Rating: 
Summary: The Edwardian Period
Review: sets the context for this brilliant second novel by Chevalier. The book opens on New Year's Day, 1901 (and what a good opening it is) three weeks before the death of Queen Victoria. The book's ending takes place ten years later on the day of King Edward's death. Falling Angels chronicles the lives of two families that become interwined during the decade between Queen Victoria's death and King Edward's death. Chevalier conveys much about the staid conventionality that middle-class England embraced during Queen Victoria's reign, the social upheaval marked by the King's new reign and the change of century. Falling Angels brilliantly uses different points-of-view that serve to bridge the old conventions with the new. Deft use of detail, so apparent in Girl with a Pearl Earring, adds to the richness of this story. Ultimately the story is about life, death, friendship, motherhood, marriage, social conventions and politics. A lot to convey in a 300 page book. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: I really had no idea what Falling Angels was even about when I started it ~ I only picked it up hoping I would enjoy it half as much as I did Chevalier's first novel, Girl With a Pearl Earring. Falling Angels not only met my expectations, it fully exceeded them. From page one (I didn't know Victorians did THAT!) I knew I was in for a rollercoaster ride of a book. Neighbors Kitty Coleman and the Gertrude Waterhouse are as different as night and day. Kitty is forward thinking and restless in her role as wife and mother. Gertrude is firmly, and happily, ensconced in the oppressive Victorian mores of the day. To their horror their young daughters, Maude and Lavinia, become the best of friends and the two families are forced to interact. Over the course of nearly a decade, starting with the death of Queen Victoria, we watch as the Colemans and the Waterhouses struggle with each other, themselves, and the changing times as England moves into the new century. Tracy Chevalier is an author I will seek out again and again ~ I can't wait to see where she takes us next.
Rating:
Summary: I agree
Review: I agree with the previous reviewer in that Chevalier is one of the few authors whose books I'll pick up, just because her name is on the cover. I've read all of hers, and while "Girl with a Pearl Earring" is top on my list, "Falling Angels" is second. But I can understand some people's hesitation, especially if they got half-way through this excellent read, for while the first half is gentle and warm, the story turns dark. But then, the essence of drama is conflict, right? And we can't expect Chevalier to always do the same thing. The fact that she's written as many "different" books as she has is testament to her talent. But aside from her name and excellent premises, the best thing about Ms. C. is her writing style. It flows like water, effortlessly, like something written by McCrae (think "Bark of the Dogwood" or possibly some of Min's novels.) By all means, read this book, but don't pass up "Girl with A Pearl Earring" as it is her best effort. Also recommended: "Girl With a Pearl Earring," Empress Orchid, "Bark of the Dogwood.
Rating:
Summary: Enchanting, enthralling, highly moving
Review: I think of Falling Angels as a small treasure much the way I think of Chevalier's Girl With a Pearl Earring, two very different stories. Both are historical set pieces that have the gift of giving the reader a sense of immediacy. The reader is invited into the lives of two upper middle class families, particularly the females, one family following the status quo and one the unconventional as well as intellectual. The story spans a period of approximately ten years, the pivotal years between the death of Queen Victoria and her son King Edward VI, pivotal years for young girls coming of age in a new century with new rules, new possibilities, and new dangers. Each chapter is like a vignette into these lives that forces readers to draw their own conclusions as to what it all means. The story starts off slowly and much of it takes place in a cemetery in London modeled after the cemetery at Highgate. The physical and social life of the city come alive, cemetery and all, from the East End to the North of London, from Marble Arch to Hyde Park and a famous gathering of the Suffragette movement. It looks at first like a story about trivialities, about childhood games and squabbles and social snobbery, but ends with the deliverance of several punches that will leave the reader staggering and awed for a long time to come. A very moving work from a masterful storyteller.
Rating:
Summary: I'm adding Tracy Chevalier to my list of favorite authors!
Review: For the longest time I stayed away from period fiction. I wasn't interested in reading stories from the early 1900s or stories from England. I'm happy to say that Tracy Chevalier has changed all that. I actually read "Falling Angels" first, then went back and read "...Pearl Earring." While there are similarities between the two stories, the one marked difference is that Pearl Earring was told from the sole point of view of the housemaid - Falling Angels is told from various points of view. You can read the book in the eyes of any one of the characters in the story. You will never get lost either - you will always know who's point of view you are reading since Ms. Chevalier uses headings and always informs the reader whose point of view the next chapter is from. This is a wonderful way to tell a story. When there are several characters on the canvas, it is easy to get lost in who's telling who what and when, but with Ms. Chevalier's writing style, you always know who's feeling what and why or why a character chooses to act as they do. You can grow to love a character you once disliked, and trust the characters you distrusted in the beginning. I am anxious to read more of Ms. Chevalier's work and understand she is currently working on her next novel. I'm hoping it's out soon (I'm also looking for some of her earlier pieces of work which I understand are short stories), but in the meantime, I have Ms. Chevalier to thank for opening the door to stories told around this time period - I've since read some wonderful novels written about England and the early 1900s, late 1800s and I'm currently reading and enjoying "Girl in Hyacinth Blue." (about the painter Vermeer featured in Pearl Earring) My eyes have been opened to some wonderful story telling! Thank you and keep 'em coming!
Rating:
Summary: Personal Journal Reveals Hushed Secrets / Private Thoughts
Review: The popularity of "Girl with a Pearl Earring" (book and film), plus a review of *this* book by an acquaintance, convinced me, "read this book" ... read anything by this author. From the first page to the last, this book held my attention. I read it in one sitting, cover to cover, over several hours, unable to put it down. I was intrigued by the first entry in the book ... a rather risque confession by Kitty Coleman, that she had 'swapped husbands' at a New Year's Eve party, to show she was 'open-minded'. Furthermore, she questions her up-bringing, deemed "too much education for a woman" by some, during the Victorian era. It dawns on Kitty that her dissatisfaction with her marriage and life in general has a lot to do with inability to communicate with her husband on things that are *most* important to her. While she has a good life by the standards of the times, she is restless and dissatisfied -- she is looking for an outlet. Right from the start, this novel hooks the reader. It is from this major personal conflict that many "secret" events unfold, which later affect the lives of most of the characters in the book. This reader gives high praise for the subject matter and creartive writing ability of the author. The setting alone, where major events occur, unfold, is outstanding -- a graveyard, where two eleven year olds first meet and become "best friends". The technique of writing from the viewpoint of the first person, through the eyes of the person experiencing the event or recalling how they felt at the time, is perfect. It is unique, creative and highly effective for the subject and the era in which the events occured. Another outstanding feature of this book, is how the two families who are the main characters meet ... they both have graves in a famous cemetery, that are next to each other. Each makes a negative judgement about the selection of gravestone marker for their loved one ... this is so human, so real, such a fascinating a way to begin a story. After the two eleven year old girls become 'best friends', they befriend the grave-digger's son, Simon, who shows the girls the different 'angel' grave markers throughout the cemetery. The girls often come to visit the cemetery, view the angel markers and speak with Simon. They accompany the maid, who is sent on errands to town. However, besides errands, the maid has a personal agenda, she is having a romantic affair with one of the gravdiggers. We also learn, later, that Mrs. Kitty Coleman is also meeting someone at the cemetery. She has developed an intellectual relationship with Mr. John Jackson, the manager of the graveyard. This intellectual relationship gradually develops into a physical romantic affair. Along the way, Kitty discovers a "cause" which consumes much of her energy, the suffragettes. She dedicatea her time and energy to this one means of "freeing up women" from the limitations imposed by society ... this cause .... and her romance with Mr. John Jackson, eventually becomes her undoing. The book is worth reading to discover the means by which this occurs ... This one event has a major impact on the lives of most of the characters who provide journal entries in this book. One major life event in one family, leads to another totally unexpected crisis, that impacts the second family featured in the book, the Waterhouse family. The manner in which the author weaves the cemetery into the story ... from the highly worth the read. Learning how the lives of these two families intertwine, as they become "backyard neighbors" is fascinating. Most highly recommended. Erika Borsos (erikab93)
Rating:
Summary: Falling Angels - Great Read!
Review: I simply couldn't put this down. The beginning is a knock-out and the rest of the plot is so very powerful - it's a wonderful read. The prose are so well written, and beautifully crafted. I had images of thousands of white dresses rustling through Hyde Park, with two little girls signaling at each other across a distance from their bedroom windows, of the light vanishing as the sides of a grave collapses. This is a wonderful novel - I can't wait to read more from Chevalier.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Bother
Review: This is a story that takes place in a graveyard and that's exactly where this book belongs. After reading a flurry of good books, my good run came to an end with this disaster. The characters were stale, the narrative kept switching from person to person which could have been interesting but instead perpetuated the slow movement of the already snail paced plot. My biggest gripe was...WHO CARES? The novel was devoid of soul and leaves the reader without interest for the characters. Someone died and I barely blinked. Her historical perspective was poor as well, the setting was too weak to transport the reader to that era. I don't know why I finished this at all.
Rating: 
Summary: Falling angels
Review: The book starts off with the death of Queen Victoria and already it is apparent that Maude's Mother is lookin forward to change. Two familys who barely get along (just for their daughters, Maude and Livy) have different views on the future. The book start off slow but bye the second half of the book i couldn't put it down. Insightful on how the women's movement can affect their familys.
Rating:
Summary: I agree
Review: I agree with the previous reviewer in that Chevalier is one of the few authors whose books I'll pick up, just because her name is on the cover. I've read all of hers, and while "Girl with a Pearl Earring" is top on my list, "Falling Angels" is second. But I can understand some people's hesitation, especially if they got half-way through this excellent read, for while the first half is gentle and warm, the story turns dark. But then, the essence of drama is conflict, right? And we can't expect Chevalier to always do the same thing. The fact that she's written as many "different" books as she has is testament to her talent. But aside from her name and excellent premises, the best thing about Ms. C. is her writing style. It flows like water, effortlessly, like something written by McCrae (think "Bark of the Dogwood" or possibly some of Min's novels.) By all means, read this book, but don't pass up "Girl with A Pearl Earring" as it is her best effort. Also recommended: "Girl With a Pearl Earring," Empress Orchid, "Bark of the Dogwood.
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