Danielle McLaughlin (1)

I picked up 'The Art Of Falling' because I loved the accuracy and compassion with which Danielle McLaughlin drew people in her short story collection 'Dinosaurs On Other Planets'. I wanted to see how she used this ability in a novel rather than a short story. The outcome was fascinating.

To me, it seemed that although the story in 'The Art Of Falling' was quite propulsive, keeping me engaged by guessing at undisclosed secrets and wondering if knowns secrets would be exposed and if so, whether lives would be ruined or maybe even rejuvenated, it was a not a narrative-driven story. Nor was it really character-driven in the sense that is usually used, where the attributes of a character or characters determine their reaction to events and each other and thereby shape the plot. 'The Art Of Falling' felt like a sculpture of the main character, Ness McCormack. The three-dimensional image of her that the book presented was one that I needed to walk around and see from different angles and in different lights. Like a sculpture, it was something that I wanted to lay my hands on. It also seemed like something that I was being invited to bestow meaning on rather than being told what the meaning was.

The Nessa I saw in 'The Art Of Falling' was a woman whose life was on the cusp of changing in ways that she couldn't control. As the book progressed, I felt that I, as the reader, understood her better than she did herself. I saw how she filtered her reality and how some of those filters defined her, even when they allowed her to deceive herself about her own nature and her impact on the people around her.

The story of her life that Nessa has built for herself in the almost two decades since she left home and went to St Martin's art school in London, is a heavily edited one. Some of the edits are legacy ones, made by a very young woman who was not equipped to see herself clearly and left unchallenged. Some of the edits involve omitting things that put Nessa in an unfavourable light. These take more work, either in protecting secrets or suppressing unacknowledged guilt.

'The Art Of Falling' captures Nessa at a point in her life where events beyond her control are making it harder and harder for her to sustain the story that she has always told herself about who she is and what she wants. It shows her leaning out into the gulf of an unknowable future and slowly losing her grip on her past and starting to fall into what comes next.

I spent a lot of time thinking about this book, both when I was reading it and when it was echoing in my head afterwards. It's not a book where it's easy to say, "This book is about..." and list the themes as bullet points. The themes are there but the book is more complicated and less didactic than that. For me, the main thing that I took away from the book was that

'The Art Of Falling' tackles some big themes by examining the secrets, lies and truths that Nessa has woven into her personal story.

Some secrets are ones that only she knows and that she believes she can never share without devastating her life. These she's buried so deep that they have started both to define her. To me, they seemed like scar tissue, only visible in certain lights and from certain angles, unexplained and inescapable.

Some of the secrets are ones she's shared with others either through circumstances or disclosure. These secrets create an enforced intimacy that, the bigger the secret and the longer it is kept, become increasingly tainted by the fear of betrayal and concealed shame and guilt.

Nessa's secrets generate lies. Lies to other people to keep her secrets hidden. Lies to herself that has to try and believe to live within the story she's written for herself.

Nessa's story incorporates her secrets and lies but it is mainly woven from the truths that she takes for granted or has invested her belief in. Truths about her career, her marriage, her friendships and her motherhood. She comes to understand that many of these truths need to be reassessed.

As I followed Nessa through the events of 'The Art Of Falling', I saw her story torn apart as secrets were revealed and truths were reassessed. Yet this wasn't one of those woman-with-the-perfect-life-risks-losing-it-all-as-dark-secrets-are-revealed psychological thrillers that are so popular just now. Although there were many tense and emotional moments, the emphasis in this story wasn't on the thrill or even the threat but on Nessa arriving at a new set of truths.

For example, one of the ways that Nessa defines herself is as a leading expert on the work of the recently deceased Irish artist, Robert Locke. When we meet her, Nessa is about to reach an important milestone in her career by managing the procurement and display of Locke's works and papers including his most famous work, The Chalk Sculpture. This project is put at risk when the ownership of The Chalk Sculpture is disputed by a woman claiming to be both the muse for the piece and its co-creator.

In trying to resolve the dispute, Nessa comes to see that her knowledge of Locke, of which she is so proud, was distorted by her acceptance of the idea that he was a great man and great artist. This story, like Nessa's about herself, doesn't stand up to close scrutiny. As she learns more about Locke, his approach to art, his relationship with women and the lies he told about himself and others, she sees neither a great man nor a great artist but a parasitic narcissist who she strongly dislikes.

Nessa's reassessment of Locke mirrors the reassessment she is making, initially involuntarily, of herself. It seemed to me that as Nessa saw the way the women in Locke's life had accommodated him by shoring up his lies and suppressing their own truths to present an acceptable public story, even after his death, she finally started to re-examine the accommodations she was making to sustain a narrative about her life that she no longer believed in.

By the end of the book, I felt I was watching Nessa falling towards her future after having had the lies and false truths that were holding her in place shorn away and I was reminded of the aspiration given in the moto carved above the door of Nessa's daughter's school, which Nessa reflects on in the books opening pages: Esse Quam Videri / To Be Rather Than To Seem.

I recommend the audiobook version of The Art Of Falling'. Tara Flynn's narration helped bring Nessa alive to me. Click on the SoundCloud link below to hear a sample

https://soundcloud.com/hodderbooks/the-art-of-falling-by-danielle-mclaughlin-rea...… (plus d'informations)

Nessa McCormack and her husband Philip have just sorted out their marriage after Philip’s affair when ghosts of the past reappear. Her former best friend’s son Luke and his father Stuart appear out of nowhere after almost two decades without any contact. After Luke’s mother’s suicide they did not stay in touch, not only because times where difficult but also because Nessa and Stuart had a brief affair. Also at work things become complicated when Nessa is curating an exhibition of sculptor Robert Locke and a mysterious woman appears who claims to have created the most impressive piece of the exhibition. Yet, Locke’s widow and daughter claim to have provided all materials and never to have heard of the woman. However, she has set her mind on finally being recognised as an artist.

The most striking about Danielle McLaughlin’s novel is the protagonist and her development throughout the story. Apart from this, the dynamics between the characters is also remarkable, set in motion by the classic sins which you can find almost all in the novel: pride, lust, greed, wrath, sloth – you name it. They have always belonged to mankind, so why not to 21st century characters, too?

At the beginning of the novel, Nessa is on the one hand disappointed and fells devalued by her husband since he not only had an affair but chose a woman who isn’t even the slightest attractive in her opinion. On the other hand, her husband’s misconduct brings her into a morally superior position which she quite unashamedly exploits. She has got a big project in her job which will automatically come with a lot of kudos, undoubtedly, she is good at what she’s doing and an expert of the sculptor she curates. But small lapses leave cracks and with the appearance of the mysterious woman, the cracks start to deepen and threaten her reputation. At the same time, her daughter first seems to be on her husband’s side – the cheater! – and then openly opposes her mother to take sides of the other woman. There is not much left in her life which works according to plan and Nessa becomes increasingly irritable – until a secret, well-kept for many years – suddenly surfaces and threatens to destroy it all.

A lot of moral questions are addressed in the novel without providing simplistic answers or role models. The dramatic structure also creates the suspense that keeps you reading on. A compelling read I thoroughly enjoyed.… (plus d'informations)

The Art of Falling by Danielle McLaughlin is a family drama which takes place in Ireland. Nessa McCormack is a gallery representative who is doing research on the works of a famous deceased sculptor. His wife and daughter are being interviewed by her but are often reluctant and suspicious of her motives. Nessa and her husband are working on reviving their marriage after he has had an affair with a local woman. They are also the parents of a teenage girl who is having a difficult time because of this affair. The novel alternates between Nessa’s work life and her personal life and I found that too much is going on. There are too many characters and some of the goings-on seem unnecessary and overdone. It feels like Nessa is chasing her own tail while trying to please everyone and pleasing no one. However, The Art of Falling is well-written and will be enjoyed by many fans of relationship fiction. Thank you to Random House, NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.… (plus d'informations)