The Fall Of Lisa Bellow
A Novel
by Susan Perabo
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app
1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date Mar 01 2018 | Archive Date Jun 29 2017
Simon and Schuster UK Fiction | Simon & Schuster UK
Description
A masked man with a gun enters a sandwich shop in broad daylight, and Meredith Oliver suddenly finds herself ordered to the filthy floor, where she cowers face to face with her nemesis, Lisa Bellow, the most popular girl in her class. The minutes tick inexorably by, and Meredith lurches between comforting the sobbing Lisa and imagining her own impending death. Then the man orders Lisa Bellow to stand and come with him, leaving Meredith behind.
After Lisa’s abduction, Meredith spends most days in her room. As the community stages vigils and searches, Claire, Meredith’s mother, is torn between relief that her daughter is alive and helplessness over her inability to protect or even comfort her child. Her daughter is here, but not. How can life ever move forward again?
The Fall of Lisa Bellow is edgy and original, a hair-raising exploration of the ripple effects of an unthinkable crime, for readers who enjoyed Everything I Never Told You and Room.
Praise for Susan Perabo's short stories:
‘Explores the very human question - in surprising and original ways - of what it really means to be afraid’ Elizabeth Strout, bestselling author of My Name is Lucy Barton on The Broken Places
‘Darkly beautiful stories about love and loss and every gradation between. Each one is suffused with astonishing wit and tenderness. Well worth the wait!’ Jenny Offill, New York Times bestselling author of Dept. of Speculation on Who I Was Supposed to Be
‘There's only one way to read Susan Perabo, and that's breathlessly. Each story in Who I Was Supposed to Be crackles with narrative electricity, and every one made me want to stand and cheer’ Richard Russo
Advance Praise
‘Explores the very human question - in surprising and original ways - of what it really means to be afraid’ Elizabeth Strout, bestselling author of My Name is LucyBarton on The Broken Places
‘Darkly beautiful stories about love and loss and every gradation between. Each one is suffused with astonishing wit and tenderness. Well worth the wait!’ Jenny Offill, New York Times bestselling author of Dept. of Speculation on Who I Was Supposed to Be
‘There's only one way to read Susan Perabo, and that's breathlessly. Each story in Who I Was Supposed to Be crackles with narrative electricity, and every one made me want to stand and cheer’ Richard Russo
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781471163401 |
| PRICE | £8.99 (GBP) |
Links
Featured Reviews
Liz W, Reviewer
I read this in one sitting because the writing was beautifully done and I appreciated the way Susan Perablo enveloped you into the plot as a reader - starting with a traumatic event and then showing us the aftermath through the eyes of one mother and her daughter.
The Fall of Lisa Bellow is a wonderfully deep character exploration, a book that give you a real sense of feeling about the characters in it - Meredith had a quirky outlook from the start and seeing that change and alter after the event was utterly compelling. Claire, Mum, too now having to deal with a problem befalling her second child after her first had already suffered was cleverly drawn, occasionally unlikable but doing her best to stay standing.
It is a gentle story in a lot of ways despite the violent event that kicks it off - a kind of rolling picture reel of different senses and feelings - there is somewhat of a disconnect, in fact the character I related most to was Meredith's brother Evan - a quiet and steady background influence.
I think it may suffer from its description. This is not a thriller. It is not even really a mystery and there are no real resolutions as is realistic to most things in life. So don't go into it expecting those things. This is a strong, emotive family drama, an exploration of recovery and an insightful glance into a modern, middle class family whose lives have taken an unexpected turn.
Definitely recommended for fans of Literary character study.
**Review also on Goodreads
Readers who liked this book also liked:
