The Fall [Kindle Edition]

Ryan Quinn (Author)

Book Description

Award Winning Finalist in the 'Fiction: Gay & Lesbian' category of the 2013 International Book Awards

The new school year at Florence University, nestled in the Pennsylvania countryside, dawns bright with the possibilities that only a fresh start can bring. For three students in particular, it will be a year unlike any other, one that will alter the courses of their lives forever. There is Ian, the film buff trying to figure out his life—and how to catch the eye of the football player he can’t stop fantasizing about; Casey, the local football star whose future off the field is frustratingly uncertain; and Haile, the classical-music prodigy seeking refuge from a past life so that she may start anew as a singer-songwriter. Together the trio will form a fateful friendship, recounted through alternating first-person narratives. Sexy, fast-paced, and layered with intimate insight about life’s most formative years, The Fall is a compelling and contemporary coming-of-age story about what happens when we are forced for the first time to really confront who we are and who we want to become.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Ryan Quinn has deftly managed to blend comedy, drama, and genuine pathos into an utterly compelling story of three friends who change one another's lives during the course of a single year at college. Improbably, the un-put-downable The Fall is Quinn's first novel. Clearly, American fiction has a lot to look forward to." - Steve Kluger, bestselling author of Last Days of Summer and Almost Like Being in Love

"Quinn's understanding of the human condition makes his first novel, "The Fall," an intriguing work. Weaving together the perspectives of three characters - a film buff fantasizing about a football player, a football star bored with his girlfriend and a burned-out classical musical prodigy - it examines their unexpected relationships at college.... It's a realistic look at contemporary friendships and coming of age, and it works because Quinn is not far removed from that world himself.” - Dan Woog, columnist and author of Jocks

"A fast-paced and sexy read, Quinn’s writing seamlessly weaves contemporary friendships and first love with intimate insight of the common struggles young adults face as they come to grips with their own independent identity." - Jase Peeples, gay.net (powered by OUT)

"The Fall is an emotional story packed with page-turning drama and characters depicted so realistically it seems like three autobiographies interwoven into one book." -PaperFrontiers.com

About the Author

Ryan Quinn grew up in Alaska. After graduating from the University of Utah, where he was an NCAA Champion and All-American college athlete, he worked in book publishing for five years in New York City. He now lives in Los Angeles. The Fall is his first novel.

Product Details

• File Size: 451 KB
• Print Length: 336 pages
• Publisher: AmazonEncore (May 1, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B006OHEW7K
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,749 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #52 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Sports
  • #77 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Sports

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 58 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars 3.5, but not a 4 June 20, 2012

By T. Szymanowski

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I just finished Ryan Quinn's, The Fall, and I can't remember the last time I was this ambivalent. It wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't good as in goooood, either. Clearly, it was much better for many of the reviewers but here is where I am coming from.

Pros: I appreciated the author's writing style. His story telling was solid; prose was generally straight forward with a few flashes of poetical strength; a number of the characters were believable; the plot was just twisty enough to keep things interesting and me guessing; the aspects of university life were realistic (I work in higher education); the varied voices telling the story were clever and not gimmicky; the author's familiarity with the aspects of gay struggles seemed legit; though not everything resolved at the end of the book, enough did to feel a sense of satisfaction at the conclusion.

Cons: All the turns of events were a bit too neatly packaged - "coincidence" in story writing probably needs more restraint than license, lest the whole thing becomes a little too far fetched; Haile's character was the least believable...too magical, too controlled, too wild, too desirable, too calculating, too talented, too tragic; too philosophical...; the highly unlikely mid-season coaching change that brought Ian's parents to the U was clunky and forced (part of the coincidence overload); the predictable occurrences that prevented Ian from telling his parents; etc.

When I put the book in context for what it is (the author's first book), it is an impressive piece of work that is generally well written and a decent story. Admittedly, I brought some assumptions to it that have caused me to be less enthused about book than I expected (for instance, I had some kind of notion from the reviews and promotion that it was akin, from a modern perspective, to A Separate Peace by John Knowels). In the end it was pop fiction with a predominant element of "the gay stuggle" that interests me no more than, say, reading about NASCAR does. Not a judgmental thing...just very little interest.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars More! February 9, 2011

By Nathaniel R. Brown

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I found this book hard to put down, and at the end I was carrying it around, trying to grab a few moments to block everything out and get back to these very real characters. What Quinn has done is to construct a novel that is genuinely character-driven: we care about these people - and virtually all of the action flows with great naturalness from who they are, and from their inter-relationships. In addition, Quinn writes very convincing, real-feeling dialogue.

It's hard to imagine that this is a first-time novel. I look forward eagerly to see what he produces next. If I have given The Fall four stars, it is because I know there will be more, and even better books to come. I hope so. This one's a keeper!

Warmly recommended!

38 of 46 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars So hard to put down! January 30, 2011

By chonathon

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I loathe the NYC subways, but I have to admit my commute went by way too fast while reading The Fall. I missed my stop on several occasions because I was so wrapped up in the amazing writing of Ryan Quinn. It is hard to believe this is a first novel. Quinn masters the voices of each of the three main characters perfectly and captures the very unique time of the undergrad years so well that I was forced into nostalgia over and over. Quinn was able to weave all of the characters stories so nicely (even the gay portion) without any one story taking over. So much more than a gay narrative!

More About the Author

Ryan Quinn was born and raised in Alaska. After graduating from the University of Utah, where he was a NCAA Champion and All-American college athlete, he worked in book publishing for five years in New York City. He now lives in Los Angeles. The Fall is his first novel.