Comments on: Colin McAdam: Fall

By: Kata Reynolds

Kata Reynolds — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 18:56:26 +0000

I just finished reading Fall and was thoroughly unimpressed. Thank you for voicing many of the same negative thoughts I had as I read the book. I agree that McAdams is a talented writer but in this case, he did not use his talents as effectively as I would have liked. I was left feeling unsatisfied with the ending, especially because he ended with the pointless prose that represented Julius, rather than leaving the reader with the more palatable perspective of Noel.

By: Max Cairnduff

Max Cairnduff — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:09:03 +0000

Spectacular so far Kevin, it’ll be a challenge to write up actually, so much excellent characterisation and prose. A real discovery, for which many thanks.

Trevor, I’ve not finished it yet, but from what I’ve read so far I expect too that you’d find the Fante very rewarding.

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:43:10 +0000

I would be very interested in Mrs. Berrett’s opinion of the Young People’s Literature finalists in the National Book Awards, since she is my acknowledged expert in that area.

And I can’t wait to read Max’s opinion of Wait for Spring, Bandini, one of my favorite reads of the year. You need to get Fante onto your TBR list Trevor, since you have actually lived in the Rocky Mountain foothills which is where the Bandini series starts. This one is a great start, but you’d have to read the whole Bandini foursome — 1933 is another excellent single volume if you are only up to one.

By: Max Cairnduff

Max Cairnduff — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:21:40 +0000

The urges rather than voice point makes a lot of sense Trevor, I can see that, still not sure it works for me though. Apart from anything else, I find it annoying to read, and both you and Kevin who’ve spent longer with it found it annoying too, not a good sign.

Interesting follow up points there, the strangeness does make it sound more interesting, but not enough so I fear.

It’s worsened for now by my having started Wait for Spring, Bandini – which so far has one of the most convincing representations of adolescence (including the urges) I’ve read. It makes me less forgiving, reading something which gets it so right.

By: Mrs. Berrett

Mrs. Berrett — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:43:26 +0000

The general storyline reminded me of A Seperate Peace. As I read your review I kept having flashbacks of Homer Simpson’s remake of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

By: Trevor

Trevor — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:06:07 +0000

As always, great questions Max. You know, I don’t think McAdams was trying to capture an adolescent’s voice but rather their urges. But even the urges get jumbled. It’s not a good psychological novel because in the end we can’t trust that McAdams has a clear picture of who these characters are.

One interesting thing, though, that you note is that Fall is a device. Interestingly, though Noel tries to say he believes otherwise, she’s a device for him too. For McAdams, the name Fall is the not subtle device representing . . . a fall.

Still, I’ll defend McAdams on one point: Noel’s malice kept me reading. It wasn’t believable in conjunction with Noel’s narrative voice but trying to make sense of him was compelling. Here’s a spoiler, though: in the end, Noel also looks more like a prop with no resonating substance. It’s a very strange book — and I think that is why I enjoyed it as much as I did. Had I gone in expecting more, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it nearly as much.

By: Max Cairnduff

Max Cairnduff — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:44:18 +0000

It sounds terrible I’m afraid Trevor. Such utterly unconvincing dialogue, does anyone’s internal narrative sound anything like that? I doubt it.

I wasn’t sold on this at Kevin’s, and I’m just as unsold now, it’s interesting as ever to read your thoughts but it seems it’s a novel about adolescents that fails to capture their voices, and without that what’s left?

And Fall herself sounds more a device than a character, a McGuffin on legs. Is she more than an object would you say?