By That Sin Fell the Angels appears to be selling (though I have no idea how well, as of yet) and I’ve gotten a few good ratings over on Goodreads. But so far, not much feedback. (Well, somebody did say that the story would stick with them, which is nice.)
So I was delighted last night to discover that author Lou Sylvre had written a long, thoughtful review of the novel on Goodreads! It was certainly flattering, but more importantly, I was thrilled to see that Lou really connected with the book. I’ve been very concerned that this novel, in particular, would be a hard sell, not only because of the dark territory I was exploring, but also because of my attempt to get inside the heads of the characters, even when those characters were expressing viewpoints I couldn’t condone.
Here’s an excerpt from Lou’s review that addresses that:
Fessenden has the reader ride along with each of these individuals, all of whom seemed destined to spectacularly crash. Gradually, he shows us the shape of things that can be. This is a slow process that’s beautiful and excruciating and taken in stages like blowing glass or turning wood on a lathe. I constantly found myself thinking, “Oh! I didn’t know that.” Or, “I didn’t expect that!” Or sometimes, “Oh, I should have seen that.” And each time I felt that way, it mirrored a character’s experience.
I appreciate the writer’s skill in realizing these characters. Fessenden used multiple third person points of view, and not at any time are they confused, or blurred. In telling the characters’ truth, he has favored none over the others. Yes, I want Jonah to come out with hope, and no I don’t agree with what Isaac believes. But when I’m reading from Isaac’s point of view, I see Isaac, and I know him as a fellow human; I still don’t agree with him, but I understand him. That’s high accomplishment.
The entire review can be found here.
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