Rating: 
Summary: Almost a 5 star review...
Review: First, I have to say that it is hilarious to read all the different reviews for this book. Most people loved it or hated it, with few in between. I really did enjoy this book a lot, despite it's tragic plot. I felt as though I really got to know the characters very well - the good and the bad. It was beautifully written and very witty, even humorous at times.The only reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 is because it was just a tiny bit far-fetched. I found myself finding some of the terrible events that unfold, really hard to believe. It was compelling and interesting, but I think the author pushed the tragedy a little too far. I did, however, really enjoy reading this book. I couldn't put it down and found myself reading it during meals, etc., just so I could see what would happen next. I think that the people here who gave this book a bad review, simply cannot handle reading about (or don't want to know anything about) extremely dysfunctional families. If you cannot handle incest, abuse, and horrible deaths, this probably is not the book for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Utterly Depressing
Review: Ugh! How I wish I hadn't wasted my time reading this book. It is filled with gratitious sex, incest, and rape. It's as if the author wanted to throw in as much scandal as possible. Maybe she thought if she covered all the scandal bases she would get readership from those who are drawn in by those subjects. Furthermore, I disliked all of the characters in this book.
Summed up: dark and depressing.
p.s. What is with Oprah picks? Why are they also so depressing?
Rating:
Summary: A good choice..but quite dragging in some parts
Review: This book is typical of the Oprah reader--long, dragging phrases and very detailed aspects on the development of a character in the story. Fall on Your Knees is a story about a half-Irish, half-Lebanese family with details on the hardships and family matters dealing with that of marital problems, and even incest. I wouldn't recommend the book to very young readers, as some of the excerpts in the book are quite graphic. You will find the text quite vivid when it comes to descriptions. Not necessary for the home library, but you may read it if you want to get an aspect of what a typical cross-culture marriage would be like.
Rating:
Summary: Disturbing and Depressing
Review: There is no happy ending here and no review can convince you just how much better off you are not reading this book. You may be interested, in that it seems so controversial, but let me sum it up for you: There is child beating, rape (followed by pregnancy), and molestation (all by their own father). There is racism, adultery, prostitution, and homosexuality. A newborn drowns, a mother commits suicide via her head in the oven, and you never get an answer to why a teenager deliberately gets pregnant (seducing someone else's husband/father). It is almost as if the author wanted to include every offensive crime against humanity in one book. It is, of course, anti-God and anti-religion. There is so much REAL misery in the world that I don't know why an author would need to add to it with these fictional tragedies. You may want to keep reading just out of desperation that the story must get better, that there will be closure, that there will be some amount of realism, and that you haven't wasted your precious hours reading this filth to not have any relief. You will not be satisfied or relieved. I wanted to leave a review before my memories of all the horrid details in the book began to fade and now I have...and I hope the memories do fade. The only reason I finished it is I am optimistic about outcomes and find it discouraging not to finish any book I start. If you still want to read the book, than you must enjoy the element of despair detailed above and you may very well like the book. I'm sorry.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing, Amazing, Amazing
Review: I was in the middle of this book when my husband and I took a trip to Ireland. It was so engrossing that I often didn't want to leave the book to explore Dublin. The subject matter is depressing, yet I didn't feel depressed while reading it, even though, as I've said, I was completely engrossed in the book.
There was never a moment when I was disappointed in this story. Even the less believable scenes were completely believable (if you know what I mean). This book will be considered a "classic" someday.
I finished it while on our trip. I don't usually keep books as I just have so many. Yet, I didn't want to donate it to a library or sell it at a used book store. I wanted to share it in a more personal way. So I wrote how the book touched me on the inside of the cover and left it on a bench in a Dublin park for the next lucky reader. The book was special, and I felt I had to do something special with it.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome!!!
Review: I looked at this book several times before I decided to read it. I am glad I read it. It was one of the most compelling stories I have ever read. Things keep happening throughout the story that you don't expect. It was certainly a page turner for me. I was sorry to see it end.
Rating:
Summary: A+
Review: This may be simply the most beautifully written book I have ever read. And I have been reading 4 or 5 books a week for the past 47 years. The prose is so good it often spills over into poetry so lyrical I wanted to cry.
People may or may not like the story, which is complex and dark. I obviously did like it; I read the book in one sitting, and it's 500-some pages. But whatever you may think of the story, you should not miss this book if you love beautiful writing.
It's hard for me to believe this is a first novel. It is a tour de force, beautifully plotted as well as beautifully written.
Rating:
Summary: Falling into the waters......
Review: This book started out just like any other novel, than suddenly, I became immersed in the 'local creek' and found it hard to breath. The family trama's, though differnt from my "world", carried the same internal passion I carry to overcome daily struggles. The main character is the father, but the light is shared with troublesome daughter Frances...
The family secrets flow silent, like a calm running water... and the ending... Well, you'll just have to read it.
If you enjoy the little-sneak-up-on-you heart tugs. Pick this one up.
Rating:
Summary: If ever there was a book that deserved a perfect rating...
Review: It would be this one.
I actually got this book on accident from some shady book club that mysteriously sent me five books and then tried to charge me for them. I have the hardcover version, and the cover art looked... boring. I neglected this book for a year.
The old saying "never judge a book by its cover" has never been more concise.
This book is an absolute work of art. The incredible depth of each character is unparalleled by anything else I have read. While "Fall On Your Knees" does contain some very controversial subjects, such as child molestation, it does not present itself in a distasteful manner. The frailty and emotions of humankind are exquisitely revealed here.
Cape Breton Island is painted into your mind, you can see it perfectly, from rocky cliffs over the ocean to clapboard houses all in a row. MacDonald is a master storyteller. She manages to completely envelop you in the lives of those whom she writes about, to the point that if you tell me I wasn't there to see all of this happen, I would have to catch myself before I told you that you were mistaken.
Absolutely enthralling. Don't be like me and ignore this masterpiece. Buy a copy for yourself and every other person you know. It's that good.
Rating:
Summary: Best piece of fiction I've read in ages
Review: This book is testimony to the fact that sometimes, if you're looking for a spectacular read, you shouldn't always look to an author's newest work. The Way the Crow Flies was excellent, but can't match the impeccable narrative style of Fall on Your Knees, Ann-Marie MacDonald's earlier work. The thousand-plus words will fall away as you become engrossed in the Piper family, and you'll find yourself finishing this book after a few sleepless nights. A beautiful and haunting drama with marvellous character development; a great piece of Canadiana.
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