
Fallen
David Maine(Author)
Canongate Books (Publisher)
Published on 2. March 2006
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-1-84195-684-8 (ISBN)
Description
David Main's brilliant new novel tells the story of Cain and Abel, and Adam and Eve - the world's original family.
Beginning with the death of Cain, Fallen rewinds through fury and jealousy, lust and despair, right back to the bite from the apple and mankind's first taste of shame.
What drove Cain to do the unthinkable? What was the world like when it was new? Was God justified in banishing Adam and Eve from Paradise? And did the harshness of the outer world teach them not only how to survive, but how to kill?
From the bones of this age-old tale, David Maine weaves a compulsively readable and startlingly modern human drama of love, betrayal and rage. We know the end of the story - but how did it really begin?
Beginning with the death of Cain, Fallen rewinds through fury and jealousy, lust and despair, right back to the bite from the apple and mankind's first taste of shame.
What drove Cain to do the unthinkable? What was the world like when it was new? Was God justified in banishing Adam and Eve from Paradise? And did the harshness of the outer world teach them not only how to survive, but how to kill?
From the bones of this age-old tale, David Maine weaves a compulsively readable and startlingly modern human drama of love, betrayal and rage. We know the end of the story - but how did it really begin?
Reviews / Votes
What makes this intelligent, funny, meaty and moving novel so fascinating is the ease with which Maine inserts a modern sensibility and keen psychological analysis even as he jumps back and forth between the timelines of the two narratives and remains faithful to their biblical roots. * * Publishers Weekly * * A risky, original undertaking. * * New York Times * * Mostly, the portrayal of Adam, Eve and their children is astonishing . . . [Maine's] crisp, beautiful prose is near flawless. * * Sunday Times * * Although Fallen is a familiar tale, the rewinding structure and the compelling tension and depth of the characters make it gripping; with charm and wry wit, he merely tickles the idea that God is perhaps, well, a bit of a bastar * * Time Out * *More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 214 mm
Width: 135 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-84195-684-8 (9781841956848)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
David Maine was born in 1963 and grew up in Farmington, Connecticut. He attended Oberlin College and the University of Arizona, and worked in the mental health systems of Massachusetts and Arizona. He is married to novelist Uzma Aslam Khan, and since 1998 has lived in Lahore, Pakistan.