Reading: Fall on Your Knees

I’m breaking all my self-imposed rules right and left these days.

1. I started eating cheese. About 20 years ago, I decided, for reasons that elude me, that I don’t like cheese. Turns out….I like cheese a lot and have been eating it non-stop.

2. I’m planning a wedding. I’ve been pretty much adamant that I want to elope for a long time……and guess what? I’m not. Planning a big ol’ wedding and I’m wearing a big ol’ white dress.

3. I keep reading Oprah-sanctioned books.

I Just finished Fall on your Knees, by Ann-Marie McDonald, a book that Oprah apparently “couldn’t put down” in 2002. Not that I care what Oprah thinks…..but I thought I would throw that out there if you care.

Ok. I’ll give Oprah a little credit because this book was a page-turner. Seriously. In 400 something pages, we’ve got murder, racism, depression, drownings, promiscuity, incest, homosexuality, unwed mothers…..not to mention a couple world wars. I think within 7 pages, three major characters died by murder, suicide and childbirth.

It’s really hard to describe this book. It’s one of those stories where you really aren’t sure what is going on, but you know that you’ll figure it out if you keep reading and you WANT to keep reading because you HAVE to know what is going on. The final plot twist is revealed on the last page. I won’t tell you what it is.

The story revolves around the Piper family, headed by James and Materia and their daughters who live in a remote corner of Nova Scotia called Cape Breton. The book resolves around the daughters, primarily. Kathleen is a prima opera singer and the apple of her father’s eye. Mercedes is the reliable one of whom no one really notices. Frances is a major trouble maker and Lily is the baby of the family who survived polio.

And besides that, I can’t really tell you much else because it would take way too long. But I really liked this book. It was disturbing and I can’t say that I really liked any of the characters, but it was completely well-written and very, very intense.

Thumbs up.