Rating: 
Summary: Between the dead and the living
Review: The real (silent) hero in Tracy Chevalier's book "Falling Angels" is the cemetery. An interesting narrative device in an already very creative story-telling method.
Many voices can be heard in the story about two families and the people around them, and Ms. Chevalier makes the most out of all of them, letting each voice say his/her piece. In this post-victorian era "Rashumon" the keys to the plot are in the hands of two main characters: Kitty Coleman a wife and a mother who embodies the spirit of chance and Lavinia Waterhouse, a young girl whose role is to signify deeply-rooted middle-class values. The cemetery near these two families' residances, is the focal point of the book: this is were the families first meet and this is were - from that symbolic moment when queen Victoria dies onward - their scerets, loves, pain and beliefs will form and take place.
By choosing this topus for her plot, Ms. Chevalier hints (from the very beginning) that things will never be the same and here she traps herself: can a book explore the topic of "Change in the Making", can the author squeeze into one plot so many ideas and still make the reader care for and identify with at least one of the personas in this many layered story?
Ms. Chevalier's book - her third and most likely not her last, is an easy, light book. It has a lace and potpouri quality to it which I think is not what the writer aimed to achieve, I think Ms. Chevalier is an honest author whose period of research prior to writing her books is genuinely a long one - so how come all three books have the same gloss of "I know it's going to be a best-seller " about them...
Rating: 
Summary: Wow!!!
Review: I was extremely impressed by this novel. I went into it thinking it was going to be another adultry novel that affects the family but it wasn't. There was lies and deceit and broken vows but that's only half of the excitement in this book. It's got twists and turns that you will only "think" you see coming when in fact, what you thought was going to happen is replaced by something far more innovative. This book will remind you what true love is all about.
Rating:
Summary: Grippingly paced historical fiction
Review: In the long history of England, one of their most mournful times in history was the death of their beloved Queen Victoria in 1901. At her death, the entire country literally stopped moving for a number of years. Tracy Chevaliers enchanting third novel starts on the day after that.Known and acquainted only by a family gravestone, the Johnsons and Waterhouses are completely different. The wealthy Johnsons have a rough marriage with their daughter Maud and their servant Jenny. The middle class Waterhouses are happily married with their two daughters Lavina and Ivy May. But on the day of mourning for their queen, the two families change forever when two very special little girls form a very special friendship that will change the way that they look at life forever. Full of historical insight, vivid descriptions, and rich characters, Ms. Chevalier has further established herself among the best in historical fiction. The sheer fun and intelligent plot swept me in and held me close (I don't think I've ever been swept so quickly into a narrative) and makes me think that this is the best work yet by this author.
Rating:
Summary: This book is heaven-sent!
Review: Some people aren't going to like this book ~~ simply because it seems like there is no real order to this book as it's broken up by characters instead of chapters. And you do have to use your imagination a little bit to get what Chevalier is trying to say. However, this book is really awesome in the way each character is thoroughly drawn-out and you end up feeling like you really know them. The Colemans and the Waterhouses met at the cemetery on the day of Queen Victoria's death at the turn of the 20th century. Within moments you can gauge which family is sentimental (the Waterhouses with their falling angel over their plot) and which family is more modern (the Colemans with their big urn). Within moments, Livinia and Maude struck up a friendship that lasted several years and they also became friends with the gravedigger's son, Simon. This book is the story of their friendships and circumstances in their lives that brings the book to a conclusion. Meeting over a grave led to tragic happenings for both families ~~ almost as if death was lingering over their friendships. This book is not narrated by just one character but by all the characters. Even the Coleman's cook have a little say in things happening in the household. It is a very interesting writing style ~~ probably my favorite style as I enjoy hearing what people have to say ~~ even if they are imaginary. This book is different than from her first book ~~ Girl with a Pearl Earring ~~ so don't judge this book by the same writing style as the previous book. Chevalier explored a different writing techinque and it works for this book. It is a wonderfully-written book ~~ one that is a keeper in my personal library. 2-14-03
Rating:
Summary: The idea of this book is great
Review: I often wonder how authors come up with ideas for their books. I found this one to be quite interesting and a page turner. I loved the Characters and that they were the "same" and yet very
different. It was very interesting to read about how rigid they were in Victorian times and how the women's movement annoyed and frustrated so many people. I recommend this book to everyone, including high school students. The author writes in "first person" of all the characters and it makes it very interesting to know their perspective on each event that happens in the book. Ellen
Rating:
Summary: Another super-b book by Chevalier
Review: Falling Angels takes you back to London in 1901 a day after the Queen died. Two girls Maude Coleman and Lavinia Waterhouse meet at the cemetery as their families have side-by-side graves. The two girls become fast friends mixing with the likes of the cemetery boy, Simon. The story takes you through the friendship of the two girls from 1901 to 1910. Because of their daughters' friendship, these two families lives are drawn together and bounded by these ties. Chevalier does an amazing job at recreating the Victoria times. She has written the book so that the chapters are from the point of view of each character. It is a unique style of writing as you get to see the events and how they transpire from the different view of each character.
Rating:
Summary: Could not put it down!
Review: I enjoyed Girl with a Pearl Earing well enough as an audio book durng a long car ride so was willing to give Angels a try...Wow! The author's rendering of the dynamics of life in Edwardian times surpassed my expectations. She cleverly used the interactions of two families, their help and the staff from a nearby cemetery to convey an excellent view of the politics and society of the time. Kitty Coleman, vapid beauty turned raving suffragette, acts as a catalyst to a story that erupts, winds down and gives closure to the first nine years of the twentieth century. I look forward to Tracy Chevalier's next book.
Rating: 
Summary: Educational yet disappointing
Review: My husband brought this book home to me one afternoon upon the recommendation of our local bookstore. At first blush I was very surprised they would recommend this particular book. The plot revolves around a cemetary after all. Kind of morbid (I wondered what he was trying to tell me). I will tell you that there are good points and bad points to this piece of literature. The last few years I have seen an increase in the style of writing I will call character jumping ... a couple of pages from the point of view of, or about, a certain character. Then jumping onto another. Truthfully, it drives me crazy! This book is particularly guilty of that. Writing in this way doesn't allow for strong character development. On the positive side, I learned a great deal about this particular time in history and enjoyed that. I haven't read her first book, but if it is written in the same style, I'm not sure I will.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as Girl with a Pearl.
Review: Actually this book was rather a let down after Girl With a Pearl Earring. The book began slow, then picked up some pace, then totally crashed. Tracey Chevalier writes beautiful historical fiction. She has the ability to place the reader into the era that she is writing about. She did a good job with that in this book. However, the entire suffragette movement portion of the book was very dull. Her description of setting and characters are very well drawn. Even the construction of the book was unique, but it is just not a keeper. I have recommended and shared Girl with a Pearl Earring with my friends, but I am not going to bother sharing this one. I was rather disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: A Disappointing Follow Up
Review: I was excited to read Tracy Chevalier's second book after loving "Girl With a Pearl Earring" so much. In "Girl," so much was left unsaid, and the writing was to tight-- but lyrical at the same time -- that Chevalier painted her characters with subtlety and grace. Not to mention that the story itself was fascinating. In "Falling Angels," she takes a sledgehammer to everything she presented in "Girl." Instead of subtlety, she hits you over the head with everything again and again, in case you didn't get something the first time. The characters are unsympathetic and irritating, the dialogue is totally unbelievable, and, frankly, the story is Boring with a capital B. Graves? Little girls becoming friends over a grave? Huh? It may be historically accurate, but I yawned my way through this and vowed to never again buy another of her books. She should have paid less attention to her research and more attention to the actual story and its characters.
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