- Audio Cassette
- Publisher: Recorded Books; Unabridged edition (April 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0788799584
- ISBN-13: 978-0788799587
- Product Dimensions: 21.8 x 12.4 x 3.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 431 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (111 customer reviews)
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Set among the sweeping skirts and social upheavals of Edwardian London, Tracy Chevalier's Falling Angels is a meditation on change, loss, and recovery. Her central characters are two young girls of the same age, whose family plots are situated side-by-side in a cemetery modeled on Highgate. Lavinia Waterhouse is respectably middle-class, devoted, like her conventional, doting mother, to the right way to do things, although suspiciously well- schooled in subjects like funerary sculpture and the English practices of mourning. Her friend Maude Coleman comes from a slightly more privileged and free-thinking background. In contrast with Lavinia's mother, Maude's mother Kitty Coleman is well-educated by the standards of the day, and it has made her restless and irritable. But neither her reading, nor her gardening, nor her affair with the somber, high-thinking governor of the cemetery is enough for Kitty. She comes alive only when she discovers the women's suffrage movement, and her devotion to the cause takes her away from Maude in every sense.
Although the point of view shifts between many characters (with even the Coleman's maid and cook getting their say, sometimes unnecessarily), Falling Angels is essentially the children's story, since it is their lives that are most open to change. The narrative spans exactly the years of Edward VII's reign, from the morning after his mother Queen Victoria's death in January 1901 to his own death in May 1910. Chevalier (Girl with a Pearl Earring) deftly uses the nation's dramatically different mourning for these two monarchs to signal the social transformations of the period. Readers at ease with English history will find Falling Angels an unusually subtle novel, with an emotional range that recalls the best of the Edwardian novelists, E.M. Forster, and his quintessential novel of Edwardian manners, Howard's End. --Regina Marler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
No small part of the appeal of Chevalier's excellent debut, Girl with a Pearl Earring, was its plausibility; readers could readily accept the idea that Vermeer's famous painting might indeed have been created under circumstances similar to Chevalier's imaginative scenario. The same cannot be said about her second novel. While Chevalier again proves adept at evoking a historical era this time, London at the turn of the 19th century she has devised a plot whose contrivances stretch credibility. When Maude Coleman and Lavinia Waterhouse, both five years of age, meet at their families' adjoining cemetery plots on the day after Queen Victoria's death, the friendship that results between sensitive, serious-minded Maude and narcissistic, melodramatic Livy is not unlikely, despite the difference in social classes. But the continuing presence in their lives of a young gravedigger, Simon Field, is. Far too cheeky for a boy of his age and class, Simon plays an important part in the troubles that will overtake the two families. Other characters are gifted with insights inappropriate to their age or station in life. Yet Chevalier again proves herself an astute observer of a social era, especially in her portrayal of the lingering sentimentality, prejudices and early stirrings of social change of the Victorian age. When Maude's mother, Kitty, becomes obsessively involved with the emerging suffragette movement, the plot gathers momentum. While it's obvious that tragedy is brewing, Chevalier shows imaginative skill in two neatly accomplished surprises, and the denouement packs an emotional wallop. While not as accomplished a work as Girl, the ironies inherent in the dramatic unfolding of two families' lives ultimately endow this novel with an impressive moral vision. Agent, Deborah Schneider. (Oct. 15) Forecast: The popularity of Girl with a Pearl Earring among reading groups and its record as a bestseller will provide a ready audience for Chevalier's new effort. The perennial appeal of books set in post-Victorian England should be another asset.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best of the best of the best.,
This review is from: Falling Angels: A Novel (Paperback)
Despite its familiar theme, FALLING ANGELS is a book about doing what is right and morally correct versus doing what truly makes one happy. The narrative moves forward, always in the first person, from the mouth of each major protagonist who commits his or her own brand of "against the grain" behavior and/or scandal. FALLING ANGELS seems to suggest that moral structure are inventions of man, the things that keep us in order. And simply put, such inventions are not natural. The better "angels" of our nature strive to do what is deemed correct, because this is the way we are "brought up." Yet the psychological, physiological and genetic codes of humans are not abstract. They are in constant conflict with moral structure. If we fail to recognize this, we let society cast us as "failures," even if we aren't. Chevalier doesn't preach, and the grisly details of the scandalous portions of her story take place mostly "off camera," vividly residing in the imaginations of the reader. I like this. But the true mastery of "Falling Angels" is the abrupt change of pace that occupies the last third of her novel, a portion which carries the momentum of a locomotive. A cast of thousands, mostly nameless, gather for a pivotal event that proves devastating. Chevalier delivers a big "set piece" filled with thousands of activities going on at once -- and the surprise is -- even though they're told from different points of view, the reader is never confused. If you're looking for another great book to read, might I suggest the ever-popular CHILDREN'S CORNER by Jackson McCrae? It's funny, horrifying, jaw-dropping, heart-warming, exotic, shocking, disturbing, and a rollercoaster of a ride.
4.0 out of 5 stars
An bit of an Academic Response,
By
This review is from: Falling Angels: A Novel (Paperback)
The first drawback of anything Chevalier writes is that her writing skills are good. Not excellent, just satisfactory. What makes up for this ,however, is her methodical research and her ability to draw you into the world of Edwardian London. Other reviewers are saying "she discounts the suffrage movement" and "puts too much emphasis on the morbid", which are valid criticism, but I believe they are also a bit shallow, from my experience in this field of study (and I have lots of practical experience in this field of study), Chevalier immerses you in this world. The suffragettes are incredibly important to us now, but back in 1905, the criticisms of their political activity was harsh. Women were told "you can vote...when your work is done", and that they'd drop the issue as soon as they go bored with it. And its should be noted the Victorians were OBSESSED with protocol. Chevalier does a marvelous job immersing you in her subjective world...if you are looking for an objective account, I suggest you buy a history book instead. For those of you historiophiles who enjoy a well researched historical fiction, pick up this book.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Change from the Normal,
By "roxyfire" (Illinois) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Falling Angels: A Novel (Paperback)
When I picked up this book, I expected it to be much like Girl with a Pearl Earring, but in fact is was quite different. Not only are there far more characters that are being trusted but also the children in this story take a much bigger role. I can't say I was disappointed but I surely was surprised. While I didn't like it nearly as much as Girl with a Pearl Earring I felt that the same things happened while reading this book.1. I was transported to this time with these people. 2. I was engaged by the characters and their actions; There were things I was wishing would happen, but I was disappointed with the outcome. 3. I found the style, character development, and plot easy to understand and the twists and turns not obvious. Great book, I highly recommend.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
