Customer Reviews

While I'm Falling

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Wow.

I got this book through Amazon Vine and thought the description sounded moderately interesting, but whomever wrote it really shortchanged this excellent novel. At it's core, this is a story about growing up. A young woman in college, growing into a committed relationship and into her life's passion. When her parents divorce her sophomore year in college, she has to stand on her own two feet financially, throw off the shackles of what her parents want for her life, say goodbye to her childhood home and neighborhood, and face a relationship no longer secure in the feeling that love and family is happily ever after.

Natalie, the mother, is a VERY believable archetypal "good" mother -- she gave up any career ambitions of her own (not unwillingly) to raise her two daughters, committed herself to marriage, family, home and suburban community and caring for her and her husband's aging mothers. But as her children age and leave home, and she finds that she and her husband share little on an adult level, she has to face the challenge of finding out who she is and what she wants. Without giving away the plot, I'll say she was thrust into facing the situation in a way she hadn't planned, and struggles mightily with the financial and emotional implications of the life she has left, with who she wants to become, and with her relationship with her daughters in the meantime.

The daughter must come to face with her mother becoming a whole person, and a sometimes flawed one, instead of just the mother she had always primarily been to her. She faces failures in her work, in her studies, in her relationships in her own mostly good judgment and character. And all this while her older sister succeeds and succeeds.

What is so incredible for me about this story is that my family has been through something similar and I can't describe to you how authentic all of these characters are. In certain ways (but not in others of course), I am the older sister in this story, a very side character, and can see my own mother and younger sister's struggles in this book. In some respects, even my father's. I will definitely be giving this book to my sister to read. In so many passages of the book I can hear my own mothers good intentions, and sometimes even her very words and tone. And I can see me and my sister's need to be both "good" daughters and adults at the same time... to learn to relate to our mother as adults who both give and receive love, support, disappointment and even irritation as a new, two-way street.

The book so poignantly reminds us that coming of age for children is so often a coming of middle-age for their parents as well. With daughters ages 6 and 2, this is a signficant lesson for me. This story brings the life of my own family into clearer relief. I suspect anyone who has faced the experience of parents divorcing when they are older will find a lot of truth in this story, even if their circumstances are not all the same -- mine certainly were not. But that's exactly what makes this book so excellent. It effectively transcends the details of the story itself and gets to the messy truth of mothers, daughters, fathers and the way our lives change in ways we both want and don't want.

The next thing I will be doing after I submit this review is to get my hands on the author's two previous novels. I can't recommedend this book highly enough.

I say this could make a great movie because as I read it I could see different characters almost vividly as to how they would play out on screen. I only gave it 4 stars instead of 5. The reason for that is that maybe there could have been a little more story for some of the other charcters in this book.

The book is about a family going through change. Mother, Father, two grown daughters, one in college, one married.
When the youngest daughter learns her parents are divorcing it really shakes her up, most of the book is written from her point of view, her life and struggles. The other point of view heard from is that of the mother yet not as much as the daughter.

What I found enjoyable about this story (and lets face it, it's a story told over and over) is that it gave a fresh and funny look at very real problems and possible scenerios and even solutions. It was by no means deep and profound but it worked and I like it. I loved these characters. It made me laugh and yes it even brought a tear to my eye.

It was well worth the read. I like this author very much.

What I liked most about this book was its completeness. Sometimes authors find the laziest possible way to define a problem and then solve it--especially in modern fiction--but Moriarty really took her time developing the story and the characters. She made me care about the people in the book. She gave their lives depth and meaning, so it was easy to relate to them. I was especially impressed that Moriarty was able to create a believable relationship between a mother and her two daughters. Each character was unique--and uniquely flawed. But because their flaws were revealed through complex issues and dilemmas within the story, I found myself empathizing with all three. There were a couple of questionable parts in the story when I couldn't quite believe that a certain character would respond the way she did, but, overall, I very much enjoyed reading this book.

While I'm Falling is a story of a family falling apart due to a discretion by the mother, Natalie, primarily from the perspective of Veronica, her younger daughter. The father, Dan, is a very busy, successful attorney - and a domineering man who cannot tolerate what he perceives as weakness in any family member.
Veronica is in her junior year of premed study. An assistant dorm manager, she is trying to study for her organic chemistry exam when she runs into trouble with her boss and some of her dorm mates. Things escalate. Where she thought her only problem was studying enough for her organic chemistry exam, suddenly she is confronted with the possible loss of her job - and the free room and board that comes with it.
Next, her mother shows up at her dorm with Bowzer, the aging family dog. It seems the apartment she rented while her divorce was in process allowed no dogs - and she was thrown out. Without a place to live, and with almost no money until the divorce is settled, she asks to stay in the dorm with Veronica "for a while" until she gets her next paycheck from her part time job.
As one problem after another seems to pile itself on Veronica, her studying and her relationships suffer.
This story is really about those relationships. Ms. Moriarty has blended a variety of life-altering, very emotional situations into this single novel, where they seem to overwhelm both Veronica and her mother. It is well written, easy to read. There is no confusion of the multiple plot lines. Many of the emotional situations make you wonder if Ms. Moriarty has been looking over your shoulder.

Laura Moriarty's While I'm Falling is an intensely engaging story that looks deep into family relationships, especially when the traditional stronghold of family life has shifted; a mother is displaced, both in her role as a housewife/mother and in her financial circumstances, while a daughter is adjusting to her own budgetary constraints at the same time that she's trying to maintain a new relationship.

Told primarily from the daughter Veronica's point of view, occasionally presenting the mother Natalie's perspective, this compelling and dynamic exploration of a family falling apart spotlights what it is like for the daughter, who is trying to grow up while her mother is just trying to stay afloat.

Fearful that their mother is "going crazy," Veronica and her sister Elise (who is a lawyer living in California) each try to grasp their mother's issues without really understanding them. But Veronica finally does come to know firsthand what her mother is experiencing when Natalie shows up at her dorm one night with an odd request.

Meanwhile, Veronica has been trying to make ends meet by taking on extra jobs--a dorm assistant job mixed in with house-sitting for a student who has a luxurious condo. Strange mishaps on the job create havoc in Veronica's already-stressed life.

When these chaotic lives seemingly spin out of control, events suddenly turn on a dime, and everything begins to fall into place.

This absorbing drama kept me reading, page after page, until the fulfilling conclusion.

Laurel-Rain Snow

I read this in bits and pieces while house-sitting. I think if I had been able to sit and read it all at once, I may have enjoyed it more. I flip-flopped between 3 and 4 stars and decided on 4 only because I hate to give low reviews unless I really, really don't like something.

The book was a bit predictable for me. I enjoyed it well enough, but nothing that happened really surprised me. If it did, it wasn't a huge surprise, just a minor kink in the story line I'd already played out in my head. The main character, Veronica, at first seemed whiny and peevish to me. I found her hard to sympathize with initially because she seemed childish. As the story progressed, I did come to like her more and even feel sympathetic towards her. As things begin to deteriorate with her mother, Natalie, I feel for her even more. I enjoy role-reversals, even when they are predictable. As soon as things really start to shift from Natalie as the mother to Natalie as a child, or someone in need of mothering, I sort of warmed up to the book a bit more.

Overall, and without spoiling anything, if you're looking for a good weekend getaway read or a book to put at your bedside, this will do the trick nicely. If you're looking for something more in-depth or classic, this will leave you wanting. I always find popular fiction troublesome for that reason, as well - I always leave feeling like there should be more. If you're looking for something profound like Plath or Chopin, this isn't it. If you're looking for something entertaining like Picoult, you'll be pleased with "While I'm Falling."

While I'm Falling is the story of two women's lives falling apart. Veronica is a college junior struggling to keep up in her pre-med classes, and not doing well at her job as a resident advisor. Natalie, Veronica's mother, is on the brink of homelessness after a divorce.

Both women's lives are in a downward spiral, due to events both in and outside of their control. Both women make some really bad choices. And both women display very admirable qualities, which ultimately allow them to help each other out of their predicaments. This is a novel of the mother and daughter growing up, together.

This was a very enjoyable read. The characters are likeable, but flawed. The situations, emotions, thoughts, and conversations are realistic and engaging. The pacing is good - it's not a fast-paced novel, but it never drags, either. This book didn't make a huge impression on me (I won't remember it for years to come), but I definitely enjoyed it. Recommended.

I'm a huge fan of Laura Moriarty's work, and her latest novel did not disappoint. The novel tells an all too true tale of a young college student (Veronica) whose family has recently fallen apart. Dealing with her parents' divorce has not been easy for her, and her grief and sense of loss is further compounded by the fact that she's being faced with some intense life decisions. In the process, she makes a few bad decisions that get her into some trouble that she has a difficult time getting out of. However, Moriarty's intricate character development diverts this from a predictable tale into one that highlights the complexities of entering adulthood without the support and comfort from those who were once reliable.

I've always appreciated the way that Moriarty endures her characters to readers. Veronica, like some of Moriarty's previous female protagonists, are smart, yet live in and endure situations that evoke pity. However, rather than feeling simply "sorry" for Veronica, we begin to get a bigger picture of not only Veronica's situation but of those around her. There is a secondary character, Haylie/Simone, who knew Veronica's family once upon a time, for example. Through Veronica, we are able to examine Haylie's own struggles and see how different people cope with the same kinds of problems. This novel also brings to light the all too common tale of a woman (Natalie) who gives up the idea of career in order to care for her husband and children and how this decision prevents her in many ways from moving forward after her divorce.

While I'm Falling is a family drama, a coming of age tale, and a statement on modern society. More importantly to me, though, While I'm Falling is a beautifullly written book that has haunted me for days. Highly recommended.

Laura Moriarty's new novel follows a family that comes apart with the parents' divorce. Many divorces of middle aged couples happen because the husband and wife find themselves together after the children leave home, with little in common and not much to say to each other. The splits are often bitter at first, but as the couple in Moriarty's book find, life changes for the better when they're not tied to each other in non-satisfying patterns.

But while Natalie and Dan's divorce forces them to reestablish their lives at age 50, their daughters - age 21 and 27 - have the most to deal with. Moriary's novel really centers on Veronica, the 21 year old pre-med student at the University of Kansas. She's drifting...doesn't really know if she wants to become a doctor, can't really commit to her boyfriend, a slightly older engineering student, and is finding it hard to work at the part-time job as a Resident Assistant in a large dorm on campus. She doesn't have much money - both parents are feeling the pinch in the economy - and she's an RA because she gets a free dorm room.

The older daughter, Elise, is a hard-charging lawyer, like her father. She's less affected by her parents' divorce because she's not on the scene. She receives family updates from telephone calls from her sister and her parents.

But if Veronica is Moriarty's focal point in the story, she is upstaged by her mother. Natalie had been a stay-at-home mother since her daughters were born, and often regretted not working when her children were young. Natalie took care of the house, her children, her husband, and both Natalie and Dan's mothers til their deaths. She finds herself with nothing to do, no one to care for, and drifts into a small, mini-affair that her husband discovers. He files for divorce and the family dynamics change.

While I'm Falling is a small book in scope. Moriarty doesn't try to cover too much territory. But it's a work of art.

I really struggled with this book, and I'm still trying to figure out why. At its heart, this is a story about growing-up and families. College age daughter, middle-aged parents dealing with a nasty divorce, super successful out-of-state sister. There isn't anything there that sounds too disturbing. But somehow both Veronica and her mother get themselves into so many bad situations, all through their own faults, that I had to keep putting the book down. On the positive side, the author obviously made me care about these characters for me to get so bothered when they kept getting into trouble. At the same time, I felt like it was overdone a bit. Why on earth did they keep making so many bad decisions?? Each bad decision seemed to catapult them into a worse decision. No one seemed to learn from their mistakes.

This book took me MONTHS to read (and I am a fast reader who can read a Harry Potter book in one day/night). It's just that I would get so bothered by the troubles the characters found themselves in that I didn't want to read anymore....so I'd put the book down. And it just wasn't quite compelling enough for me to come back to until enough time had gone by that I'd think, "Oh, maybe it'll be okay". And then I'd read another chapter and think, "Augh....I don't want to know what happens next".

I would read something else by this author, though, because she was a good writer and I really did get to care about the characters.