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Fall on Your Knees by: Ann-Marie MacDonald

review by: Erin Benson '02

"They're all dead now," is the first line of Ann-Marie MacDonald's debut novel, Fall on Your Knees. I checked it out of the library right before spring break, prompted by a reluctant recommendation from a well-respected source. She suggested it to me with hesitation not because the book wasn't good--it was far better than good--but because it might be a bit dark for my liking. Indeed, Fall on Your Knees is dark, but behind the darkness are beauty, rapture, and light, ignited by an astonishing storyteller.

The bulk of the novel takes place on Cape Breton Island--an extraordinary place for the imagination and intellect to wander. The social and industrial development described in the novel mirror the history of events that took place in Sydney of Nova Scotia in the early 1900s. These descriptions include the horrendous conditions faced by coalmine laborers and the violence that ensued from their strikes for higher wages. Even more compelling is the story that usually goes without telling: the circumstances of employment available to women and the psychological conditions suffered by women who were forbidden to work and forced to bear and rear children.

MacDonald tells the story of the Piper family, depicting from childhood to adulthood, each member's life. James Piper carries the seed from which all things begin. He is working as a piano repairman, when he meets his bride, Materia Mahmoud. She is the beautiful and eldest daughter of a Lebanese family, who has betrothed her to a dentist. Despite this, on the night of her 13th birthday, Materia and James steal away together, followed by Mr. Mahmoud's curse that will forever grieve and haunt them.

Thus follows the story of their four daughters: prodigious Kathleen, destined to be an Opera star; religious, motherly Mercedes; wicked Frances; and lame Lily, who has the healing power of touch. If you have a sister, this story will tickle and wound you. It will remind you of the joys and vulnerabilities that come with closeness, of absolute, unyielding love, and the inescapable ties that bind you together forever. If you have no sisters, you've just found yourself four, because they are unforgettable.

When reading Fall on Your Knees, I felt truly at the mercy of Ann-Marie MacDonald and utterly absorbed in the unfolding story. I fell in love with this novel. But I will warn you too. There are many secrets to be revealed, which may shock and scare you. But the reward of having engulfed such a well-wrought and extraordinary story is immeasurable. Step into the darkness, and experience brilliance.