⋙ Download Fall on Your Knees Oprah Book Club AnnMarie MacDonald 9780743466523 Books

Fall on Your Knees Oprah Book Club AnnMarie MacDonald 9780743466523 Books

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Fall on Your Knees Oprah Book Club AnnMarie MacDonald 9780743466523 Books

I read this novel when it first came out years ago, and decided to try it again, maybe just to see if my 30 year old self had anything in common with my 50 year old self. It did. Fall On Your Knees is one of the most psychologically astute novels I've ever read. It knows exactly how our 5 year old selves become, step by mysterious and sometimes painful step, our 10, 20, 80 year olds selves. It knows how our deepest truths often have reasons that reason knows not, to paraphrase Pascal. And it tells the story of the Piper family with the deepest compassion for all the characters. Even when they do monstrous things the author never makes them into monsters, which all by itself is no small accomplishment. Highly recommended.


Tags : Fall on Your Knees (Oprah's Book Club) [Ann-Marie MacDonald] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Spanning five generations and moving from Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, to the bleak landscape of World War I,Ann-Marie MacDonald,Fall on Your Knees (Oprah's Book Club),Pocket,0743466527,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction General,Fiction Literary,Fiction Sagas,Historical - General,Literary,Literature: Classics,Literature: Texts,Modern fiction,Sagas

Fall on Your Knees Oprah Book Club AnnMarie MacDonald 9780743466523 Books Reviews

Amazing psychological novel with just a touch of magical realism. Following one family through generations with issues of assimilation, shame, racism, feminism and homophobia. The characters are complex and rich. Reminded me of the much more recent bestseller, The Goldfinch, in terms of breadth of the story and intensity of the character development. The era is 1900ish to about 1948, set in Canada, primarily, but also wonderfully vivid depiction of NYC in the 1930s and '40s.
Fall on your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald is the epic story of a family that appears to be doomed from its inception. It starts with a young James Piper marrying a very young Materia Mahmoud, against her father's wishes. (She had been betrothed to another and therefore marrying someone else was an affront to the family and their traditions). With her father disowning her, it is the start of a life of suffering and loneliness for Materia, and the start of nothing but terrible suffering for James and their children.
Materia gives birth to four daugthers. Kathleen, the eldest, becomes the love of James' life, in more ways than one. Mercedes is the 2nd daughter, the first child that Materia finds any love for. Frances is followed 11 months later, destined to become a trouble maker and brings nothing but anger from James. Lily is the 4th child that lives for only a few days, but is replaced years later by another Lily, presumed by most to be Materia's fifth child.
In between the births, Materia is constantly fighting depression and unhappiness, married to a man she had thought she once loved but now can no longer tolerate. When James leaves the country to join the war efforts abroad (and to escape a forbidden love) Materia experiences happiness for at least a short while.
The three daughters enjoy the relationship of sisterhood, but the three of them are different as night and day. Things change for the worse when one of them suddenly passes on, and while the story was dark to begin with, things turn for the worse.
FALL ON YOUR KNEES is filled with forbidden love and taboos. It's not your run of the mill soap opera, but a tragic epic spanning several generations. This book may turn off a few readers with it's dark themes and taboo topics, but I think the patient reader should find fulfillment by the end of the book. I found this book well written and very clever in the handling of the story line. It left me in suspense up til the very ending.
One of the best books I've ever read. How did I not know it existed until 2018? I don't like Oprah's branding on my book, but I'm so glad I overlooked this defect my particular edition has to read this. It was difficult to put down because the plot is so good and the characters so well developed. Only A Little Life has had as much an impact on me as this book has. You'll find yourself crying, but you wouldn't have it any other way.
Sad confusing storyline with no point. The characters often don’t make sense and you’re left with the feeling, “what the heck did I just read?” This would be a hard pass for me.
I read a lot and only post reviews to push back at what I consider exaggerated claims of merit or critique. There's some brilliant writing in this book. Quite a bit actually, but not enough to justify the read. The story is presented in a disjointed fashion that is hard to follow without frequent searches (glad I read the kindle version). The characters are bleak, depressing, and also disjointed. They come and go in the story often having gone through some change that is not adequately explained. By the end, you're left with more questions and confusion than satisfaction.
I read this novel when it first came out years ago, and decided to try it again, maybe just to see if my 30 year old self had anything in common with my 50 year old self. It did. Fall On Your Knees is one of the most psychologically astute novels I've ever read. It knows exactly how our 5 year old selves become, step by mysterious and sometimes painful step, our 10, 20, 80 year olds selves. It knows how our deepest truths often have reasons that reason knows not, to paraphrase Pascal. And it tells the story of the Piper family with the deepest compassion for all the characters. Even when they do monstrous things the author never makes them into monsters, which all by itself is no small accomplishment. Highly recommended.