The Art of Falling, Danielle McLaughlin
The Art of Falling, Danielle McLaughlin
List: $20.00 | Sale: $14.00
Club: $10.00

The Art of Falling

Author: Danielle McLaughlin

Narrator: Alana Kerr Collins

Unabridged: 9 hr 19 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/05/2021

Synopsis

In this “delicate slow burn of a novel” (Jan Carson), a woman’s marriage and career are threatened by an old indiscretion just as she receives the opportunity of a lifetime—from the award–winning author of the “extraordinary” (Colum McCann) Dinosaurs on Other Planets.

Nessa McCormack’s marriage is coming back together again after her husband’s affair. She is excited to be in charge of a retrospective art exhibition for a beloved artist, the renowned late sculptor Robert Locke. But the arrival of two enigmatic outsiders imperils both her personal and professional worlds: A chance encounter with an old friend threatens to expose a betrayal Nessa thought she had long put behind her; and at work, an odd woman comes forward with a mysterious connection to Robert Locke’s life and his most famous work, the Chalk Sculpture.

As Nessa finds the past intruding on the present, she realizes she must decide what is the truth, whether she can continue to live with a lie, and what the consequences might be were she to fully unravel the mysteries in both the life of Robert Locke and her own. In this gripping and wonderfully written debut, Danielle McLaughlin reveals profound truths about love, power, and the secrets that define us.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Ceecee on November 21, 2020

This is a novel about secrets and truth, with the central character being Nessa McCormack. She needs to confront the truth in her fractured real with husband Philip and repair the fallout with her daughter Jennifer. In her work life as an art curator the truth about the provenance of The Chalk Sculp......more

Goodreads review by Rachel on March 24, 2021

I started out loving this but it did eventually start to fall in my estimation. I adored McLaughlin’s writing: it's clear-eyed and pacy and this is, on the whole, a fairly enjoyable read. I'm also a sucker for anything having to do with art or art history or museums, so I loved the plot thread invol......more

Goodreads review by Eric on January 22, 2021

When I read Danielle McLaughlin's debut book of short stories “Dinosaurs on Other Planets” I knew this was an author to watch. Her ability to capture the nuances of our psychological reality and complex relationships in fiction is extraordinary. McLaughlin's talent has been confirmed by being awarde......more

Goodreads review by Marjorie on December 17, 2020

There's nothing I like better than an engrossing book centered in the world of art and this debut novel did not disappoint in any way. It's a slow-building, character-driven book that I became completely lost in. The sculpture known as the "Chalk Sculpture" is a character in its own right. The autho......more

Goodreads review by Alayne on December 19, 2020

This book didn’t inspire me very much and i struggled to finish it. I think maybe it’s because my mind was elsewhere as the current news was that Christmas is now cancelled due to the virus. What a year this has been a terrible year. But, before today’s news I did find this book difficult to get int......more

Quotes

“The Art of Falling is a terrific whodunit, but the it is brilliantly elusive; it’s not a murder but a sculpture—a different kind of dead body. Who created it? Who inspired it? Who owns it? And—actually—what is it? This is a gripping novel and a sharp, entertaining examination of the nature of art and its power to inspire and corrupt.”—Roddy Doyle, author of Love and Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha

“McLaughlin’s descriptions of the art and its appeal have an almost mythic quality. . . . She has a gift for precise characterization. This engaging and evocative work will stay with readers.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
 
“There are very few writers who can craft characters with the depth and subtlety Danielle McLaughlin brings to her writing. The Art of Falling is a delicate slow burn of a novel. It is a big novel sitting within a close and small frame; a book of unspoken regrets and long-kept secrets and the slow revelation of humanity. There are shades here of Alice Munro at her finest. Like Munro, McLaughlin is best when writing those quiet moments which resonate long after the event.”—Jan Carson, author of The Fire Starters

Praise for Danielle McLaughlin

“In [Danielle] McLaughlin’s world, the everyday has the same sparkle—or the same devastation—as a glittering galaxy or a war.”—Kirkus Reviews 

“Only an author who loves what human beings are can so compassionately reveal them in all their flawed, gorgeous contradictions and communicate unmistakable joy while doing so. . . . Her fiction is a gift we need.”—Robin Black, author of Life Drawing 

“[McLaughlin] focuses on fraught relationships and those sudden, illuminating moments that can light up ordinary lives.”—Library Journal 

“A writer of exceptionally deep empathy in the naturalistic tradition of John McGahern and Claire Keegan but with a knack for keen, and often disturbing, observation all her own.”—LitHub 

Add to Cart
Add to Wish List