Before the Fall (Hawley) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
Very often, we see what we want to see. As a young boy, painter Scott Burroughs was inspired to swim when he watched celebrity athlete Jack LaLanne stroke from Alcatraz Island to the shore, his wrists chained to a 1,000-pound boat. Sadly, Scott’s youth of championship swimming eventually gave way to an adulthood of alcoholism, failed relationships, and an art career that never quite got off of the ground.  READ MORE.
John Michael De Marco, author Book Club Widowerers - LitLovers

[I]ngeniously nerve-racking…If you didn't already know that Mr. Hawley is a celebrated storyteller, you'll know it before you finish the first page of [Before the Fall]…This is one of the year's best suspense novels, a mesmerizing, surprise-jammed mystery that works purely on its own, character-driven terms…Mr. Hawley does a beautiful job of turning his book into an extended tease, with separate chapters about each passenger and revelations about why each could have been a target…Mr. Hawley has made it very, very easy to race through his book in a state of breathless suspense.
Janet Maslin - New York Times


Hype and advertising and celebrity can certainly get a reader to pick up a novel and read the first few pages. After that, it's all about the words and the characters, the heart and soul of the story. I had no doubt that Hawley could write, that he could create amazing characters, that he had an ear for dialogue and a unique point of view—but could he write a successful novel? The answer, as readers of his four earlier books probably know already, is a resounding yes…Noah Hawley really knows how to keep a reader turning the pages, but there's more to the novel than suspense. On one hand, Before the Fall is a complex, compulsively readable thrill ride of a novel. On the other, it is an exploration of the human condition, a meditation on the vagaries of human nature, the dark side of celebrity, the nature of art, the power of hope and the danger of an unchecked media. The combination is a potent, gritty thriller that exposes the high cost of news as entertainment and the randomness of fate.
Kristin Hannah - New York Times Book Review


[A] terrific thriller...an irresistible mystery...a tale that's both an intriguing puzzle and a painful story of human loss.
Patrick Anderson - Washington Post


At first blush, Before the Fall appears to be on track to be a typical action-packed thriller.... But author Noah Hawley soon veers his highly entertaining novel into an insightful look at families, revenge and media intrusion by delving deeply into each character’s story. Hawley invests the same care with a soupcon of dark humor into Before the Fall as he does on the TV series Fargo, of which he is executive producer, writer and showrunner.
Associated Press - Oline H. Cogdill


(Starred review.) [T]elevision producer and screenwriter Hawley’s fifth novel is a masterly blend of mystery, suspense, tragedy, and shameful media hype.... This is a gritty tale of a man overwhelmed by unwelcome notoriety, with a stunning, thoroughly satisfying conclusion.
Publishers Weekly


[A] struggling artist becomes a hero twice—first by saving a young boy's life, then by outsmarting the anchor of a Fox-like conservative TV network.... Hawley piles on enough intrigues and plot complications to keep you hooked even if you can spot most of them a sea mile away.
Kirkus Reviews