The Fall of Light

Rating:
Summary: A total disappointment
Review: After reading some very positive reviews, I grabbed this book with much expectation. What a mistake that turned out to be. More than anything else, I found the author's prose superfluous -- that the sentences were *overwritten* simply for the sake of sounding nice. Unlike McEwan or Chabon who would easily leave me in awe, I found myself bemused and cringing from the apparent "over-effort" on William's part. I also found it difficult to relate to the characters who seemed all too eager to abandon their family in the time of need. How likely was this in the first place? There were also many episodes along their adventure which were disjointed and seemingly unnecessary. And o yes, this is the first book EVER that I couldn't finish (left it with 100 pages to go).

Rating:
Summary: Celtic Eden
Review: Niall Williams' novel is a joy. He has taken us back to a world, amazingly enough, in the not-so-distant past in Ireland. The episodic journey of the Foley clan does not come with a blazing climax, but is a replete telling of the tale of Francis Foley, his wife and four sons. Consistent with the Irish history of that period, all four sons leave Ireland, two to North America, one to Africa and one all about Europe, especially France. Francis' journey of discontent and pride washes him up on an island that becomes like a Celtic Eden of the heart, an asylum for lost hopes and dreams, a resting place for a Paradise lost. The stories of each of the sons is touching. Teige, the youngest, is the most closely followed; but each receives a special telling. Emer the wife and mother also weathers years of isolation before reunion with Francis and two of her sons. "The Fall of Light" is rich with Irish emotion, gypsy temperment, love, passion, and even the lure of the wild west. This is a tale that gathers you in its grasp, holds you in its grip until depositing you on the last page. Enjoy & savor!

Rating:
Summary: A Rich Tale of Complex Characters
Review: The Fall of Light is an honest story of the Foley family in 18th century Ireland. In relating the dire situations the family members face, Williams hides nothing.

Compared to the comfort of today's technologically advanced society, life in Ireland was far more potent and painful. They were dirty and poor, yet each day they lived life with a dogged determination to make a better life. From the setting to the characters, this story had the ring of truth.

Unlike the typical, tightly plotted novel, The Fall of Light, remained believably unpredictable. Every family member acted and grew according to their complex natures.

None of the characters could be pigeonholed with a single phrase.

To describe Teige, the youngest brother, merely as a horse tamer neglects the passion that smoldered for years before he dared reach above his station in life. The act of pursuing the love of his life had more profound ramifications than the taming of any horse. In a more typically plotted novel, it would have been the taming of the horses that determined the course of Teige's life.

Through the course of the story, the focus continually shifts from a tight, close-up view to broad panoramas. In one paragraph, you see every drop of blood that drips into the muddy street outside a Limerick whorehouse. In another, years pass without incident on a gypsy caravan.

Occasionally, brothers have true visions of lost siblings, seeing them as through a telescope, compressing years into moments. These transitions, instead of having a jarring effect, give the narrative a dreamlike quality that infuses everything Irish.

This is a well-crafted tale. The narrative wove a coherent pattern out of the chaos of life. Spanning decades of time, sometimes in great hurdles of years, the members of the Foley family persevere against harsh reality to find a peace of sorts. Life in those simpler times was in no way less complex than today.

There are, for the most part, only minor flaws with the book. One small error was of the astronomical variety. This story takes place firmly in the 18th century.

Much of the narrative occurs after the 1849 California gold rush and before the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869. At one point, Francis Foley, the patriarch of the family, studies a star chart that lists Pluto as one of the planets. Unfortunately, Pluto was not discovered until 1930, long after the end of the tale. This was the only minor distraction in an otherwise well told tale.

This book is a treat for those who enjoy reading about realistic characters striving to survive the turmoil of their lives.