Falling Boy

Book Description

Critics

• Falling Boy-- book review

  Falling Boy Alison McGhee Picador Paperback 208 pages February 2007 Loss affects our lives profoundly. Most of us ponder such things from an adult perspective, we with the power to heal or hurt, but here Alison McGhee looks at loss through the eyes o ... (read full critics)

  curledup published on Tue, 7 Sep 2010

• Falling Boy / by Alison McGhee

  Picador, 194 pp, $16, softcover. For a place so filled with sweetness, the Minneapolis bakery at the heart of Alison McGhee's slim Falling Boy sure has its share of sour. Joseph, the 16-year-old of the novel's title, has reason to be bitter: he's con ... (read full critics)

  straight published on Mon, 30 Aug 2010

1 Review

• 

  Joseph, is a sixteen year old boy who, as a result of an accident, is now in a wheelchair. He carries a burden of guilt, of responsibility toward his mother who, as the book progresses, we learn has a mental illness. Joseph was her carer (of sorts) until the accident, now he lives with his emotional ... (continue)

  Joseph, is a sixteen year old boy who, as a result of an accident, is now in a wheelchair. He carries a burden of guilt, of responsibility toward his mother who, as the book progresses, we learn has a mental illness. Joseph was her carer (of sorts) until the accident, now he lives with his emotionally distant father in the US Midwest, a long way from his home state of New York where his mother has been hospitalised.

  He has two close friends at a café where he works: Zap a 17 year old boy and the café owner’s son. Zap is tall, lean, strong, all the things Joseph used to be before the accident. Zap watches out for Joseph and tries to act as a buffer between the world and Joseph’s inner turmoil. Enzo, a nine year old girl who asks too many questions, burns with an inner rage and confusion that initially makes her a character to dislike, and then a character to feel empathy for.

  Much of the story occurs in the café. A few regulars, oddities in themselves, pass by and interact with the three main characters, but though this is Joseph’s story, it’s the others whom are just as wounded as he. Enzo needs Joseph to be something more than he is, and her continual prodding at him spurs his own emotional journey. Zap carries his own secret burden which becomes clear toward the end, just as the truth about Joseph’s accident is also revealed.

  This is a satisfying novel about teenagers (and a child) dealing with adult issues of abandonment, responsibility and guilt. It’s impossible not to feel for these kids, and the conclusion brings explanation and a realistic way forward.

  Well written and nicely paced.

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  Caroline said on Oct 29, 2007 | Add your feedback

Book Details

• Rating:
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• English Books
• Paperback 208 Pages
• Edition: 1
• ISBN-10: 0312425929
• ISBN-13: 9780312425920
• Publisher: Picador
• Pub date: Feb 20, 2007
• Dimensions: 1355 mm x 903 mm x 129 mm Just how big is that?

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