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Before the Fall Noah Hawley Books

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Before the Fall Noah Hawley Books

Let me stipulate that Before The Fall was a thoughtful and at times compelling read. The story concerns itself with the ill-fated flight of a private jet with two families aboard, along with the central character, a struggling artist, who finds his life and that of a four year old boy irrevocably altered when the jet plunges into the Long Island Sound. The narrative unfolds as a brooding meditation on fate and the finality of death amid our unforgiving celebrity media culture and the 24 hour news cycle.

Just as the plane falls from the sky, this story falls from grace when the author finds himself unable to resist launching a broad, ham-fisted swipe at Fox News. Fox News and its ascendence to the top of the ratings has time and again brought out the worst in the liberal progressive intelligentsia, and Mr. Hawley proves he too suffers from FDS, Fox News derangement syndrome.

The syndrome manifests itself in a number of ways in Before The Fall. The thinly veiled ALC News a stand in for Fox News channel. Shock news host Bill Cunningham an every more thinly veiled stand in for Bill O'Reilly. The author even went so far as to name Cunningham's attorney "Franken," a taunt at the long-running feud between O'Reilly and the one time SNL comedian Al Franken.

In Hawley's story, the Cunningham character is painted as an egotistical, manipulative and even dangerous buffoon, engaging in all manner of ethically corrupt and even illegal behavior to get at the TV host's version of the truth. Every liberal prejudice about Fox News and every tired myth the FDS afflicted suffer from comes rushing forth. There have been great novels in our time that have dealt with our celebrity media culture. Tom Wolfe's Bonfire Of The Vanities comes to mind. Where Wolfe paints with deft, satirical embellishments, Hawley slashes in crude cartoonish strokes.

It's sad, really, because Mr. Hawley is clearly a writer of the first rank. The Fox News angle and the O'Reilly component came off as petty and mean-spirited. As if the writer has a score to settle. But that's what Fox News success does to liberal elites. They simply can't help themselves.


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Before the Fall Noah Hawley Books Reviews

Scott, an undistinguished painter, a recovering alcoholic, and a general sad sack, runs into a woman he knows casually while at the farmer's market on Martha's Vineyard. He's there for the summer to paint, she's there with her family to enjoy life as one of the mega-rich. They chat, she mentions that they'll be returning to New York that evening. Scott intends to return to the city the next morning and is offered a free ride back on their private jet. He accepts. And then the unthinkable happens. The plane crashes into the ocean just minutes after departure killing all on board except Scott and the four year old son of the woman and her renowned husband.

The chapter that follows this terrible crash is one of the most exciting and well written I've read. Scott's disorientation is palpable as he comes to consciousness. The sea is dark, the sky is foggy, no stars can be seen to guide him. And then the whimpering cries of the boy reach his ears. I'm not giving anything away to say that they survived. But why should the plane have crashed? Many authorities believe it to be sabotage. One of the other passengers was about to be indicted for some big financial crime. Speculation runs wild amount the investigation agencies and the press.

We get short chapters defining the personal histories of all the passengers and crew on board. Okay, fine. This device isn't new and usually serves to let the reader have some investment in the outcome. As I stated, the "escape" from the sea was a thrilling bit of writing. The supporting players bios began to get a little tedious as the info was parceled out sparingly. I was losing interest in the outcome at about 70% but stuck with it anyway.

And then, what happened? Suddenly we're at the end and rather than giving the reader a unique and original ending, the author wrapped up the mystery with something ripped right from the headlines. I felt cheated, duped, in fact. So you may want to wait for the price to drop before committing to purchase this book. I will say that the writing is fine but it seems to me that the author merely tacked on an easy ending that took no thought at all.
The hype about this book leaves me scratching my head. Can't believe it got such huge reviews when the writing is clunky and, frankly, boring.
The premise is great. It could have taken off like a rocket and kept you in thrall with such a good story idea. But it doesn't. I kept waiting to be psyched, page-turning like mad, but unfortunately, I found this way underwhelming and several chapters in began to wish I hadn't wasted my time to start with. The cliches, the dull descriptions, the lack of character development on any truly intimate, deeper level - not there. I've always read books for the interesting writing as much as the story. This one lacks both. Something tells me that because this writer is associated with "Fargo," he got green lights and nobody of any real taste in publishing read his book. They just figured "Fargo" was good, so this must be. NOT! Being a great novelist is a whole other bag than a good screenwriter. If you love good writing - or even a good yarn - don't waste your time.
Let me stipulate that Before The Fall was a thoughtful and at times compelling read. The story concerns itself with the ill-fated flight of a private jet with two families aboard, along with the central character, a struggling artist, who finds his life and that of a four year old boy irrevocably altered when the jet plunges into the Long Island Sound. The narrative unfolds as a brooding meditation on fate and the finality of death amid our unforgiving celebrity media culture and the 24 hour news cycle.

Just as the plane falls from the sky, this story falls from grace when the author finds himself unable to resist launching a broad, ham-fisted swipe at Fox News. Fox News and its ascendence to the top of the ratings has time and again brought out the worst in the liberal progressive intelligentsia, and Mr. Hawley proves he too suffers from FDS, Fox News derangement syndrome.

The syndrome manifests itself in a number of ways in Before The Fall. The thinly veiled ALC News a stand in for Fox News channel. Shock news host Bill Cunningham an every more thinly veiled stand in for Bill O'Reilly. The author even went so far as to name Cunningham's attorney "Franken," a taunt at the long-running feud between O'Reilly and the one time SNL comedian Al Franken.

In Hawley's story, the Cunningham character is painted as an egotistical, manipulative and even dangerous buffoon, engaging in all manner of ethically corrupt and even illegal behavior to get at the TV host's version of the truth. Every liberal prejudice about Fox News and every tired myth the FDS afflicted suffer from comes rushing forth. There have been great novels in our time that have dealt with our celebrity media culture. Tom Wolfe's Bonfire Of The Vanities comes to mind. Where Wolfe paints with deft, satirical embellishments, Hawley slashes in crude cartoonish strokes.

It's sad, really, because Mr. Hawley is clearly a writer of the first rank. The Fox News angle and the O'Reilly component came off as petty and mean-spirited. As if the writer has a score to settle. But that's what Fox News success does to liberal elites. They simply can't help themselves.