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| Fallen | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (based on 20 reviews)
Sales Rank: 366578
Category: Book
Author: David Maine
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Studio: St. Martin's Griffin
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
Label: St. Martin's Griffin
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.7
ISBN: 0312328508
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780312328504
ASIN: 0312328508
Publication Date: September 5, 2006
Release Date: September 5, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
From the internationally acclaimed author of The Preservationist comes a provocative retelling of the story of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel: a novel that gives new meaning to the words ?temptation,? ?rivalry,? and ?murder.?
Their expulsion from the Garden is only the beginning: Eve and Adam have to find their way past recriminations and bitterness, to construct a new life together in a harsh land. But the challenges are many for the world?s first family. Among their children are Cain and Abel, and soon they must discover how to be parents to one son who is everything they could hope for, and another who is sullen, difficult, and rife with insecurities and jealousies. In the background, always, is the incomprehensibility of God?s motives as He watches over their faltering attempts to build a life. In Fallen, David Maine has drawn a convincing, wryly observant, and enthralling portrait of a family--one driven (and riven) by passions, irrationality, and love. The result is an intimate, in-depth story of brothers, a husband, and a wife--people whose struggles are both completely familiar and yet utterly original.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
 Raising Cain November 11, 2008
I enjoyed Maine's unique approach to biblical storytelling in The Book of Samson so I picked this up. As much as I liked Samson, this is far better. Uniquely told in reverse-chronology, the story of the world's first family is epanded to the point where we truly have biblical CHARACTERS - with depth, virtues and failings one might expect to find among those who lost, literally, everything.
As in "Samson," Maine's storylines accept the more fantastic biblical stories as fact, and builds the characters and expanded plot around them. We are not clued in to the metaphorical meaning of the serpent and the fruit - the serpent really did talk Eve into eating the fruit.
The story itself is a fantastic read, all the more impressive since the reader knows exactly where it will end up. But Maine has a deeper purpose: through Adam and Eve, we see the struggle between virtue and pragmatism, between faith and reason. Through Cain, we ponder the nature of sin and evil. The characters make their own defense arguments against what seems to them to be a stacked deck. How, after all, could they understand the concept of sin before they ever had to make choices? How could they be banished from paradise and still show gratitude to their judge?
Maine is an expert at bringing these stories to life - or perhaps bringing life to the stories?
Fallen June 11, 2008
This book was quite possibly the best biblical fiction book I have read in the past few years. Fallen is the story of Cain and Abel, and alternately, Adam and Eve. The book begins with the ending and cleverly winds it's way back to the beginning, with the body of the story told in shifting time-lines. Maine brilliantly manages to keep the story line comprehensive and lucid. I was very struck by the spare, yet visceral language throughout the book, and the motivations of the characters were portrayed extremely well. I raced ahead to finish the book, all the while trying to slow myself down so there was more to savor. Though the story is familiar to most, the nuances and subtleties that were infused throughout the book made this a one of a kind story, one where even though the outcome is predicted, the road getting there is anything but.
Most know the infamous story of the two brothers, Cain and Abel, but what is portrayed here is so much more. Maine has managed to take small snippets of those famous verses in the Bible and make them delectably consumable, and downright wonderful. Cain is portrayed as a difficult and tractable young man, bordering on heretical. He is forever feeling slighted and wronged, and his attitude only makes things more difficult for himself. It is hard to find sympathy for Cain; he is virtually unlovable, and remains so for the entirety of the novel. It becomes easy to see him follow his path from anger to murder. Even in his exile, he curses and berates God, making him seem all the more recalcitrant and miserable. His reflections upon himself and his inherent differences from his family are captivating, and make him a full and interesting character.
Abel, on the other hand is wonderfully compliant, kind and friendly. Though he tends towards platitudes and bossiness, the goodness in him shines through. Abel, his mother's favored child, strives for peace in the family, and is usually the one to try and persuade Cain to abandon his fits of pique. He is loving and forgiving, and he is truly humble to the Lord. He is constantly trying to find his brother's heart and make him see reason. It is clear to see that Abel is light to Cain's darkness. The insight gained regarding Abel's unselfish love for his brother make Cain's act all the more incomprehensible. Though Abel is more of a simple man, his devotion to his family and his God are very moving.
As the story moves forward, the focus is on Adam and Eve and their flight to safety after being banished from the Garden of Eden. It is a sorrowful trek that visits many misfortunes and hardships upon the two. Everything that could possibly go wrong for them does so from the beginning. Adam's staunch belief in the Lord pulls him through the struggles, and makes him accepting of any travail that comes their way. Eve is not always so emotionally compliant. There are scenes in which she doubts the intentions and safeguarding of God, and in these moments, Maine has cleverly elaborated on what can only be speculated upon. The awareness of the characters was also a great touch. These fictional characters see themselves as we would see ourselves today, their hopes, fears and dreams are fully realized within the story, and the effect is that all the characters are living, breathing and thinking entities who can be understood and appreciated.
At the close of the book, the story has finally come around to the beginning. God has banished the couple from paradise for their sin, and they are left wondering how and where they will survive. The fear they feel is perceptible, and their reactions to it recognizable. This story has been heard countless times before, yet what is different this time around is the cognizance of the sinners. It is so much clearer to imagine, in this novel, who and what Adam and Eve were like, and what they were thinking. By making them so human, the author has made them so much more plausible and believable. One can imagine feeling the same way today if one were faced with these overwhelming situations. The dialogue was also very solid. Both the children and the parents contemporized and tended towards philosophical understanding.
Another lovely touch was the depictions of the world around the characters. It was easy to see the hardship once the barren and wasted landscape was described. The deserts felt hot, the river felt cool. The effect was masterful, as the panorama wasn't excessively described. It was hinted at, and sparingly related, yet so much more revealing than if countless pages of scenery had been described. It was also interesting to see deftness of the period detail.
This was a wonderful book. It had so many multi-layered parts that came together seamlessly and satisfyingly. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes Biblical fiction, or anyone who would just like to read a good story. This book is one of three books of biblical fiction by the same author. I will most definitely be reading the others.
Seriously. April 4, 2008
People. I think at times we lack, as a society, any originality. I am a christian, and i am only 18 and i followed the novels reverse chronology just fine, and manage not to get offended by a some a forein thing to some people called artistic liberties. It's a book. Believe it or not, some people have ALTERNATE forms of writing and can be something called CREATIVE. I had some issues with the book, obsenities that i didn't find to be warrented, but seriously. He is brilliant, he makes people from history real. He makes them alive. He shows us that they had feelings and lived a life, and i think it is an excellent choice. I apologize if i misspelled or didn't indent. GREAT BOOK. Even for a fairy tail.
 Don't waste your time November 3, 2006
This book was horrible. Our book club read it and not a singe person liked it. It had one gimmick (that it read in reverse), but that was it. It completely lacked in creativity.
A very human retelling. July 5, 2006
To take a story as familiar as this one, and make it different is truly a feat! Maine writes beautifully and gives a new perspective on Cain, Abel, Adam and Eve. A human perspective.
A very entertaining and enjoyable read. I even laughed a few times (though maybe I wasn't supposed to.)
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