Since We Fell

Sollte man dieses Buch in ein Genre einordnen, wird es schwierig. Denn auf diesen mehr als 500 Seiten findet sich so gut wie alles: Familiengeschichte, die mehr einem Drama ähnelt; eine Liebesgeschichte, die zu schön ist um wahr zu sein; und nicht zuletzt ein Thriller, der sich bereits auf den ersten Seiten des Buches ankündigt, denn Rachel, die Hauptfigur und Icherzählerin, erschießt ihren geliebten Mann.
Nach diesem furiosen Auftakt berichtet Rachel, wie es soweit kommen konnte: über ihre Kindheit mit einer (vermutlich) neurotischen Mutter und die Suche nach ihrem Vater; ihre Karriere als Journalistin und der bodenlose Absturz; ihre erste, glücklose Ehe. Doch dann trifft Rachel Brian, den sie Jahre zuvor kennengelernt hat und show more mit dem sie sehr lose per Mail in Kontakt geblieben ist. Er wird die Liebe ihres Lebens und ihr Glück scheint perfekt, als gewisse Unstimmigkeiten in ihrem gemeinsamen Leben auftauchen und schlussendlich zu Brians Erschießung führen.
Für viele AutorInnen wäre hier vermutlich das Ende schon erreicht (immerhin Seite 338 und auch bis dahin bereits eine klasse Unterhaltung), aber bei Dennis Lehane beginnt nun erst der dritte (Thriller)Teil, der mindestens ebenso viele Überraschungen zu bieten hat wie die ersten beiden.
Dieses Buch hat nicht nur eine spannende und äußerst wendungsreiche Geschichte zu bieten, sondern vermittelt zudem sehr überzeugend die Verfasstheit der Protagonistin. Wie sie über einen Parkplatz geht und überall erwartet, von Kugeln niedergestreckt zu werden - das lässt sich kaum besser schildern. Die Panikattacken, die sie in den unpassendsten Momenten überfallen - ich musste während des Lesens tief ein- und ausatmen, um sicher zu gehen, genügend Luft zu bekommen. Kein Wunder, denn Lehane, der als therapeutischer Berater geistig Behinderte und sexuell missbrauchte Kinder betreute, kennt solche Empfindungen wohl sehr genau.
Ein rundum gelungenes Buch, bei dem kleine Unstimmigkeiten (weshalb wundern sich die Gangster nicht, dass Rachel alleine ist?) nicht weiter ins Gewicht fallen. show less

I had my first taste of Dennis Lehane last year when I read his first novel, 'A Drink Before The War'. I was impressed. Then I found out he wrote 'Mystic River' and 'Shutter Island' and I knew I had to read some more. I thought I'd read his latest book for the Genre Mystery square for my Halloween Bingo reading game.

This was me two days ago when I started 'Since We Fell'



The Prologue was even better than I expected. It opened with these killer sentences: 

'On a Tuesday in May, in her thirty-fifth year, Rachel shot her husband dead. He stumbled backward with an odd look of confirmation on his face, as if some part of him had always known she'd do it.'

I clapped myself on the back for choosing a good book and moved on to Chapter show more One...

...turned out not to be about a murder investigation but about Rachel's childhood with her mother and it read like something by Elizabeth Strout.

Still, I like Elizabeth Strout and the writing was good, so I continued

This was me this morning:

'Sadly, wearily, he flicks the headphones to off, sets down his phone, looks up, wipes his brow and with grim resignation says: "OK. I'm calling it. Time of Death of interest is 10.52 September 7th."

I set 'Since We Fell' aside after 23% (2.5 hours). 

The publisher's summary described 'Since We Fell' as:

'Bringing together Dennis Lehane's trademark insightful and empathetic characterisation, razor-sharp dialogue, stunning atmosphere and breakneck twists and turns, Since We Fell is a true masterpiece that will keep you in suspense until the very end. '

I wasn't seeing any of that. I was bored. I didn't care about the main character. OK, her mother was a nasty secret-keeping power-hungry emotionally-distant nightmare who wouldn't tell Rachel who her father was. It's more than two decades later and Rachel, who has the perfect career and the perfect husband and has never had to struggle for anything in her privileged white middle-class life, feels her life is empty because she's an orphan. And I should care why?

Nothing interesting had happened since Rachel shot her husband in the first paragraph. I felt like I was watching a set being assembled while waiting for the play to start. The prose was good but there was no suspense, no mystery and no engagement in the main character's plight. 

I decided l was done.

Maybe I'll come back to this when I'm looking for a slow burn read but for now, life's to short to read a book that's boring me. show less

I've seen some complaints on this book being two different stories, and about the ending. I'll tell you right up front, I won't spoil either, but I will say, I quite enjoyed the full ride, two stories, ending, and all.

I'll fully declare my Lehane fan-card. I became a fan with the brilliant Mystic River, then went back and read every single word the man had published. I've long declared that The Given Day was my favourite book of the year when it was published (though I think each of the two follow ups did offer diminishing returns).

I was deliriously excited to see a standalone novel. Haven't gotten one of those from Lehane in a while. And it was also contemporary. Bonus.

So, I dived in. There's certain authors that I don't even bother to show more read the back cover or investigate the book in any way. Lehane is one. Elmore Leonard, Andrew Pyper, Stephen King, and Jack Ketchum are a few of the others. So I went into the story completely cold, knowing nothing about it.

At first I thought it was going to be the mystery of Rachel's father. Then it seemed to morph into wonderfully sweet romance. Then it took a dark turn. Then it was full-on action for the last third.

So, was it a little schizophrenic? Absolutely. But Lehane has done this is the past, led us down a path, only to take an unexpected turn and flip the story on its head. So I'm completely okay with that. Life is a bit messy at times, and he doesn't mind making it the same for his characters.

All I'll say about the ending is that it's a touch--just a touch, mind you--open-ended. And seriously, with all that led up to that point, if it doesn't satisfy you, then I'll say you completely missed the point of the novel...and the thing that makes that messiness all right.

The point of the story is Rachel's journey from who she was, to who she will be.

Understand that, and you'll be fine with the book. show less

The old Dennis Lehane is back. Thank goodness SINCE WE FELL is not another of his historical mafia books. Looks like he’s done with those.

But SINCE WE FELL doesn’t begin like one of Lehane’s older novels. The first half of this book is a study of Rachel, the main character. It does not grip the reader almost immediately, as you might have expected of Lehane before his mafia books.

Instead, we learn of Rachel’s discontent with her mother, who refuses to tell Rachel who her father is/was. Eventually, Rachel looks for him on her own. This leads to her initial meeting with Brian, a supposed private detective, who refuses to take her money for a job he knows he can’t do.

We also learn a lot more about Rachel, maybe more than we need show more to know sometimes. For various reasons, though, she is frequently afflicted with panic attacks. They disrupt her life so much that she becomes almost totally housebound.

The second half of SINCE WE FELL is Lehane as we used to expect. Now we come to know Brian better. Is he all that he seems? Who is he, really?

There’s more plot to the second half. But the character study in the first half is what makes the book more than a plot-driven thriller. show less

From its fabulous opening sentence to its chilling and yet hopeful final one, Dennis Lehane’s latest thriller is the epitome of a compulsively readable story. Rachel’s story is a twisty tale of betrayal and love that really does leave readers guessing all the way to the very end. Also, Mr. Lehane takes his time establishing his characters so that when the action takes off, readers know them well enough to add an additional layer of interest to the story.

In truth, the deliberateness with which Mr. Lehane develops Rachel is one of the story’s best features. He does not rush into the action but allows it to build naturally as Rachel asks each new question. Even better, Rachel is not a one-dimensional character with minimal backstory show more and little development. She is a rich, deeply defined character that readers intimately know. We see her love/hate relationship with her mother, the hole in her life that is her missing father. We see her career take off; we see her first marriage blossom and fail. We watch her spectacular breakdown on national television, and we see her attempt to build herself up again after her very public downfall. We know her motivations, her passions, her fears, her worries. By the time her second husband enters the picture there is nothing we don’t know about her, and the story is better for it.

As for the story itself, that is one better discovered for oneself. Mr. Lehane does a fantastic job presenting clues that you recognize as clues but that only make sense in hindsight. He also skillfully keeps the plot a complete surprise while minimizing the use of plot twists. Since We Fell is a thinking person’s thriller – erudite and thoughtful as well as intense and entertaining – and would make a great summer read or book club selection. show less

Rachel Child is an agoraphobic. She had been a foreign correspondent before her very public meltdown on live TV while covering the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. As a result, she lost her career. But this was not the first or only cause of her affliction. She had been raised by a brilliant but cold mother who refused to tell her anything about her father except that she was better off without him. She had spent a year searching for him including hiring Brian Delacroix, a handsome and kind Canadian-born private detective to find him. Eventually, this too leads only to disappointment.

But one good thing comes out of all of this; although he wasn’t able to help her, Brian continues to offer his friendship through all of her disappointments and show more her slide into depression and as she becomes a virtual prisoner in her own home. Eventually, they marry and he coaxes her slowly out into the world. He is no longer a detective and his new work takes him away a lot but he never fails to give her encouragement even when he’s away. One day, however, when he is supposedly in England, she sees his doppelganger (maybe) on the street…except he is wearing clothes exactly like the ones Brian was wearing including his very expensive camel coat. Is it just an amazing coincidence or is their whole life a lie?

Since We Fell by author Dennis Lehane is a fascinating psychological thriller. But it is so much more than that. Unlike your average thriller (and this is definitely not that), this is not the kind of book that can or should be read quickly. In fact, the thriller aspect, as good as it is, takes a back seat to the psychological. It is his portrayal of Rachel’s mental illness as he lays out her thoughts, her self-doubts, and her slow and tentative steps towards recovery that make this an extremely complex, compelling, and engrossing read.

Thanks to Edelweiss and Ecco for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review show less

Dennis Lehane is always so good, I have this book in two forms: the signed first edition that I preordered, and the Audible version so that I didn't have to crack the spine on the first one!

This is the story of a woman, searching for her father. Then, it is the story of a woman, building a career as a reporter. Then it is the story of a woman buckling under pressure and nearly losing everything. Then it is a story of her meeting her dream man. And then, lastly, it is the story of her dream man being someone else altogether.

I had no idea where this story was going for most of the time I was listening to it. Though some of it was far-fetched, and even though I couldn't quite suspend my disbelief in certain sections, I still had a great show more time going on the ride. (I think the first half could have been cut down considerably, but those sections were important, if only to know how Rachel got to be where she was later.)

Overall, this was a quick read because every 5 minutes we're turned in another direction and it was hard to leave off for long, out of the interest in what was going to happen next!

Fun!

*I bought this book, (TWICE), with my hard earned cash.* show less