This debut provides a propelling plot. But, the characters were universally unlikeable and I found myself untethered, not really rooting for any of them.

McLaughlin's novel details the life of an art historian, Nessa McCormack. Nessa's life long hard work has led her to the position of overseeing an installation of the work of Robert Locke. Locke's wife and daughter are her sources for material and sculptures that will fill the show of a lifetime for all of them.
Nessa is trying to recover from her husband's infidelity and deal with all her work details. Just as she feels she is reaching the finish line, two characters appear in her life, one at the gallery and one at a friend's home in the country. Both characters will test her ability to continue to walk the tightrope of her life. Challenges from the past threaten Nessa with dangers that could bring everything shattering down, her work and her marriage.

The Art of Falling is a fantastic debut novel, written with care and insights. I enjoyed reading it and look forward to more from Danielle McLaughlin.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

𝐓𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭, 𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭.

Nessa McCormack is project managing an acquisition of the late, renowned sculptor Robert Locke’s work. The Elmes Gallery she works for is buying his studio. Nothing thrills her more, having written her thesis on Locke when she was a young student of art history and ‘star-struck’ by the man. Invited into the Locke house, nothing commands her attention more than the Chalk Sculpture, having achieved notoriety as ’embodying fertility powers.’ It’s unsettling beauty and mysterious form is solid evidence of Robert’s genius. Rescuing the statue from ‘indignities’, like the many hands of supplicants touching it’s belly, was a mission she accomplished. If only dealing with the women in his life were as easy. With dictaphone in hand, Nessa is ready to record Locke’s widow Eleanor’s memories, hoping to write a paper about his life as seen through the eyes of his women but remembering brings pain, anger. His daughter Loretta is her protector, making sure the elderly woman doesn’t get upset. The truth behind the Chalk Sculpture is about to be challenged by a woman, Melanie Doerr, claiming deeper ties to Robert, and his family. Nessa doesn’t wish to give any credence to her wild claims, but is she lying? Why are Eleanor and Loretta reacting with so much hostility, if the woman is of no concern?

Nessa’s personal life is an emotional storm, dealing with the fallout of her husband’s betrayal, their own daughter’s friendship and social life is damaged. Things are about to become more difficult with a chance encounter with an old friend from her London days, inviting her to meet Luke, son of her best friend Amy, this is going to be a complication. Luke wants to know what his mother was like, the hunger will go further than a simple dinner. The friendship between she and his mother Amy turned grim, but is she at fault? With everyone pushing Luke on her, she agrees to take him to photograph Robert’s work, little does she know she has set off a chain of events that will come back to bite her.

Locke is a different man for each woman who loved or tolerated him. His wife endured his ‘disappearances’, carried on with the reality of living, caring for the necessities. Everyone imagines themselves one way in his life, but who knows how we mislead ourselves and measure (wrongly) our own importance in another’s heart?

There are many stories within this novel, fueling the pressure and stress we’re meant to witness Nessa is under. It is an interesting dissection of the greatness of men, the women that step aside or lead punishing existences for his ‘talent and genius’. The cracks in fame, the cost for family of passions others can’t seem to keep reigned in, soured friendships, regrets, guilt, art- no one is entirely innocent, each has self-serving intentions. Truth is malleable, but it doesn’t always take the form we wish it to, a form that benefits our narrative. I actually enjoyed the way characters stepped in and pulled your attention, life isn’t normally focused on one part of your life, career, family, strangers, all the dramas swirl around us at all times. It’s the little things that drain you and the past has a way of surfacing when you’re already dodging bullets. A solid read for me.

Publication Date: January 5, 2021

Random House

If you drizzle a little power overhead, you'll find an unquenchable thirst for it. We humans seem to thrive on the acquisition alone.

The Art of Falling takes us to Cork City in Ireland where Nessa McCormick has become the project manager of a celebrated art gallery. The gallery is in the midst of acquiring the Chalk Sculpture designed by the famous artist, Robert Locke of Scotland. The piece itself was created to resemble a woman in full bloom of her pregnancy. Women would leave tokens near it and touch it in hopes of becoming fertile........a mighty powerful work of stone.

But Nessa must interact with the late artist's elderly wife and daughter. in order to acquire the piece for the gallery. Both seem to possess personalities of granite. Added to the stress is the arrival of an older woman who claims that she worked on the sculpture and the idea was hers and not Locke's. She seems to have no concrete proof at present, only her word. And her word becomes oppressive as she pursues Nessa relentlessly.

Nessa's personal life will seep into this story as well. She and her husband are trying to mend their broken marriage after his affair. Their teenage daughter, Jennifer, is caught up in a power struggle in which she tries to take advantage of their weaken attention. Jennifer is secretly seeing a young man who is dangling information over Nessa's head about her previous life. Such dark secrets could destroy Nessa.

The Art of Falling has many layers to sift through. It's quite the undertaking by Danielle McLaughlin with its multiple characters and subplots. The reviews meander back and forth. But there's quite the character study here with individuals who use their positions, money, and dastardly deeds to hold others in check. And sometimes, as in the title, breaking free and falling away from the source is the greatest power of all.

I received a copy of The Art of Falling through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Random House and to Danielle McLaughlin for the opportunity.

I could not finish because with what's going on in the world today, coupled with some extremely good fiction I've read lately, this one fell short. Couldn't get into a story about crumbling marriages and mysterious backgrounds of artworks no matter how well written. May try again later.

Nessa and Phillip McCormack's marriage is at a rocky point. Phillip has been having an affair with the mother of his daughter's best friend. Jennifer, the McCormack's daughter, has found out about the affair and has been acting out at school and at home. On top of this, Phillip has made several poor business decisions and they are deep in debt. Intermittently, the novel focuses on these things, but at its heart, is Nessa's work as an art historian for a prestigious gallery.

Nessa has attained a grant to look into the work of deceased artist Robert Locke, especially one of his pieces, The Chalk Sculpture. This sculpture is famous as a fertility enhancer. Infertile couples would travel to it in hopes of conceiving a baby and leave some money at the same time.

Robert Locke's wife and daughter are still alive and Nessa is spending much of her time interviewing them about Locke's work. They are very possessive of the knowledge they disperse and often seem reluctant to share too much.

Out of the blue, an older woman shows up who claims to be both the muse and the creator of The Chalk Sculpture. This puts a big dent in Nessa's work. As she is trying to balance her family issues, she now has to walk on tiptoes at work because there are several opinions about this woman's claim.

The writing is excellent and I loved the family drama. However, some of the narrative was repetitive and the book went on several rabbit trails that were unnecessary, bringing in more characters and background than were useful. Had the novel's story line been tightened up, and the repetition removed, I would have rated it a '5'.

A compelling, multilayered family drama. I found all of the characters really interesting and complex and I loved all of the descriptions of the art world.

This was a compelling and unsettling snapshot of an imperfect character at a moment when her personal and professional lives are unraveling, combined with a past "mystery" regarding her best friend and present day mystery involving the provenance of a work of art. The ending was cathartic and satisfying.

This book is so much - grief, loss, hope, triumph, drama, emotion, sacrifice, denial, and so much more. This is a book that stays with you long after you've finished reading it. The narrative is centered around the high-stakes world of dance with high drama and high fashion. This is a debut novel that reads like a seasoned writer's eighth book. It is a standalone with so much depth, so much character development, and an incredible dose of mention.

Among the mounting despair, I found a large dose of hope and an even larger dose of humor. The overall theme of this book is expression and it delivers in spades. I would recommend to any readers looking for a book that puts you through the emotional ringer and eventually spits you out as a different person. Loved it!

I absolutely enjoyed this book and will publish a longer review on my blog once it is closer to release day. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I almost gave up on this one so many times, but forced myself to get through it and honestly wish I hadn't. The story was meandering, anticlimactic, and predictable, and the characters were unlikable. The art aspect was interesting and kept the book a bit different from others that I've read, but I wouldn't recommend it by any means.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This art world of this book interested me. The characters were dealing with betrayal, loss, and keeping sane during all the chaos happening around her. It was well written, but the storyline was a bit slow.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC.

Some of the art aspect was interesting but too large of the story where nothing else happened. Did not particularly care for the main character either. I did like the cover, but this book was dry AF. Not for me but recommended for people more into art. I loved the Art Forger because that had an amazing story, this sucked in comparison to that.

Thanks to Netgalley, Danielle McLaughlin, and Random House Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 1/5/21

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review.
The Art of Falling is a very impressive debut novel from short story writer Danielle McLaughlin.
The main character Nessa is struggling through the challenges of her personal life, putting the pieces of her marriage back together after her husbands affair and experiencing the anger and angst of her teenaged daughter. Professionally, she is thrilled to be in charge of an art retrospective by the late sculptor Robert Locke, the renowned creator of The Chalk Sculpture. Locke’s widow and daughter are interviewed by Nessa as they explain the inspiration and the making of this sculpture. In fact, they are thinking of donating the sculpture to the gallery. Meanwhile, Melanie stops at the gallery claiming to be Locke’s ex-lover and the creator of the Chalk Sculpture. The Locke’s however are unaware of who Melanie is. With the arrival of Nessa’s old lover and his son Luke, Nessa’s past is brought into the present And it is time to face the consequences.
The prose are exact and detailed especially when describing the art world and emotional challenges of each character.
This is a beautifully written story with enough twists and turns to keep the reader engaged.
Well done and very recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Art of Falling by Danielle McLaughlin. Unfortunately, I did not love this book. The art component was not very interesting to me and too much time was spent here. I didn’t really like any of the characters, but did read to the end and it did get better.

In this book, Nessa is an art proprietor and is creating a new gallery about one of her favorite artists with the help of his wife and daughter. At the same time, she is dealing with a marriage that is in trouble and is reliving a loss of a friend from the past. Creating the gallery leads her to begin to rethink her life and how she sees things. I thought that this book was a pretty good read yet I did not end up really caring for Nessa much, She seemed to just go with the flow and really not have much of a backbone. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

In a way, this is a coming of age story and a story of a midlife crisis. Nessa is struggling through her personal life and career when her past comes back to haunt her emotionally. Nessa is forced to deal with her own grief and disappointment in her choices as a young adult when the son of a friend unexpectedly comes back into her life. The Robert Locke artistic through-line was intriguing and I felt Nessa’s passion for art through her character. Some of the story was a bit too clean and predictable which is why I have given it a 4 out of 5. It doesn’t challenge the reader to think deeper into certain topics or require any knowledge of art to enjoy. I do however feel this novel is on par with many other new fiction books I have read recently. Like many contemporary narratives, “The Art of Falling” deals with personal and emotional struggles (ie the battle within) and has less to do with an identifiable physical conflict. McLaughlin certainly does a lot to keep the reader entertained with the ongoing Locke family drama and Nessa’s own family conflicts.

I would definitely recommend this book, it is an enjoyable and entertaining read. I would not have guessed it was the author’s first novel if it wasn’t for the other reviewers comments. I also want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review this novel.

Beautifully written emotionally moving the story of a wife who realizes her marriage is a lie her husband unfaithful.A quiet book that had me drawn to the story the .Highly recommend #netgalley#randomhouse

This was a beautiful and dramatic story of a wife realizing her married life was a lie. The storyline flowed seamlessly and you can’t help but empathize with the emotional ordeal the characters go through. Highly recommended!

A lovely book with beautiful prose and a compelling plot, I greatly enjoyed The Art of Falling. It is a quiet story, with flawed character (my favorite) whose inner minds we are permitted to explore. I would recommend!

Nessa is an art curator bringing a deceased artists work to a gallery. She considers herself an expert on the artist, Robert Locke. A woman arrives which challenges the provenance of one of the pieces of art. This causes turmoil in Nessa's job and also brings out skeletons in her personal closet.

What to do about the past? Should she ignore the woman claiming that she carved most of the sculpture in question? Should she also ignore the fact that she slept with her best friends husband when they were young adults? Luke her best friends son is looking for answers about his mother.

The past can haunt us and affect our present lives? Should we confront the past or push it to the background and not acknowledge it? This book explores this question. Nessa is a character in crisis and we get to see how she handles the two situations. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

Thank you @randomhouse and #netgalley for the free book.