A brilliant portrayal of a woman pushed to the edge, The Long Falling movingly explores the distance between a mother and her son, between a woman and her community, and between longing and belonging. Grace Quinn is an Englishwoman who has lived her entire adult life in rural Ireland but is still an outsider. Isolated by religion and circumstance, she endures an abusive husband -- who blames her for the death of their young son some twenty years earlier -- and an increasingly estranged relationship with her surviving son, Martin, whose open homosexuality her husband refuses to accept. Through a series of ill-fated events, Grace is emboldened to commit an act of desperation. Reeling in the aftermath, haunted by doubt and denial, she seeks out Martin in Dublin. There she is pursued by the police and an ambitious newspaper reporter. Confused about where to turn and whom to trust, she is cornered -- and what unfolds is an uncompromising examination of the complex nature of love, fear, and betrayal. The Long Falling is a powerful debut novel that is certain to establish Keith Ridgway as one of the most promising writers to emerge from Ireland in recent years.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Sin and salvation are the two themes of Keith Ridgway's wonderful first novel, The Long Falling. But as in life and great art, the definitions of these terms are neither simple nor clear. Grace Quinn is an abused wife whose husband's drinking has led to a car accident and the death of a young woman. As a result, they are shunned in their small rural Irish village. After her spouse's death in what most likely was a retaliatory hit-and-run accident, Grace moves to Dublin to be with Martin, her gay son who left home and his abusive father years before. In this new setting, Grace and Martin begin to form a new relationship--until secrets from the past threaten to destroy their lives. Ridgway knows how to tell a story, but the strength of the novel is in its insightful and compelling emotional details. Succinct, poetic, and emotionally shattering, The Long Falling is not simply a fine debut, but the beginning of an illustrious career.
From Library Journal
In this debut, an Englishwoman living in Ireland finds herself an outsider even in her own family.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A gorgeously written debut,
By Charles Leddy (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Long Falling (Hardcover)
A debut novel of almost miraculous courage and brilliant lyricism. Ridgway is fearless in his exploration of the human heart; he beautifully explores the pain inherent in love and loss. This prose will haunt you. One can only hope that Keith Ridgway's career is just beginning -- he has the writer's gift of language, and a heart that's open and unafraid.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A powerful tragedy, beautifully written,
By pm444 "pm444" (Okemos, MI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Long Falling (Paperback)
As the story unfolds and the characters take on different dimensions, the reader is overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the writing. A brilliant debut by a very talented author.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant,poetic, heart-breaking first novel,
This review is from: The Long Falling (Paperback)
This is an astonishingly beautiful novel. Anyone who has thought about their relationship with their mother..the love and the anger will undoubtly be moved by this very powerful story. The insight of character thoughts are remarkable. It is a very sad book that deserves enormous attention. Someone tell Oprah..this should be on her book club list..it is the best novel I have read in years. I'm telling all my friends..I love every page of this novel and know I will read it over and over again through the years. If you love a great story, well written and written from the heart..this book is for you.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
It rains on Cavan, Monaghan; rains on the hills and the lakes and the roads; rains on the houses and the farms and the fences between them; on the ditches and the fields, on the breathing land; rains on the whole strange shape of it. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Ida Talbot, O'Connell Street, Michael Quinn, Detective Brady, Dame Street, Matt Clancy, Pat Bolton, River View, White Horse, Albert Reynolds, Grace Quinn, Dawson Street, Four Courts New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
It rains on Cavan, Monaghan; rains on the hills and the lakes and the roads; rains on the houses and the farms and the fences between them; on the ditches and the fields, on the breathing land; rains on the whole strange shape of it. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Ida Talbot, O'Connell Street, Michael Quinn, Detective Brady, Dame Street, Matt Clancy, Pat Bolton, River View, White Horse, Albert Reynolds, Grace Quinn, Dawson Street, Four Courts New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
5
books
cite this book:
- Time Out Dublin (Time Out Guides) by Christi Daugherty on page 30
- Granta 69: The Assassin (Granta: The Magazine of New Writing) by Ian Jack in Back Matter
- Dislocation: Stories from a New Ireland by Caroline Walsh on page 312
- The Cambridge Companion to the Irish Novel (Cambridge Companions to Literature) by John Wilson Foster on page 271
- Hear Us Out: Conversations with Gay Novelists (Between Men~Between Women: Lesbian and Gay Studies) by Richard Canning on page 202
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