Falling Angels

Somewhere around the middle of Barbara Gowdy's FALLING ANGELS (1991) I was reminded of Leonard Cohen's last album, "You Want It Darker?" Because this novel, which at first seems to be about a sort of normal family in 1960s Ontario with a mom and pop and three teenage daughters proceeds to get darker and darker, as we learn that Mary Field, the mom, whose first child, a boy, died under curious circumstances, now spends her days in front of the TV, drinking herself into a stupor while the three girls are more or less raising themselves, without much help from their father, Jim, a used car salesman and serial womanizer, who goes on drunken binges between women. Oh, and he might be a bit nuts too, as evidenced by his building a bomb shelter show more in their back yard and then forcing the family to stay in it for two weeks to test it out, an ill planned venture. The tale is told mostly from the girls' viewpoints, with each getting a turn in alternating chapters. Norma, the oldest (the three are barely a year apart in age), is pretty but "fat." The boys at their high school "moo" at her in the halls. She compensates by doing most of the work at home - cleaning, cooking, laundry, etc. - and learning carpentry and "handyman" skills to please her father, as her weight balloons up and down. Lou, the middle daughter, is rake thin and filled with rage and anger at nearly everyone, until she meets Tom, a new boy at school who is English, and bears a strong resemblance to John Lennon. Sandy, the youngest, is beautiful and pampered, and is noticed and courted by middle-aged married men.

There is a lot of very dark and disturbing stuff here - hints and examples of incest, abortion, alcohol and drug abuse, suicidal tendencies, mental illness, neglect - you name it, it's in here. And yet Gowdy has created some very real and often sympathetic characters, with compelling stories that will keep you turning the pages and wondering what the hell they'll do next. I was impressed enough to research Gowdy and learned she has been one of Canada's most praised and popular writers for the past thirty-plus years. And yes, she is known for the "darkness" in her stories. She is a very good writer and I will recommend this book highly. And if I should run across any more Gowdy books, I will grab 'em up "toot sweet."

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER show less

Kanada, Anfang der 60er Jahre: Die drei Schwestern Lou, Norma und Sandy wirken gemeinsam mit ihren Eltern wie eine normale Familie. Doch normal geht anders. Irgendein Geschehnis in der Vergangenheit führte dazu, dass die Mutter jetzt fast ausschließlich Whisky trinkt und ihre Tage schweigend im Bett oder auf der Couch vor dem Fernseher verbringt. Auch der Vater trinkt und je nach Stimmung schlägt er zu - lediglich seine Frau und Sandy verschont er, vermutlich weil letztere ein Ebenbild ihrer Mutter ist. In den Sommerferien sperrt er sich und die Familie im selbstgebauten Atombunker ein, den sie (selbst als sie kein Wasser mehr haben) nicht verlassen dürfen. Er ist ungerecht, gewalttätig und ein Despot, weshalb Lou ihn hasst, aber show more Norma ihn dennoch liebt. Die drei Mädchen sind so verschieden wie Schwestern nur sein können und jede reagiert auf ihre Art auf diese Form der Nicht-Erziehung. Lou ist rebellisch und kalt, Norma isst und isst und ist voller Liebe und Verständnis für alle, immer mit der Hoffnung etwas Liebe zu erhalten. Und Sandy, die Schöne, reagiert auf das stete Interesse an ihr mit sofortiger Zuwendung bzw. kann nicht 'Nein' sagen, was sie von Junge zu Junge und Mann zu Mann wandern lässt.
Beginnend mit dem Ende, erzählt das Buch über einen Zeitraum von 10 Jahren aus dieser Familie, immer einzelne Episoden aus einem Jahr, sodass man die Entwicklung der drei Schwestern nachverfolgen kann. Obwohl sie altersmäßig nah beieinander liegen und somit alle die gleiche Ausgangsposition hatten, driften ihre Lebenswege immer weiter auseinander. Jede flüchtet angesichts der Familienproblematik in ihre ganz eigene Welt und geht diesen einmal eingeschlagenen Weg weiter - dennoch halten sie zusammen.
Ich litt mit den Dreien und konnte ihr Verhalten gut nachvollziehen, wobei ich mich immer wieder fragte: Wieviele solcher Familien gibt es? An wievielen Häusern und Wohnungen bin ich schon vorbeigegangen, in denen das heile Familienbild nur Fassade ist? Der Autorin ist es sehr gut gelungen, nicht nur die Entwicklung der Schwestern zu beschreiben, sondern auch das Entsetzliche im ganz normalen Alltag darzustellen: Keine Monster, sondern 'lediglich' Menschen wie sie uns jeden Tag begegnen können. show less

The year is 1969, and somewhere in an Ontario suburb, the Field family's fragile domestic peace is slowly coming to an end. The three Field sisters - Norma, Lou and Sandy - are each just trying to find their own place within their very eccentric, often miserable, sometimes hilarious family. However, the looming shadow over all of their lives is the tragically suspicious death of the family's first-born son - a secret which is never spoken of, but is nonetheless pervasive.

The Field household is ruled by Jim Field - a philandering, heavy-drinking used car salesman - who is keen on the militaristic discipline of his children, and on keeping up appearances for the neighbors. Despite his poor treatment of his wife, he is still oddly show more protective of her, insisting that his daughters watch her all the time.

His severely depressed wife Mary - a one-time dancer - has escaped into apathy and alcoholism a long time ago. Whenever her coffee cup is empty, her daughters rush to fill it with whiskey, for they realize she is living precariously in the wake of what happened to her baby son.

Each of the teenage daughters has her own way of coping with her dysfunctional family. They try to make their own experiences while struggling with their family duties and concern for their mother. The eldest daughter Norma is the most responsible member of the family; quiet, subdued and selfless, she overburdens herself with domestic tasks and responsibilities, patiently putting up with her father's antics. She is also the only one intent on keeping the memory of her brother bright, determined to discover the secrets surrounding his death.

The middle daughter Lou is the polar opposite of Norma. Lou fights for her autonomy within the family. She is the tough-talking, rebellious wild child; standing up to her father and loving her mother, even as she despises Mary's weaknesses.

The youngest daughter Sandy is not as responsible as Norma, nor as rebellious as Lou. Sweet-looking Sandy devotes herself to becoming a perfect woman; with her own naive sense of femininity and sexuality.

Each sister goes through her own rite of passage. They turn to drugs, sex, and schmaltzy fantasy - but repeatedly to one another. And, even after her death, the sisters still turn to their mother, and to the unusual love they discover their father still holds for her.

I must say that while this book dealt with some seriously dark issues, I found that there was a thread of humor running throughout the story that I could totally appreciate. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book - the story was well-written, easy to follow and the characters were sympathetically drawn. I give this book an A+! and look forward to perhaps reading more from Barbara Gowdy in the future. show less

From the outside, the Fields family looks like your typical suburban household. Dad goes to work everyday. Mom stays home and looks after their three daughters, Sandy age eight, Lou age nine and Norma, ten. The children go to school and occasionally are seen around the neighborhood. No one questions when the family disappears for two weeks. What they don't know is instead of going to Disney for a family vacation militant and World War III-expectant dad forces them to live in an underground bunker as training for a nuclear disaster. It is the post-war early 60s after all. No one seems to notice middle daughter, Lou, as she does all the grocery shopping for the family, or that the mother is rarely seen outside.
Go inside and the Fields show more household is even less of a pretty sight. Mom, practically comatose, drinks to erase a terrible memory (involving Niagara Falls). Dad has a violent temper and is prone to attack whoever is in reach when he's in between girlfriends.
In the ten year span of the story the daughters get older and experience puberty and do so without a responsible parent to guide them. They are each on her own. The end results are disastrous. show less

Set in the 1960's, this is a darkly funny story of three sisters - Lou the thin one, Norma the fat one and Sandy the pretty one - growing up with an alcoholic mother whom they adore, an authoritarian and slightly abusive father who has them spend their summer vacation in a bomb shelter, and their discovery about their parents first child, a boy who their mother mysteriously dropped over Niagara Falls. Their mother jumps from the roof of their house and the book ends with a trip to Niagara Falls to scatter their mother's ashes.

Wow! Found this book a year ago after seeing the movie. One of the best novels I've ever read, and I read a novel every two weeks. Check this one out if you like dark, character-driven stories.

A strange little plot, but kept me interested.