Fall

by Colin McAdam

Book Overview

Award-winning author Colin McAdam's second novel takes place at St. Ebury, an elite Ottawa boarding school. It's a place of privilege and hollow rules, of newly minted "traditions" and the barely... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1594488681
• ISBN13: 9781594488689
• Release Date: June 2009
• Publisher: Riverhead Books
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 1.5" x 5.8"
• Age Range: 14 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 9 and higher

Customer Reviews

Dark and fascinating profile of a true sociopath

This novel tells the story of Noel and Julius, two upper-class young men who share a room at a fictional boarding school in Canada. They are not friends at the beginning of the book; they are roommates only by chance. They slowly begin a friendship that means much more in Noel's mind than to Julius. Chapters are split into three categories: those told from Noel's point of view, which are very detailed; chapters told from Julius's point of view, which are mostly train-of-thought and somewhat annoying; and finally those told by William, the former driver for Julius's father. It's very interesting how Noel can interpret an act or a situation in his mind very differently than Julius. Throughout the novel, more and more of Noel's sociopathic tendencies begin to appear, and there is a foreboding sense of doom. One a side note, I completely disagree with a previous reviewer's comments regarding the homosexuality of Noel, Julius and Antony; Noel was definitely obsessed with Julius, but I don't think it was in a sexual way. He was also obsessed with Julius's girlfriend, Fallon (Fall, hence the name of the book). There is nothing in the novel to suggest Julius or Antony had any homosexual inclinations. The theme was obsession, and a very dark and dangerous obsession at that. Highly recommended.

Falling For "Fall"--A Disturbing And Deeply Human Story of Friendship and Obsession

Colin McAdam's "Fall" charts the territory of a thriller as it contemplates the relationship of three boarding school students in the throes of love, friendship, and even obsession. Initially, standard character types are presented. There is Julius, star athlete and popular student, Noel, an awkward loner and Julius's new roommate, and Fall, Julius's lovely girlfriend. But, far from being a conventional thriller--"Fall" aspires to and achieves so much more! Told from multiple viewpoints, McAdam has crafted an extraordinary character study that sets up certain expectations about the three principles and then shifts and subverts those ideas as the story progresses. It is surprising, confounding, touching, and deeply human. No one is quite as they seem as they struggle for acceptance and try to fit into the adult world. From the interior monologue of Julius, we see the stream-of-consciousness evolution of a boy to a man. From Fall's story, we see a young woman wrestling with first love and the nature of her own beauty. And from Noel's narrative, surprising truths of a darker nature start to evolve. While what happens may sometimes seem shocking, it always feels true. So the haunting "Fall" is a simple story that's likely to linger with you, I know it has with me. Definitely recommended, McAdam has created one of the more astute psychological portraits of adolescence that I've come across in some time.

A Separate Peace Meets American Psycho

Colin McAdam's FALL starts off like many a prep school book and immediately brings to mind A SEPARATE PEACE because it explores a Finny-like good looking athletic kid (Julius) and his studious, borderline loser roommate (Noel). To give it a twist, McAdam adds the beautiful Fall (Fallon), Julius's girlfriend, and has young Noel develop an unhealthy fascination for BOTH roomie and roomie's girl. It's all going fine -- with a few bumps in the road -- until about halfway through. Then we're faced with the AMERICAN (OK, maybe AUSTRALIAN, as Noel hails from Down Under) PSYCHO part. Let's start with the bumps in the road. I liked McAdam's work out of the gate because he seemed to have an excellent feel for the "edgy" dynamic between boys living in the close quarters of prep school dorms. The other author who caught this nicely was Richard Yates in A GOOD SCHOOL. The boys are desperate for female love, but kind of, sort of, don't-you-dare-name-it love each other, too, if they're good friends. McAdams is in his element exploring this sensitive territory, and he nails the way boys act and think when they're about their pranks and forbidden pleasures. The bumps, you ask? I didn't think the 1st-person Julius POV (it jumps between them) always worked. Sometimes you'd get a pile-up of staccato-lines like so: "I'm barfing. Are you ok says Fall. Pwuh I say. Plah. Are you ok. I love you I say. Plee." But then there's also writing like this, from Noel's point of view: "I watched Julius play soccer sometimes. My toes got cold. I remember the smell of the leaves. I remember black mud, black-limbed trees, darkening autumn days, and Julius a relentless force on the field, finding a way like water around stones. I remember thinking that the way to reach a goal was by finding fissures between people that no one else could see." It's too bad that what begins as a modern twist on a familiar genre takes such a bizarre turn. Noel, it turns out, is creepy. He goes for the fissures, all right -- like a hammer to a stress fracture. The weirdness of his obsessions soon take over the book, muting the "fun" Julius and Fall scenes. Despite this, I loved a lot of the writing and even got caught up in the investigation once Fall disappeared, but overall I felt that McAdam missed an opportunity with this work. It could've stuck to more mundane subtleties rather than giving itself up to crime-drama psychology. And yes, if you insist on tight endings (gift-wrapped with a bow), you'll be disappointed. Endings are tough, though. In any event, distractions or no, I'm sticking with 4-stars and advising fans of the prep school genre to "buy in."

Cerebral Mystery

Colin McAdam's Fall is a very smart, gripping mystery involving the vanishing of a young, beautiful Canadian high school girl. Why It's Worth the Time: - McAdam's three main characters are unique and multi-dimensional. He provides detailed, individualized narration that develops each well. - McAdam doesn't dwell on the typical "who-dunnit" elements of a typical mystery. This novel isn't truly about the disappearance of Fall; it is about relationships and individuality. - The novel is very well written and is appropriately paced. - The academic boarding school dynamic provides the perfect setting for the novel. Unfortunately... - I didn't think the sections entitled "William" were done well; I understand their purpose, I just felt the execution of the device was unsuccessful. - Julius's inner monologues occasionally became a touch annoying. All in all a very smart, interesting read.

Crazy in Love

"Fall" by Colin McAdam is an odd book. People will either love it or hate it. I loved it. McAdam's writing style, the staccato bursts of dialog and the strange onomatopoetic pages of "conversation" may seem like affectations to those who dislike the book. I loved it. These conversations, in the world at large and between lovers, sounded right and realistic to me. The story is a prep-school story, the nerd, Noel, and the cool kid, Julius, roommates. They learn to get along, share space and stories. They have buddies, Ant and Chris. They get into trouble and worry about grades, girls, hangovers, parents, body parts and muscles. The core of the story, however, is Fall (short for Fallon), a beautful, charming, sweet girl, in love with Julius. As the time approaches for Julius and Fall's "anniversary," they plan a magical night together. Noel is placed in the role of messenger between them. Noel has issues. Fall disappears. The book is ambiguous and beautiful, realistic and shocking. It is filled with big thoughts: "the person you loved was never there, she was the skin around what you wanted." There are gems like this on every page. The title itself is multi-layered. And the police don't get in the way of the story of the boys and the girl. Read "Fall" for something new, diverting, and memorable.