Rating: 
Summary: Had to skim the last half of the book
Review: I thought it started out well -- Ms MacDonald can certainly write -- but then becomes repetitive and boring. I gave it an honest 300 pages then just skimmed and moved on. For a similar epic novel with real narrative thrust, read House of the Spirits by Allende instead.
Rating: 
Summary: So crazy it works (most of the time).
Review: Although this book will almost certainly be described as magic realist, it is more accurate to call it a genuine Gothic novel. Magic realism dispenses its marvels with a knowing smile, conspiring with the reader to take it all as funny business and nod toward the deadly serious, sociohistorical commentary behind the smoke and mirrors. By contrast, the Gothic tells its funniest stories unsmilingly, and we buy it for the same reason we watch soap operas and laugh: they're just like life. For the trick to work, the writer must keep a straight face from beginning to end, and for the most part Ann-Marie MacDonald brings it off. Her prose style is almost irreproachable: lucid, tough, imaginative all at once. It's difficult to render the feel of it without proposing strange marriages between other authors. One reviewer suggested John Irving meets Joyce Carol Oates; to me it sounds like Atwood with a snootful, which is also the image brought to mind by the novel's main character, Frances Piper. So long as Frances is center stage, her timing is good enough to keep the most outrageous plot twists within firm control. The hitch with this novel is that half of it takes place before Frances gets herself going and is technically problematic in the absence of a clear dramatic focus. Too much space is wasted on nunsy humor and disagreeable knockoffs of "Little Women," these things following the hideous scene of Kathleen's death and Lily's birth--itself left rather adrift amongst diffuse plot elements which tend toward sentimentality: the whole business of Kathleen's singing career ought to have been much better developed or else skipped until the end, at which it begins to make sense. Yet one of the beauties of the Gothic form is that it can skirt vulgarity much better than pretension, and when MacDonald needs to turn up the volume she opts, most commendably, for vulgarity. This isn't a book for everyone; frustratingly, it's the kind of book that's most fun to share. Use it to make your weird friends.
Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: A beautifully written book, 'Fall On Your Knees' is a complex story with an unpredictable ending. The writing style is mesmerizing and the tale intriguing. Certainly worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: best book in 10 years
Review: I stopped working, eating, if not breathing, while reading this book. There is a wonderfull lightness or even humor while describing the most horrible family-events. The tension is thrillerlike.
Rating:
Summary: Stayed up till 4am
Review: This was one of the best books I've read in the past five years. Complex, engaging, delicious. The characters are so thoroughly developed and the story is tremendous. I wouldn't consider myself a fan of gothic novels, but Fall On Your Knees transcends this category.
Rating:
Summary: Begging for a new novel!
Review: Yesterday, I caught myself saying, "that's just like what happened to Frances". I can't explain how the characters of this book became my intimate friends. Mostly, I can't because I don't want to. The beauty of the novel has revealed itself to me once again -- after a two year hiatus -- and I dont want anything to darken that glow. Fall on Your Knees is a funny, dark, heart-warming, distrubing, estactic, bleak, joyful, and melancholic book. This Canadian author deserves international attention!
Rating:
Summary: dark, and enchanting
Review: Almost a perfect book. I should've known who the twins's father was, but I didn't! MacDonald is a convincing dream of an author. Her true talent lies in creating the most authentic characters one can dare to hope for in a late-day novel. Ps: I am Egyptian, and her Arabic is perfect.
Rating:
Summary: Can't stop thinking about it.
Review: I am one of the first in my book club to finish reading this book, and I can't wait for the others to catch up so we can discuss! This story is so dark, it leaves you wondering whether what you THINK just happened really happened. And the characters are so vivid, you feel like you can deduce their hidden motivations. I will definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for something a little different.
Rating: 
Summary: I had to quit
Review: I don't usually quit reading a book, sticking with it until the end whether it is one of my favorites or not, but with this book, I just couldn't finish. I am an avid reader but found this book rather sick. I got tired of the relationship between Frances and Lily. I finally decided that I really didn't have to finish, so I quit.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I've ever read.
Review: This book demands that you continue to read it once you start it. The characters are individualistic and human. The structure of the book gives you enough but not all of the information. When you are done, you are ready to start again. This book will remain in your memory as you continue to search for it's meanings.
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