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Ann-Marie MacDonald

Author of Fall on Your Knees

13+ Works 8,302 Members 213 Reviews 33 Favorited

About the Author

Ann-Marie MacDonald was born in Baden Sölingen, in the former West Germany on October 29, 1958. She attended Carleton University before moving to Montreal to train as an actor at the National Theatre School of Canada, where she graduated in 1980. She has performed in theatres across Canada, and show more continues to act in film, television and theatre. She has appeared in several independent Canadian films including The Wars and Better Than Chocolate. She won a Gemini Award for her role in the film Where the Spirit Lives and was nominated for a Genie for her role in I've Heard the Mermaids Singing. Her play Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) won the Governor General's Award for Drama, the Chalmers Award for Outstanding Play, and the Canadian Authors' Association Award for Drama. Her first novel, Fall on Your Knees, was published in 1996. Her other novels include The Way the Crow Flies and Adult Onset (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Ann-Marie MacDonald

Works by Ann-Marie MacDonald

Fall on Your Knees (1996) 5,377 copies
The Way the Crow Flies (2003) 2,221 copies
Adult Onset (2014) 256 copies
Fayne (2022) 61 copies
The Arab's Mouth (1995) 7 copies
The Attic, the Pearls & Three Fine Girls (1998) — Playwright — 6 copies
L'età adulta (2017) 1 copy
Fayne 1 copy
Fayne 1 copy

Associated Works

Dropped Threads 3: Beyond The Small Circle. (2006) — Introduction — 43 copies
No Margins: Canadian Fiction in Lesbian (2006) — Contributor — 31 copies
Writers on writing (2002) — Contributor — 28 copies

Tagged

1001 (27) 20th century (33) abuse (31) book club (28) Canada (297) Canadian (282) Canadian author (38) Canadian fiction (60) Canadian literature (148) Cape Breton (41) child abuse (29) Cold War (51) contemporary fiction (26) drama (55) DVD (26) family (155) family saga (41) fiction (967) historical fiction (107) incest (73) lesbian (42) literary fiction (38) literature (51) murder (36) mystery (37) Nova Scotia (119) novel (115) Ontario (28) Oprah (33) Oprah's Book Club (57) own (54) play (30) plays (31) read (86) Roman (32) sisters (73) to-read (313) unread (70) William Shakespeare (25) women (34)

Common Knowledge

Members

Reviews

interesting reading but a saga, without credibility
½
 
Flagged
evatkaplan | 121 other reviews | Sep 12, 2023 |
This was one of Oprah's last selections of her FIRST book club (she quit and restarted later), and as was typical of her choices it dealt with abuse, incest, dysfunction.

MacDonald carefully controls the revelations however, so that there are still surprises toward the end. Still, looking back, you recognize foreshadowing used throughout. It's a powerful book, but NOT an enjoyable read. I did not like Frances at all; but I love Lily.

Our book group had a great discussion.
 
Flagged
BookConcierge | 121 other reviews | Jul 19, 2023 |
I read this book loving it several years ago. It brought back my memories of living in the sixties during the Cold War; that part is still true. My patience and tastes must have changed as this time I felt there was way too many details and I didn't particularly like the "grown up" Madeleine. Overall, still a good read.
 
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maryreinert | 59 other reviews | Jul 12, 2023 |
Loved it. Such beautiful writing and complex characters. Characters where you can hate their actions and deliberate ignorance yet love their motivations or their strength in one particular area.

The story reminded me of the writing of Dickens and the Bronte sisters. The writing is gothic with all the trappings of that genre -- a "castle", an ancient prophecy, women in distress, a beast within, high tension and stormy weather. Yet it deals with very 21st century issues of inclusion, intersex and homosexual rights and the freedom to be who you are.

It is about duality. A county that is in neither England or Scotland but somehow in both. Charlotte and Charles who exist in one person and who wants acknowledgement of their duality.

There were aspects of magical realism that, for me, weren't necessary: Byrn, regeneration, extended lives. There were times when modern sensibilities snuck into the Victoria time period: having Fayne declared a person, accepting titles such as Lord Charlotte and Lady Charles. And the ending seemed to, paradoxically, move too quickly and drag on a bit. But none of that mattered by the end of the book because of the engrossing story so richly populated with great characters and told in amazing writing.
… (more)
½
 
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LynnB | 4 other reviews | Jun 25, 2023 |

Lists

Canada (1)

Awards

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Associated Authors

Leah Cherniak Playwright
Alisa Palmer Playwright
Martha Ross Playwright
Paul Gagné Translator
Paul Gagné Translator

Statistics

Works
13
Also by
8
Members
8,302
Popularity
#2,910
Rating
3.9
Reviews
213
ISBNs
150
Languages
14
Favorited
33
Touchstones
354

Charts & Graphs