Fall On Your Knees (Oprah's Book Club)

The Piper family is so deeply enmeshed in secrets, lies, and illness, but beneath it all, there has to be some small kernel of truth and goodness. Doesn't there?This is a multi-generational saga of 4 sisters and the things in life that drive them, both to greatness and to great despair. And at the root of all the secrets and lies is one horrible secret that could destroy the fragile bond that holds this troubled family together. Sins of the heart. Sins of the mind. Sins of the body. Sins of the family. There simply aren't enough Hail Mary's to be said to set things right in the Piper family.From disowned Materia and her Gaelic husband James come the disillusionment, despair, depression, and deeply rooted mental illness that is a hill too steep to climb. Then, there is Kathleen, the daughter gifted with the voice of angels. Sadly, Kathleen's heart isn't as pure as her voice and so begins the sisters' stories. Sent to New York to study voice with a highly regarded teacher, Kathleen finds that life with a distant relative has it's advantages - and prices too high to pay for her actions.Mercedes is, perhaps, the one sister who is truly pure of heart and mind, but seems unable, through no fault of her own, to focus and find the place she is most meant to be. Virtually invisible, although always striving to be seen as "the good sister", Mercedes becomes a slave to her family, constantly striving for their acceptance, never realizing that the only acceptance she truly needs in this life is her own. Regrets and lost hopes and dreams cloud Mercedes' daily activities, holding her back like quicksand from the greatness she was intended for.Frances, deeply troubled victim of incest, is perhaps the most perplexing and complex of the characters in this unforgettable novel. Frances lives her life in toughness, that hard outer shell protecting the soft, vulnerability that lies deep in her heart. She lives a life of lies and deception, misleading both herself and those who could most help her succeed in life. She simply cannot accept the truth - and the truth could either kill her or set her heart free.Then comes Lily, of unknown parentage. This sweet, unassuming character struggles with a physical handicap while internally a storm brews that no one can see. A victim of Frances and her lies - does she even realize the lies aren't the truth? - Lily struggles to find her place in the Piper family.Through all the heartbreak, mental illness, incest, mental, emotional and physical violence, and heartbreaking despair, this family gets to the reader. Speaks to you in their own individual voices. Begs for forgiveness and understanding. A second chance. Comfort and warmth. A soft place to fall. Love and acceptance for who they truly are.This unforgettable novel races to its loop-the-loop conclusion, leaving the reader gasping for breath, drained physically and emotionally, and needing to sit down a while and get reoriented. There are simply not enough Hail Mary's to save this family from self-destruction. But this is one of the rare literary masterpieces that almost REQUIRES a re-read, just to find all the essential details you may have missed the first time around. Simply spectacular and a highly recommended keeper.

It took me a while to get hooked. Put it down and picked it up again. So many characters and voices, it was at times hard to keep them straight. But at a certain point it all became real, and I was drawn into their world. Beautiful writing, lyric, irreverent, godly, godless.

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.

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I started reading this months ago, got bored round page 200 and picked it up again last week, only to finish it in 1 day.Things I lovedBeautifully written prose with such a beautiful use of words, phrases and built up of sentences. There is a flow to the prose. A real treatInteresting, but also harsh story, MacDonald seems to have a rather negative view on humanity, this book had the same dark feel as her other book I read.It sometimes feels nothing positive or nice is ever going to happen to any of the characters.These sort of books about intertwined complicated family histories are my favorite and so despite some boredom, most of the story had me hookedNegative commentAs mentioned, it does go on a bit and I did lose my way a bit in the book but I persevered and in the end I can say: a good read

This is a fantastic book. Gripping, intelligent, and historically accurate. There are nods to the Jazz Age, and the First World War. This book depicts racial identity in a turbulent time, and the complexities of interracial relationships. This book could be read using a feminist, queer lens too - there are portrayals of homosexuality, and growing into a woman. It will make you cry, probably. I recommend this book completely. Five stars!

I read "The way the crow flies" first which was remarkable and just so satisfying, and although the first quarter of that book really is an elaborate background set up for what happens in the middle and end, it never lost me. "Fall on your knees" though.... so depressing, awful people, awful crimes, awful times. I stuck with it for 2/3 of the book (took me about two depressing and frustrating weeks of night time reading!) and it never showed any signs of cheering up or coming to any kind of conclusion to the plot. To me, it felt like a poor "The House of the Spirits". So disappointed, especially considering that I was expecting another "The way the crow flies" which was my book of the year by many miles last year.

Oh dear - very rarely I give up on a book but have been ploughing through this one for over a week and still only 55% through. Must stop now as losing will to live. Really really heavy going with a cast of some of the most unpleasant characters in literature. Struggling to care for any of them and their relentlessly miserable lives. I love reading - this tested me sorely and I am going to admit defeat :(

This book is like no other I have read and also nothing like Mac Donald's other book, The Way the Crow Flies. The story reaches out in different directions and sometimes you really have to use your imagtination to visualise certain scenes. This does not stop it from being a wonderful and unforgettable work of art.