while i enjoyed a lot of this book, i don't understand how this won a Nebula Award. there was nothing particularly memorable in the story line.., the plot never made much sense, nor did it ever really GO anywhere, and then it sped towards a close so unsatisfactory i felt as though i'd wasted my time. the climax occurs and suddenly it's the future with no showing of the emotional fallout and progression? lame.because that was its strength - them protagonists, you guys. i've already forgotten their names, as i'm a monstrously uncaring reader, but the mother's particular form of madness struck a cord in me, and viewed from her daughter's eyes she fleshed out into a real creature - a feral woman i see myself and my mother in. i could feel her desperation within the bonds of a cage she put herself in. i understood her emotional detachment, i bought her fear of being backed into a corner, i understood how she loved from afar, i recognised the way she flitted around, dissecting every object in her path but delving into nothing, her passions being unshareable. loved the mother. she was one of the more real characters i've encountered in years.i also really enjoyed the drunk. and the anti-love interests. genuine cast of characters where even the villians aren't THAT villainous. they were as people tend to be in real life - oil on the surface of water you can pass through if you need to, but stain your skin with a film. it never felt overblown, and i liked that.when it comes to the plot.. well... i thought i would care more. it seemed like an awesome premise but the author managed to make it boring as all hell, and contained to the two women, it felt like it.. was contained to the two women. it didn't spill over into me reading with the hairs raised on the back of my neck. it didn't make me wonder or question. what the ghost wanted was clear from the getgo and since nothing occurred in the fall out, it felt like a candle in the wind. a spark that was easily snuffed out like it never existed.the book, on the characters alone, would have been worth reading. and it's unusual for me to wish a supernatural or drastic plot element weren't involved so i could focus on the people within the story. i usually don't understand books about everyday life, but, my god, i would have devoured a novel about this woman and those in her life. it's a high 3 for me. a 4, even. but i found the plot so weak, i have to lowball it.--passages i highlighted as i read. things that struck me for whatever reason."Can I come?" I asked quickly. "I won't be any trouble. I thought maybe..." I stopped, caught in a tangle of words.The coloured lights flashed on her face: red, blue, green, gold, red, blue. I have a clear memory of her face, frozen like a snapshot. The air around us seemed cold."Come with me? But your father..." She stopped. "You'll be spending Christmas with your father.""I want to go with you, " I said quietly. "I need to."I watched her face in the changing light. She was no longer frozen: her eyes narrowed and her mouth turned down, weary, unhappy, maybe frightened. Her hand clenched the steering wheel and the lights flashed red, blue, green. "I'll be leaving soon."---My mother, like the female birds of many species, had developed a drab protective colouration that let her blend into the background, invisible as long as she stayed silent.---I watched him coolly, suddenly wondering if he had ever listened when I talked of anthropology and archaeology.(everyythinnngg about this entire chapter etched itself into me, but this was the sentence where it hammered in and i suddenly saw her in 3D)---The young doctor protested that my husband cared very much for me, my husband wanted to protect me. The young doctor did not understand that there are shades of reality. Metaphor is reality once removed. I said that Robert wanted to kill me. Really, he wanted me to be quiet and compliant, as good as dead. He was not evil, but he did not understand what I needed to live. He wanted me to be dead to the world. When I saw the walls of the ward closing in, that was a kind of truth, too. The world I lived in was small and getting smaller.---I heard the rain begin to fall outside the tomb. The tarp flapped in the wind and the water trickled down the steps - I could hear the soft liquid sound, like a cat licking itself.
You can also find this review on my blog, Snowflakes & Spider Silk.I really liked the idea of this book, but everything about it just seemed faded - as though someone took the intensity dial and cranked it way down. I liked it, but it wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be. I think part of it was a matter of expectations. I was expecting science fiction, but this book read more like historical fiction. There was a lot more history and archaeology in this book than science and technology. I really enjoy historical fiction, but it just wasn't what I was expecting.The Falling Woman interweaves the stories of a mother and daughter, Elizabeth and Diane Butler. Elizabeth is a renowned archaeologist who has struggled with sanity all her life. She sees visions of people from the past, and has had to deal with the stigma of insanity. Diane grew up away from her mother, and her dad has taught her to always be in control of herself. It's the complete opposite of Elizabeth's outlook on life, and after a twenty year separation, you can imagine that their reunion is a little awkward. The two meet in the middle of an archaeology dig of the ancient Mayan civilization. Spirits begin to haunt both women, and soon it becomes clear that they are both in danger.I really liked Elizabeth's voice. She's such an original character, at least for me - she was a jaded yet fiercely determined archaeologist, and she embraced the supernatural and other cultures. Diane wasn't quite as interesting as her mother, but I thought she was a nice contrast to her mother and it was interesting to see her grow up throughout the course of the novel. I also really liked that the story focused on Mayan civilization. The Mayans were one of my favorite cultures to learn about in school, and I was fascinated by how much of their lives revolved around their gods and supernatural events. This book did a great job of portraying the Mayan culture without sensationalizing it, and gave it a lot of respect.I also really liked the supernatural element and the overarching plot. What I didn't like so much was the lack of intensity. You would imagine some excitement if ancient Mayan spirits began talking to you and warning you of danger and sacrifice. The thing is, most of the book is just warnings. You don't know what the danger is until almost the very end, and when it actually comes it is very anticlimactic. I felt like there just could have been more. I appreciated the parallels in ancient and modern times, but it felt like the solution to the danger was too easy.I liked this book, and I think it's worth giving a shot, but don't go into it expecting science fiction. This book is very much about history and archaeology, with a bit of the supernatural thrown in. It is also a mother-daughter story, and one about the sacrifices you make for the people you love.*A free copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
What do You think about The Falling Woman (1993)?
This Nebula-award-winning book is magical realism rather than science fiction. Unlike others that I've read recently, this author is not shy about accepting the supernatural aspects of the work. There is no attempt to explain it away -- not even with the use of space aliens! At the same time, it is a psychological novel, where the supernatural reflects the natural. The Mayan belief in the cyclical nature of time provides the framework for the plot as well as the theme, yet the real question is whether we can exercise our will and break free of our own past.
—Suzanne
I read this novel for NetGalley. This is my honest opinion of the book.I love a really good ghost story. “The Falling Woman” is that and so much more. I’m not going into finer points of plot and character – other reviewers have adequately discussed those topics. This review is about why I enjoyed the book and am recommending it to other readers.This expertly and lovingly crafted novel examines the relationship between archaeologist Elizabeth Butler and her estranged daughter Diane. The novel’s setting is Mexico, circa mid-80’s, where Elizabeth and her archaeological team are excavating ancient Mayan ruins. Elizabeth sees and speaks with long dead Mayans, in particular a vengeful priestess who attempts to extract a great sacrifice from Elizabeth.Great literature (and I’m placing this novel in that category – the Nebula Awards committee did as well, 27 years ago) does more than distract and entertain. Great literature explores issues central to our lives. As “Blade Runner” asked the question “What is human”?, “The Falling Woman” presents three key issues: 1) What does it mean to be a parent, 2) What is sanity, and 3) What is reality. Pat Murphy’s subtle and skillful writing brings these topics front and center while providing a fascinating story rich in Mayan culture and lore.More than a good read – a great read!
—Paula
http://koeur.wordpress.com/2014/04/07...Publisher: Open Road Publishing Date: April 2014 ISBN: 9781480483149 Genre: fantasy Rating: 1.5/5Publisher Description: When night falls over the Yucatan, the archaeologists lay down their tools. But while her colleagues relax, Elizabeth Butler searches for shadows. A famous scientist with a reputation for eccentricity, she carries a strange secret. Where others see nothing but dirt and bones and fragments of pottery, Elizabeth sees shades of the men and women who walked this ground thousands of years before. She can speak to the past—and the past is beginning to speak back. As Elizabeth communes with ghosts, the daughter she abandoned flies to Mexico hoping for a reunion. She finds a mother embroiled in the supernatural, on a quest for the true reason for the Mayans’ disappearance. To dig up the truth, the archaeologist who talks to the dead must learn a far more difficult skill: speaking to her daughter.Review: There are a couple of covers floating around for this novel. I really like this one.This was originally published in 1987 by Tor and won the Nebula Award. Why Open Road Media is re-publishing this drivel is beyond me.Wow, the Nebula. Was no one else writing anything of note that year? Did George RR Martin just one day in 1987, say “Fuck it. I am done writing for awhile. I need some time off to draw some weeners.” This was the era of Orson Scott Card, Larry Niven, David Brin, William Gibson and Greg Bear for fucks sake. Is this a case where a review panel fell in love with the notion that iterative dialogue, if psychotic enough, deserves some ass-play? I am going to have to hang up writing reviews if this POS seriously won the Nebula. Eighty five percent of the novel is Mom/daughter drama and endless dialogue. Then throw in some spots from “I see dead people…er…Mayans” and that is it. There is a faint rejoinder at the end that we may have a sequel to look forward to. Seriously, I would rather have a sockeye salmon shoved up my ass. You know what, I need to get over myself. This happened in 1987. 1987 was a damn good year for me. I finished college at my fourth university, Stevie Ray Vaughan was Live in Nashville, and …….ok, it was a lame year in history (Except for the SRV Nashville thing) so maybe it was time to elevate a novel based on daily happenstance, the dialogue that ensues and dead people talking. I guess if you make your main character demonstrably “Eccentric” and olde (yes old-ay) at 51 years, then fuck, here’s your Nebula. You could literally walk around for the rest of your miserable life surprising people with your award. Even if you wrote nothing, say for forever, you could still bash someone over the head with that award and have nuns chenuflecting at your feet. I feel like Lewis Black. I am so pissed off right now, I have this degenerative scream that fails to escape a frustrated throat crammed with curses. I could kick a puppy right now. Nah, I love dogs. I could seriously kick a kitten right now.
—Koeur
