After the Fall [Paperback]

Judith Kelman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 5, 2000

When the police come pounding at the Magills' door, arresting their straight-A son Danny for a shocking crime, it shatters the affluent family's perfect world.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Jess and Charles MagillConnecticut residents, Ivy League, professionally secure physicianshave a happy marriage, three healthy kids, satisfying careers and a lovely home. But when their teenaged honor student/athlete son is arrested and accused of brutally assaulting a female classmate, their comfortable lives are plunged into chaos. Kelman, veteran author of 11 novels (including Fly Away Home), provides a smooth and suspenseful contemporary tale of suburban trauma, setting the scene with harmonious, sweetly domestic tableaux that are succeeded by episodes of a family coming apart. Jess is torn by her younger sons temper tantrums, teenaged daughters hostility, her mothers depressed antagonism and the towns vicious gossip about the family; Charlie emotionally withdraws from the escalating tension; and Jesss psychotherapy practice is stressed by a psychotic patient. A nicely integrated subplot centers around the detective in charge of the case, Sergeant Tucci, Charlies former high school classmate. Tuccis stress level is also high, with a belligerent boss, a 17-year-old daughter whos mysteriously ill and a traumatized, dysfunctional partner. Kelman keeps the action moving swiftly, giving equal time to the accusers, the authorities and the Magill family. Auxiliary characters ring consistently true, from the Magills dog (named Prozac) to Jesss frosty father-in-law, and including neighbors, local psychics and corrupt doctors. In stylish, energetic prose, Kelman reveals surprising new twists whenever the narrative reaches a tense plateau.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA-Danny is handsome, athletic, and smart. Nearly everyone likes and respects him. Suddenly, his entire world shatters when a girl with whom he has been friends since childhood, and to whom he gave a ride home, accuses him of a vicious assault and rape. She has the contusions and body-fluids test to implicate him. Danny arrived home late that night, covered in mud, seemingly distracted. He finally admits to consensual sex, but denies any physical abuse. Readers follow the effects of this charge on his family as the criminal justice system slowly grinds the teen through its plodding routine. His mother's counseling practice declines dramatically. His father reacts strongly as the whole episode reminds him of things long hidden in his own past. The family's unraveling accelerates as Danny's younger brother and sister struggle to understand what is happening. Even his parents' once-strong marriage teeters on the edge of collapse. Investigating the crime, and providing a counterpoint to the family's shaky assumption that Danny has to be innocent, is Detective Tucci. He dislikes Danny's father intensely and believes, in "like father, like son" fashion, that the boy must be guilty. The story provides lots of interesting detail as readers follow each character's thoughts and reasoning. The problems lurking under the surface are frankly examined, and should prove interesting to most young adults. The novel provides much food for thought and a conclusion that can generate lots of discussion.
Carol DeAngelo, Kings Park Library, Burke, VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Jove (June 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0515128325
• ISBN-13: 978-0515128321
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,742,416 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, July 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: After the Fall (Paperback)

"After the Fall" did not live up to the write-ups listed on the book. There was a lot of promise in the story line and the first few pages grabbed your interest of things to come, but the book fell flat. The author started to develop some of the characters and then just stopped. The prologue seemed to be written by someone other than the person who wrote the story. I finished the book on a recent flight and just left it in the seat pocket. I would not purchase another book by this author and I am even disappointed in the publisher!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing!, October 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: After the Fall (Hardcover)

I checked this book out of the library and after I had finished I checked the book spine. Lo and behold it was NOT catalogued as a mystery, only fiction. That'll teach me. By the end of page 9 I was expecting a real thriller with a completely different plot twist, but it never happened! The end of "After the Fall" was a total letdown. It was as if Kelman got tired of writing. A pity. It could have been so much better.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The book started out a five but fizzled to a 2-3 by the end!, August 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: After the Fall (Hardcover)

I picked this book up at the library, and have to admit, at first I was intrigued by the synopsis of the book. The book was made out to be something that it was not. I expected something fantastic to happen mid-book, but it just fizzled out! I read this book in 2 days, and I will say it really pulls you in at the beginning, but I guess I was looking for Danny's (the son, and problem child) story to be more compelling. The mystery was lagging, but the writing was very good. I would give this book 3 stars. I would even reccomend it, I just wouldn't pay full hardback prices for it.