Rating: 
Summary: Loved It
Review: After going through the first few reviews here, I thought, "Oh great. What am I about to read here?" But don't let the bad reviews fool you. It's a good book. True, the Piper family endures more tragedies than some small nations, but Miss MacDonald writes in such a manner that it takes awhile for all the suffering to sink in. And I do adore her style!I loved Frances, for her spirit and devotion to her sisters. Mercedes was a bit of a bore but after all she's gone through, it would be odd if she *weren't* slightly nuts. Trust me, it was hardly confusing. I especially enjoyed reading about Kathleen. Miss MacDonald has a wonderfully dark sense of humour. I suppose the magic of the book lies in the style of writing. Just don't read it when you're in a bad mood.
Rating:
Summary: Everything old is new again
Review: What makes a book 'original'? Every plot conceivable has been done to death. Every character imaginable has graced the pages of some novel or other. Every emotion possible has been wrung out of the reader. So why even write any more books? If it's all been done, why do it again? A true pleasure of reading is finding that one novel in a thousand that manages to break free from the rest, that manages to startle and amuse within a familiar frameswork, that makes the old seem fresh. FALL ON YOUR KNEES is such a book. FALL ON YOUR KNEES follows the tribulations of the Pipers, an unusual family living in Cape Breton in the early twentieth centure. The patriarch is James, a former piano tuner, who married Materia, a thirteen-year-old Lebanese girl who is promptly disowned from her family. Resulting from this rather unhappy coupling: Kathleen, a girl with the voice of an angel; the devout and well-meaning Mercedes; the wild and possibly insane Frances; and the crippled yet miraculous Lily. At its essence, this is a 'family drama', a novel that traces one family's life throughout its tumultuous history. There is absolutely nothing original about this theme. Personally, I always believed that John Irving put the 'fun' in 'dysfunctional'. But Ann-Marie MacDonald has accomplished something equally as fine and wonderful as Irving has often done; she has broken the bounds of the novel, making it read as if this was the first time anyone ever conceived of the idea. MacDonald proves she has Irving's gift for finely-tuned characterization, combined with the ability to constantly surprise the reader. As MacDonald drives the narrative, through the battlefields of World War One, into the great depression, and then veering into the worlds of New York and Harlem, she consistently delights the reader with fresh sub-plots and characters. As well, MacDonald refuses to judge her characters. She leads us through the despicable acts of James and Frances, the self-pitying laments of Mercedes, the class hatred and eventual rebirth of Kathleen, all without a moment's disdain or loathing. The characters are all deeply flawed, but MacDonald refuses to sentimentalize or soften them. For better or for worse, they are who they are. FALL ON YOUR KNEES has moments of remarkable vision, and easily holds its own against any of the more established novelists of today. It is a novel to read again and again, perhaps in conjunction with Irving's THE HOTEL NEW HAMPSHIRE. It is a treasure of a novel, and MacDonald will have a difficult time if she ever wants to top it.
Rating: 
Summary: Conflicted
Review: I just finished this book and I have to say I am conflicted. I felt the writing was superb but the story just did not completely pull me in. This book came to me highly recommended. It seems many people either love or hate this book, but I felt more neutral. I know that a book is for me when I can't put it down and get lost in the story. This was not the case with this story. I, like many other reviewers, had a hard time in the beginning but after the first 2 or 3 chapters the book got better. I was interested to see where the story went but not lost in it. The ending was not a surprise as I guessed who Lily's father was early on as well as the fate of Frances' baby. I felt almost voyeristic reading some of the plot. The characters were well thought out and developed. So overall I am glad I finished it. A good family saga, great writing, good story.
Rating:
Summary: Loved It
Review: After going through the first few reviews here, I thought, "Oh great. What am I about to read here?" But don't let the bad reviews fool you. It's a good book. True, the Piper family endures more tragedies than some small nations, but Miss MacDonald writes in such a manner that it takes awhile for all the suffering to sink in. And I do adore her style! I loved Frances, for her spirit and devotion to her sisters. Mercedes was a bit of a bore but after all she's gone through, it would be odd if she *weren't* slightly nuts. Trust me, it was hardly confusing. I especially enjoyed reading about Kathleen. Miss MacDonald has a wonderfully dark sense of humour. I suppose the magic of the book lies in the style of writing. Just don't read it when you're in a bad mood.
Rating:
Summary: Can't get my mind away from Frances...
Review: *I Have Heard the Mermaids Singing* is a movie I remember fondly, perhaps more for the time of life it signifies than for the film itself. In fact, my memories are so good that they led me to read a book I might have failed to pick up--*Fall On Your Knees*, by Ann-Marie MacDonald. See, she was in that movie, and she's cute as a button. The back of the book makes it sound like Danielle Steele--"epic story in the tradition of, blah blah blah, family ties and betrayals, yatada yatada." But it takes place in Canada, which instantly makes it more interesting, and spans the beginning of the 20th century--even more intriguing. I started reading it early on Easter Sunday, and couldn't put it down--not even to give my full attention to *X- Files*. Danielle Steele it's not, although the plot line, when I stepped back, did begin to remind me of V.C. Andrews (which all the girls devoured in jr. high), but really well-done.
MacDonald has drawn up characters who continually surprise. Frances, the girl/woman who wears her Girl Guides uniform to tatters to save her youngest sister, kept me reading more than any of them; well-populated books usually have one character who draws me from page to page, chapter to chapter, racing to get them again, and Frances did this for me. There's a girl with some real (and real interesting) morals, that Frances. The end of the book, though, is the true magic, the real reward. It's what I could not have predicted from the first page, or the 301st. I can see it all, trying to imagine New York City in the 1920's, Haarlem hopping, still with its double "a". I can see two girls and their unlikely friendship, antagonism turned to love turned to sorrow. I can see a beautiful green dress that is the only thing a girl knows of mother. MacDonald shows us all of these things, and the dead, and the living, and the Canada that's booming and busting (of which I am utterly ignorant), and she teaches us about identity and, I suppose, about love.
And one can still turn the book over and look at her cute little face.
Rating: 
Summary: WHATS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? AND THE AUTHOR?!
Review: All of you "5 star" people are absoute INSANE, and have never read a REAL good book in your life. This book should be BURNED, and whatever the heck drove the author to write about such things makes you question her past.
Rating:
Summary: Beyond compare
Review: With its changing settings (from Nova Scotia, WWI, to New York City during the Jazz age) this spellbinding novel is one of the best things I've come across in months. I'm also one for anything set at the beginning of the last century, so Ann-Marie MacDonald's novel did NOT disappoint. With great writing, like that found in McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD or Steinbeck's EAST OF EDEN, this Oprah Pick is sure to please. But don't think that I'm one to go blindly by what Ms. "O" says, for I'm not--some of her picks have left me cold. This one didn't, and I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: What a compeling story about a family who's secrets and betrayal almost ruin them.This is absolutely the best book I've ever read. James is a hard-headed, unreasonable and controlling male who causes havoc in his daughters lives. Kathleen is the prissy girl you can't help but fall in love with by the end of the novel when you learn of the circumstances surrounding her horrid end. Mercedes is the familiy's source of strength who helps them survive. Although annoyed by Mercedes' actions often she is still a compelling character. Frances is the bad girl you can't help but love. She turns her world upside down when she turns to alcohol and prostitution but manages to salvage herself. Lily has naive love towards everyone as her sisters try and protect her from the truth. An unstopable read that leaves you with a bitter-sweat feeling and an urge to call your parents and tell them how much you love them. Phenominal.
Rating:
Summary: Disgusting, without substance.
Review: I have read some CRAZY books in my life, but this tops the cake. I LOVE reading, and have read hundreds and hundreds of absolutely wonderful books. But geez, describing a father raping his five year old daughter, upon other stories...give me a break! Thats all this story is about: incests, life's agonies, and complete and utter stupidity. Don't read this book
Rating:
Summary: This Book Went in the Trash!
Review: I am really stunned by the good reviews this book has gotten here. I found it sickening, perverted, and just plain filthy. I couldn't finish it because I was so disgusted, so I skipped to the end to see if there was any redeeming quality or conclusion, and was even more let-down. Supposedly the author imagines that there is "redemption" in a character finding out about all the rape and incest in the family and his origins from it, but it was so unreal to me that it was laughable, if you could laugh while feeling so nauseated.
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