time he grabs that guitar and steps up to the mic.
I had very little use for the ancillary characters Evan and Dacey. Fun to listen to sometimes, literarily annoying at others, but pointless beyond roles as foil and minor antagonist. In the end what did each get? One arrived with a crumbling man's opinion he will succeed and the other disappears into the prairies. She could have shown us an agent signing Evan on and loving the song he wrote in the motel room. She could have shown us Dacey's potentially successful picture book. Instead the kid playing guitar fades away and the pocket full of pictures never sees the light of day. Hello?
The writing bordered literary quality, at times. In fact, some of it made me say wow. But, too much of it was plain vanilla, manufactured sequential prose. Yawning stuff. Two facets stood out. 1. The story tension was not raised early. It was a slow burn. I was not compelled to ride along because of x; I was compelled to ride along because I know stories reveal something at the end. I knew something had to raise its head eventually, but at the beginning I felt no compulsion. It built slowly but too slowly, too capriciously. 2. The author's voice does not sound authentic. Maybe it's her vocation as a CBC host where writing and speaking is precise and, well, CBCish. I felt no emotion in the voice, no passion. I wanted her to let it go and run with ideas and situations. Instead, she wrote ticky-tacky prose that plodded inexorably into safety.
I sound like I hate the book. I don't. It is endearing and engaging enough. It makes me wonder what the lives of entertainers is really like, what they are really like. I pictured Lansing as Gene McLaughlin with a smidgen of Stompin' Tom thrown in. It was a culturally satisfying Candiana summertime read. And I saw enough good in the author's writing to believe she can be a future female Lansing Meadows of the written word.
The last scene, the last paragraph, define the book. Or should. The story should have been about how that time and space between audience silence and Lansing Meadows beginning his song make all of his life problems disappear. My main beef with the story is that we are presented with all of his problems, but are given very little of his time in front of the mic. We see the aftermaths. A black box approach. I think the final sentence demands that author bring us up close and personal with Lansing each time he grabs that guitar and steps up to the mic.
I had very little use for the ancillary characters Evan and Dacey. Fun to listen to sometimes, literarily annoying at others, but pointless beyond roles as foil and minor antagonist. In the end what did each get? One arrived with a crumbling man's opinion he will succeed and the other disappears into the prairies. She could have shown us an agent signing Evan on and loving the song he wrote in the motel room. She could have shown us Dacey's potentially successful picture book. Instead the kid playing guitar fades away and the pocket full of pictures never sees the light of day. Hello?
The writing bordered literary quality, at times. In fact, some of it made me say wow. But, too much of it was plain vanilla, manufactured sequential prose. Yawning stuff. Two facets stood out. 1. The story tension was not raised early. It was a slow burn. I was not compelled to ride along because of x; I was compelled to ride along because I know stories reveal something at the end. I knew something had to raise its head eventually, but at the beginning I felt no compulsion. It built slowly but too slowly, too capriciously. 2. The author's voice does not sound authentic. Maybe it's her vocation as a CBC host where writing and speaking is precise and, well, CBCish. I felt no emotion in the voice, no passion. I wanted her to let it go and run with ideas and situations. Instead, she wrote ticky-tacky prose that plodded inexorably into safety.
I sound like I hate the book. I don't. It is endearing and engaging enough. It makes me wonder what the lives of entertainers is really like, what they are really like. I pictured Lansing as Gene McLaughlin with a smidgen of Stompin' Tom thrown in. It was a culturally satisfying Candiana summertime read. And I saw enough good in the author's writing to believe she can be a future female Lansing Meadows of the written word.
May 24, 2016
Default 3 star rating. This is another book that I really wanted to like more than I did. There were aspects of it that I really loved, but there were also simultaneously aspects about it that I really didn't.
I struggled to care, and get at all invested in it for the first third. Or rather, I liked Evan a lot (and then Dacey, when she was introduced), but I had trouble with Lansing Meadows himself. It reminded me of the movie Crazy Heart, the one that Jeff Bridges won an Oscar for, for portraying a former country star, down on his luck. When I watched it, I remembered thinking that I could see why he got the Oscar - I absolutely believed his portrayal of a washed up, self-destructive musician past his prime, but I also found him mostly completely unlikeable, and had little interest in his story. In the same way, the writing in this is really quite good. I absolutely believe the story, I just don't have a whole heck of a lot of interest in a lot of it. I guess when it comes right down to it, I have little tolerance for fictional men who behave like selfish jerks .
I did enjoy Evan and Dacey's stories, but they felt unresolved. Which I accept is the point, the book is about the two of them deciding to actually do something, and escaping from the ruts of their lives. But I guess I wouldn't have minded a little more resolution from either narrative.
The thing is, this review is making it sound like I didn't like it at all. And I did. I loved the road trip across Canada aspects. I loved the random Canadian references. I really enjoyed the description of Evan walking around Wawa (first down the main street, then the other one). I love the descriptions of Montreal and Toronto. I loved seeing them through Dacey's eyes. Basically, I really loved the setting, and the writing style. I also really liked Evan and Dacey's dynamic.
I just wish the overall story did more for me.
I struggled to care, and get at all invested in it for the first third. Or rather, I liked Evan a lot (and then Dacey, when she was introduced), but I had trouble with Lansing Meadows himself. It reminded me of the movie Crazy Heart, the one that Jeff Bridges won an Oscar for, for portraying a former country star, down on his luck. When I watched it, I remembered thinking that I could see why he got the Oscar - I absolutely believed his portrayal of a washed up, self-destructive musician past his prime, but I also found him mostly completely unlikeable, and had little interest in his story. In the same way, the writing in this is really quite good. I absolutely believe the story, I just don't have a whole heck of a lot of interest in a lot of it. I guess when it comes right down to it, I have little tolerance for fictional men who behave like selfish jerks .
I did enjoy Evan and Dacey's stories, but they felt unresolved. Which I accept is the point, the book is about the two of them deciding to actually do something, and escaping from the ruts of their lives. But I guess I wouldn't have minded a little more resolution from either narrative.
The thing is, this review is making it sound like I didn't like it at all. And I did. I loved the road trip across Canada aspects. I loved the random Canadian references. I really enjoyed the description of Evan walking around Wawa (first down the main street, then the other one). I love the descriptions of Montreal and Toronto. I loved seeing them through Dacey's eyes. Basically, I really loved the setting, and the writing style. I also really liked Evan and Dacey's dynamic.
I just wish the overall story did more for me.
October 24, 2013
Stephanie Domet’s second novel ‘Fallsy Downsies’ is rich and unforgettable. It is a big-hearted account chronicling three indelible characters on tour together moving across the Canadian landscape rife with the sounds of music, furtive personal pursuits and wry humour, all told with tender humanity, affection and in Domet’s clear and clever literary voice.
Throughout this well-crafted novel, I felt as though I was in the back seat of the Corolla as it rolled and hissed along the Canadian Highway experiencing all of the twists and bumps with them as they came. The writing is visceral and honest and lyrical. As the reader, I too was on tour with the godfather of Canadian folk music Lansing Meadows and his unlikely cohorts while he took one last chance at getting things right. I enjoyed this book so much that I savored the last chapters, reading slow and easy because I didn’t want the tour to be over and still think of the cast of characters now, long after I’ve closed its pages. Fine work from a thoughtful scribe.
Throughout this well-crafted novel, I felt as though I was in the back seat of the Corolla as it rolled and hissed along the Canadian Highway experiencing all of the twists and bumps with them as they came. The writing is visceral and honest and lyrical. As the reader, I too was on tour with the godfather of Canadian folk music Lansing Meadows and his unlikely cohorts while he took one last chance at getting things right. I enjoyed this book so much that I savored the last chapters, reading slow and easy because I didn’t want the tour to be over and still think of the cast of characters now, long after I’ve closed its pages. Fine work from a thoughtful scribe.
October 23, 2013
Actual rating 4.5 stars.
I really liked this book. I wasn't sure what to expect from someone I listen to on the radio every day but I really enjoy her writing style.
The characters in this book are beautifully executed. They feel very real - not perfect but not over-dramatically flawed.
The book is very Canadian and especially very Atlantic Canadian - having spent a lot of time in Petite Rivière and having been to Grand Falls recently I could picture those locations, and the rest of the Canadian landscape was evoked almost as clearly.
My only complaint is the ending. I felt the whole police thing was kind of thrown in there and the cop characters didn't feel the same as the rest of the characters. But other than that, a really good read.
I really liked this book. I wasn't sure what to expect from someone I listen to on the radio every day but I really enjoy her writing style.
The characters in this book are beautifully executed. They feel very real - not perfect but not over-dramatically flawed.
The book is very Canadian and especially very Atlantic Canadian - having spent a lot of time in Petite Rivière and having been to Grand Falls recently I could picture those locations, and the rest of the Canadian landscape was evoked almost as clearly.
My only complaint is the ending. I felt the whole police thing was kind of thrown in there and the cop characters didn't feel the same as the rest of the characters. But other than that, a really good read.
March 27, 2014
Stephanie Domet is an author and radio personality local to me. I enjoyed her first book, Homing, when it came out in 2007. This one was a folksy novel about a legendary Canadian folk singer and his protege, Evan, a small-town boy who follows the folk singer on what might be his last tour. The characters and situations were a bit precious at times - and it almost didn't matter how it ended. It was a sweet slice of life and a coming-of-age story.
May 28, 2014
I think the figure around home the story revolves, aging folk singer Lansing Meadows, is a great character. So grumpy and cantankerous. I also found convincing the insights the author provides into the mindset of performers, how much they yearn for the moments on stage when the performing and the audience are in sync. I anticipated that the ending was going to be difficult to construct, but I like the way Domet ended it.
May 27, 2014
Loved this book. It had recently won an award at the Atlantic Book awards and it is well deserved. It immediately brought to mind Gordon Lightfoot and Stompin' Tom and the heyday of Canadian folk music. A fascinating glimpse into the life of a touring musician whose career is on the decline. Tight prose, interesting characters. Really well done. A small Canadian gem, worth the effort to find it.
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June 16, 2014This is a great book.
Intrigued by the flyleaf, I can avow that the book delivers beautifully what was promised. Has some fine Canadian geography depicted in various small towns, (Sackville, NB, Kingston, Wawa, etc) but it's strength is it's storyline and sensitive narrative.
I've enjoyed this book as much as any I've read this year!(21 ytd)
Check it out!
Intrigued by the flyleaf, I can avow that the book delivers beautifully what was promised. Has some fine Canadian geography depicted in various small towns, (Sackville, NB, Kingston, Wawa, etc) but it's strength is it's storyline and sensitive narrative.
I've enjoyed this book as much as any I've read this year!(21 ytd)
Check it out!
April 3, 2015
Funny, even while heart-breaking. Evan and Dacey are great characters to hitch a ride with as they chase their dreams from the Atlantic Ocean to Winnipeg. (That dream embodied by an aging, cantaquerous CanRock legend on his final run)
July 13, 2015
Well written, the story draws you along, disappointed with the resolution
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews