Fallen (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "The mark burns upon him all the time now..." (more)
Key Phrases: eating hut, new hut

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Maine tackles biblical narrative once again in his inventive second novel (after 2004's The Preservationist, which starred Noah and his large brood), a spirited retelling of the creation yarn and the conflict between Cain and Abel. The novel opens with Cain as a "jumpy, scared old man," marked for life and wandering the desert in exile for killing Abel. Flashing back years, Maine fills in the story: Cain's "smoldering challenge[s]" to Adam's authority; his scorn for Abel's innocence; his lust and greed and anger. (Eve was convinced that Cain, in utero, killed a twin brother.) Maine's equally compelling retelling of the creation myth explores, among other things, the dynamic between the world's first husband and wife as it evolved, bumpily and confusingly, after they were banished from the Garden of Eden. What makes this intelligent, funny, meaty and moving novel so fascinating is the ease with which Maine inserts a modern sensibility and keen psychological analysis even as he jumps back and forth between the timelines of the two narratives and remains faithful to their biblical roots.
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From School Library Journal

Adult/High School–Maine uses the story of Adam and Eve and the subsequent fatal conflict between their two sons as the basis for this meaty, lusty tale. Fallen opens with an introspective Cain in his later years and works backward from there to Adam and Eve's expulsion from the Garden. The novel is divided into four sections. The first centers on the Cain of the present: shunned by society after murdering his brother, he is a surly, reclusive man whose one joy in life is his son Enoch (or Henoch in the story). The second series of chapters relates Cain's and Abel's growing up years and the events that lead to Cain's decision. The focus then shifts to Adam and Eve and the years they spend raising their family. Finally, readers are taken back to the events leading up to the Fall and the period that immediately follows their expulsion. The portrayals are vibrant and three-dimensional; there is a raw energy to Adam and Eve, especially, that makes them almost leap off the page. Cain's simmering resentment is disturbingly appealing, and the reverse chronology is a masterful stroke that emphasizes the stark power of regret. The language throughout the book is spare and beautiful, and the author weaves his story with such finesse that readers are left thinking, Well, of course it happened that way! Fallen breathes new life into one of humanity's oldest stories.–Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Library System, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (August 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312328494
• ISBN-13: 978-0312328498
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #735,163 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stunning and surprisingly emotional account of humans' ultimate and inevitable failings, December 6, 2005

By	Bookreporter.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

Even the world's very first family was seriously dysfunctional, or so argues David Maine in his imaginative, insightful second novel, FALLEN. In Maine's debut novel, 2004's THE PRESERVATIONIST, he focused on the Old Testament story of Noah's flood. Now, with FALLEN, Maine returns to the Book of Genesis from the very beginning, exploring the story of Adam and Eve after their expulsion from the Garden of Eden, as well as the story of the world's first murder, when Adam and Eve's oldest son Cain killed his brother Abel.

In Maine's novel, Cain is bitter, angry and resentful, yet oddly sympathetic. Cursed to wander about until the end of his days, marked by God with a mark that ostensibly keeps him from harm but actually reveals his true identity (and its accompanying dread) to all he meets, Cain lacks any support beyond his small family.

As Cain's history is revealed, Maine grounds the young man's hatred of his father in larger family dynamics. Abel is the family golden boy, beloved by both God and by his parents. Cain, on the other hand, is despised for his skepticism and for his murder (according to Eve) of his stillborn twin brother in utero. Cain's crime can't be forgiven, perhaps, but Maine makes it possible to understand the circumstances that lead to such a shocking event in human history.

Although FALLEN lacks the multiple voices that enriched THE PRESERVATIONIST, it is no less compelling. What is most impressive is how Maine weaves, from a few short verses in Genesis, a fully fleshed novel that expands on the Biblical narrative while still remaining true to its source. Chances are that many readers will return to the original text after reading Maine's retelling.

The structure of Maine's novel is also inventive; in 40 chapters divided into four parts, Maine tells the story in reverse chronological order, beginning with a middle-aged Cain in exile and ending immediately following Adam and Eve's loss of paradise. Each section begins with the same chapter title as the last chapter in the previous section, and other chapter titles ("The Stranger," "The Conversation," "The Proposal") are repeated throughout, giving the impression of a highly structured poem, like a sonnet. The creativity and elegance of this approach reflect Maine's admirable control of his prose.

The result of this reverse chronological approach is a stunning and surprisingly emotional account of humans' ultimate and inevitable failings. We're reminded of the wider implications of Cain's crime in a disturbing scene where a young boy admits that he, too, committed murder solely because he was inspired by Cain's own actions. FALLEN, and the ideas it inspires, will resonate with all thoughtful readers, regardless of their religious beliefs or affiliations.


--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars beautifully written, September 21, 2005

By	umi grigsby "umi" (new york, ny) - See all my reviews

For a book with its fair share of murderers, rapists, and thieves, there are few characters in the Bible more hated than Cain. Even Eve, providing stiff competition by bearing the brunt of the blame for the expulsion from Eden, at the very least, will always be responsible for introducing mankind to sex. While religious theologians can wax poetic about the evils of notorious characters like Eve, Pontius Pilate and Judas, they have always been silent on the subject of Cain. On that, everyone is in agreement - Cain is the embodiment of evil. It is therefore an enormous feat of any writer to attempt to redraw this much-maligned biblical character as three-dimensional and complex. It is one that David Maine courageously takes on and accomplishes, breathing life into the characters of not only Cain, but also Abel, Adam and Eve. The novel, Fallen, takes us on a heartbreaking journey through the eyes of Cain, Abel, Adam and Eve meandering backwards from the eve of Cain's death to end with their eviction from Eden.
Every character is given the chance to tell their story through each of the four books: Cain is a tortured, lonely man being punished for an act he isn't sure was entirely of his own volition; Abel is a slightly self-righteous, innocent baffled by his death yet ready to forgive; Adam is bewildered and unprepared for his exile out of Eden but is fervently loyal to the God that banished him; and Eve endures the pain of her punishment with grace and provides her husband with the strength to survive through her passion and love.
Fallen is a beautifully written novel that challenges without offending even the most conservative of readers simply by revealing the humanity of these characters. There is no alternative but to sympathize with these familiar individuals that have been thrown into a new, unknown world where they must attempt to forge their own paths with the Almighty lurking in a distance offering cryptic guidance and at times, incomprehensible decisions. As Cain asks in the middle of the story, "Why would God create the perfect place then allow the Devil in it just to trick you?" The humanization of Cain throws into question whether the humans in the novel are all mice in a grand experiment and if their emotions and actions are self-governed or dictated by their Creator.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fall head over heels for Fallen, September 20, 2005

By	Marina Rabinovich (NY, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While it remains a mystery who arranged the dust into the shape of that first man, after reading Fallen, I am convinced that it is David Maine who has breathed life into him, and all the flesh of his flesh. Weaving backwards, Maine begins with Cain as an aged, dying man and ends with the expulsion from Eden. He does not so much rewrite the stingy narrative but adds to it, writes in between it, swells it, and truly makes the word flesh. With an unparalleled elegance, Maine explores everything that the original author refused to reveal and the mythical characters upon whom Western civilization is based become painfully and wonderfully human. Adam is sincere, inadequate and afraid of rabbits; Abel is exasperating, innocent and bad with numbers; Cain is brooding, clever and tragically sensitive; Eve, with her "red hair spilling crazily across the green moss," Eve is like fire... passionate, exquisite and breathtakingly brave. Traveling backwards, working towards that fateful night, when under the thunder struck sky, Adam knew Eve and Eve knew hunger, Maine tells an incredible story of love, family, and learning to walk after the fall. Much like the mark on Cain's forehead that it opens with, Fallen will brand you forever, burn inside of you, heartbreakingly beautiful and unforgettable.