Amy Falls Down

A Novel

By: Jincy Willett

Narrated by: Amy McFadden

Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Finalist, Literary Fiction, 2014

Amy Gallup is an aging novelist and writing instructor living in Escondido, California, with her dog, Alphonse. Since recent unsettling events, she has made some progress. While she still has writer's block, she doesn't suffer from it. She's still a hermit, but she has allowed some of her class members into her life. She is no longer numb, angry, and sardonic: she is merely numb and bemused, which is as close to happy as she plans to get. Amy is calm.

So, when on New Year's morning she shuffles out to her backyard garden to plant a Norfolk pine, she is wholly unprepared for what happens next. Amy falls down. A simple accident, as a result of which something happens, and then something else, and then a number of different things, all as unpredictable as an eight-ball break. At first the changes are small, but as these small events carom off one another, Amy's life changes in ways that range from ridiculous to frightening to profound. This most reluctant of adventurers is dragged and propelled by train, plane, and automobile through an outlandish series of antic media events on her way to becoming - to her horror - a kind of celebrity. And along the way, as the numbness begins to wear off, she comes up against something she has avoided all her life: her future, that "sleeping monster, not to be poked."

Amy Falls Down explores, through the experience of one character, the role that accident plays in all our lives. "You turn a corner and beasts break into arias, gunfire erupts, waking a hundred families, starting a hundred different conversations. You crack your head open and three thousand miles away a stranger with Asperger’s jump-starts your career." We are all like Amy. We are all wholly unprepared for what happens next. Also, there’s a basset hound.

©2013 Jincy Willett (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Hilarious, profound, original and deeply engaging

I've listened to dozens of audiobooks, and Amy Falls Down is among my handful of top favorites. It's leading feature is a hilarious, mordant, and incisive wit; I can't think at the moment of a funnier book. It nails so much about writing, teaching writing, the book industry, and about so many aspects of American life in the last decade or two. But at a deeper level, it's poignant look at managing our inner lives, learning who we are (which can be surprising) and figuring out tolerance, generosity, and what to do about other people.

When I finished it, I was disappointed it was over; I wanted to spend more time with Amy. I considered starting to listen again, or going to find more of Willett's work. But I've noticed that when you find a book that is quite a jewel, it might be better just to pause, in regard to that author's work, and let the book you enjoyed so much just revolve in your mind. So I think I'll choose something quite different while letting it settle, and then pick it up again later.

A Work of Art

Among the most engaging and well written fiction I have ever encountered. Thoroughly enjoyable and brilliantly performed.

What a disappointment

What would have made Amy Falls Down better?

The reviews about this book led me to believe it was funny and enjoyable. It was very difficult to connect with the characters, to follow the narrator and to follow the story line. 5 chapters in and I'm calling it a day and returning this book.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Anything Fanny Flagg

How could the performance have been better?

The story telling could have been more dynamic and voices for characters could have been more distinct

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Really...no

Any additional comments?

I will stick with authors I am familiar with or who come recommended by friends

Enough Already!!

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Someone who could listen to someone drone on and on about nothing attentively.

What was most disappointing about Jincy Willett’s story?

Boring

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I think narrator did as best as one could with the material.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Sleepiness

Any additional comments?

Could not finish this book.

If you're a writer, maybe...

This book seemed like the author just had a bunch of story plots and didn't know what to do with them, so she just wrote a book about a writer where she could dump them all into one book without developing them.

As I'm not a writer, I don't really care so much about the process as I do the finished product, so this was of no interest to me. Writers might find it fun, even inspirational. I wanted to know more about Amy and her dog and her life. As it was, this book just bored me. I got halfway through and gave up. Maybe it would have redeemed itself, but there are too many good books out there to waste another 5 hours on this one, and many of the other reviews confirmed my suspicion that it wouldn't come around.

Didn't get it

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

More interesting story

Would you listen to another book narrated by Amy McFadden?

Not sure

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment

Any additional comments?

I should have reviewed this after I quit half way through. I just wasn't very interested in the main character's life and portrayal.

Struggled to finish

I was prepared to love this book, but it never really grabbed me. I did like Amy as a character, as a person, but the story itself rambled a lot about the book writing world. I just wasn't that excited to do my listen-session for the day. There were moments, I cheered for her success. But overall, I just finished it simply because I hate to quit on a book.

Such a disappointment

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I really don't know who would enjoy this book.

Has Amy Falls Down turned you off from other books in this genre?

I can't really tell what genre this book fits into.

What didn’t you like about Amy McFadden’s performance?

Her delivery seemed almost manic.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

i could not get far enough into this book to distinguish any redeeming qualities.

Any additional comments?

I have taken to reading reviews to better choose my books but I thought the reviews on this book were misleading. I love words but the writer seemed just throw as many words as possible into her writing, where less would have been better. I will be returning this book after many attempts to read it have failed.

Totally uninteresting. No plot.

Would you try another book from Jincy Willett and/or Amy McFadden?

no

What could Jincy Willett have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The characters were not developed, hard to follow who was who. Hard to listen to all the way through. Totally uninteresting book. Do not recommend it to anyone.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Good narrator. I would listen to her again.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Amy Falls Down?

All of them.

Any additional comments?

Narcissitic

What would have made Amy Falls Down better?

Omitting her name so many times. I was bored through the first half and stopped listening

Would you ever listen to anything by Jincy Willett again?

No

Which scene was your favorite?

None

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Boredom

Any additional comments?

no