The Fall

I ought to have liked this book more than I did. I wanted to like it more than I did. I love a finely-turned-out sentence. I love novels that know things. The Fall has those and is that. And the characters were likable enough, compelling enough. But it's as if I saw and absorbed all of the things the novel had to say hundreds of pages before it was done showing them to me. In the end, when all of the connections and betrayals between characters had finally been explicitly revealed, I said, "I know! I've known forever. What about it?"

This is the second of Simon Mawer's novels that I have read and thoroughly enjoyed. He is a wonderful writer, lyrical and psychologically insightful. I find his stories unpredictable and surprising and in this novel (as in Trapeze) he is capable of creating considerable suspense. This book is about mountain climbing--something I have minimal interest in, but which Mawer is knowledgeable about from his own experience and which he mines thoroughly for its metaphorical potential (something that does interest me).

Trapeze was set during WWII, and The Fall goes between that era to the 60s to times closer to the present. I love writing about the war years, but I felt that Mawer gets the shifts in time right. His characters, his settings, and show more his themes are all believable and compelling. show less

This was a superbly engaging book with an intriguing plot. I had no idea rock climbing and mountain climbing were two sides of the same coin.

I liked this book a lot. Great characters and an ending that was both poignant and satisfying.

Unfortunately, I had to give up on Mawer's "The Fall" about 75 pages in. While I liked the layered past progression plotline, I simply did not care about the characters. Robert is a tepid, thin boy-man who sleeps with his (best?) friend's mother...but what is even the point of that? Caroline is the most fascinating character, but Mawer maddeningly pulls the plot away just as we start to hone in on her and her antics. Jamie, Robert's friend and Caroline's son, comes off as unbelievable and blithe. Overall, unimpressive.

Very readable, emotionally gripping, some wonderful description and narrative of climbing and complex emotions. It's a very well constructed book, that engages and grips immediately and right to the end. Strongly recommended...

I loved his writing about the mountains, the elements and the climbing. Bravo for that. However, In my opinion, his characters needed more emotional flesh. Overall I liked this book. I liked The Glass Room by the same author much better though.

Tangled relationships and complicated lives are described during two generations. Young people during wwii and their sons are united by interests in mountain climbing, modern art and their intricate relationships with one another. We readers feel both the thrill and the peril of mountaineering, especially the Eiger. Simon Mawer tells us this story of matter of fact lives taking place in dramatic times and locations.