Solid
Characters in an Implausible Plot
I like plot, reading for the tension, suspense, and
unexpected twists that the best authors can craft. For me, characters are in books largely to
move the plot forward. But characters
can also be captivating, as Since We Fell
reminded me. Unfortunately for this book,
those fascinating and nuanced individuals populate a plot that was often
unbelievable and always convenient.
Rachel Childs, the protagonist of Since We Fell, felt real to me and quite easy to like. In the early chapters, Lehane paints her as a
woman who is utterly alone – emotionally, psychologically, and physically. By the middle of the book, she has suffered
her on-air mental breakdown and is a virtual
shut-in. She is a well-developed,
complex character through these sections.
Her final transformation seemed a bit over-the-top to me, but extreme
situations might call for reaching into the depths of one’s psyche and drawing
on capacities rarely seen.
Although a bit slow paced initially, I generally
enjoyed the author’s writing style, particularly some of the visual
similes. This type of comparison is easy
to overuse, but Lehane hits a good rhythm.
And the end is action packed.
The weakness of the book, however, was the
plot. It simply strained credibility too
much for me to remain immersed in the story.
There are several, specific scenes that were questionable, e.g., an
interaction between Rachel and a detective or several scenes involving the
villains. Those, however, could be
written off as a necessary stretch of the imagination. But it was the primary ‘twist,’ the turning
point in the story that came about two-thirds of the way through the book that
pushed the story beyond believability.
While it forced me to re-characterize much of the
action, which good twists will do, it also made everything that had and would
happen convenient and generally trite.
Overall, I loved
Rachel’s climb back out of self-doubt and despair. If you’re a reader who values character
development and vivid prose even when not fully supported by plot, you should
enjoy Since We Fell.
