The Fall

Book Details

Library

Author

Simon Mawer

Category

Fiction/Drama

Editor

Reference #

Contributor

Location

Translator

Status

Publisher

Abacus

Owner

Country

Great Britain

Personal

Language

Read it

Yes

Year Published

2003

Date Read

29/03/2006

ISBN

0349116520

Personal Rating

 4/10

LCCN

Purchase

Edition

Purchase Date

Printing

Acquired from 

Marlborough Libraries

Binding

Paperback

Price

$0.00

Pages

442

Value

$0.00

Overview

As lonely boys in the Welsh hills Rob Dewar and Jamie Mathewson were as close as friends can be. Both exiled fromhome and both fatherless, they shared a passion for the mountains. So, when forty years on, Jamie is found dead at the foot of the Great Wall, a vertical, holdless slab of Welsh granite, Rob feels compelled to return to the place where they had grown up, to confront the past.

Theirs is a story that begins with their parents' own, intense relationships: an unlikely three-way friendship of the glamourous predator Caroline, the vulnerable, courageous Diana and the enigmatic Guy Mathewson. The secrets these three share, born in the heat of war and common tragedy, are buried so deep it seems they may never be uncovered.

Comment

I found this to be a slow read, and quite heavy in places, but the tale itself is mesmerising. The complicated relationship between Jamie and Rob is never quite resolved, hovering between love, obsession and hate, despite the reliance each has on the other when they climb together.

The tale itself is written in different sections, concentrating on each separate generation, as well as before and after Jamie's death. Although the style brings the story together evenly, with a well-timed conclusion, I found it hard to switch from Rob's intricate love life to the passions of his mother.

Overall, a tough read with a frustrating ending.