The Fallen One

By: Rick Blechta

Narrated by: Christa Lewis

Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Marta Hendriks is onstage at the Metropolitan Opera in New York when she learns of her beloved husband's death in a house fire. Overcome, she collapses and has to be carried off the stage.

Fast-forward two years and countless therapy sessions, and Marta is ready to resume her career. In a stroke of luck, she's hired at the last moment to sing Violetta for the Paris Opera. She manages to keep her emotions under tight control and triumphs in the opening-night performance. During one of her rare days off, relaxing for the first time since her husband's accident, something threatens her newfound peace. When Marta is caught in a sudden downpour, she dashes for the shelter of a subway station and spots someone doing the same. It is her husband. Marta fears she's losing her mind - or did she actually see him? Back home in Toronto, she struggles with her need for the truth at the precipice of madness.

©2012 Rick Blechta (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Haven't finished...can't

FIRST OFF - THIS IS NOT A BAD BOOK.

This book is just NOT for me. Its very heavy on the operatic singing front. I don't know a lot about that and I am not exactly interested in it. Its one thing for opera to be the main character's passion/job/interest but its weaved into almost every sentence. It feels like there is more time spent listening to her talk about how to sing, what shows she wants to do, what is going on in the opera world, how she went from band to singing in college etc than there is about the actual story. I'm not that far into the book but I am bowing out now. And that is something I've only done twice now. I try to see even bad books through. This isn't a bad book; just too heavy on the opera content for me to look past it and focus on the story.

But, if you don't mind a lot of opera talk, then this book won't bother you. if you have a background in performing arts then this book may be perfect for you. I appreciate the arts, but not this much...I'll admit that things are just starting to happen and it was probably a bad time to stop listening, but I think she started in on another in depth discussion about music and I couldn't stay interested.

The narrator does a decent job. I don't too much care for her kind of flippant reading...almost snobbish. But it wasn't part of the reason I stopped listening to the story. She also gave the main character an air of confidence that made it seem like she wouldn't make any mistakes or would come out on top, so to speak. Definitely not the character...she definitely isn't that way...she's not cunning at all. At least not in the beginning. Perhaps she becomes so later in the book. Maybe some other time I will come back and listen to this story...but I doubt it.

SO boring.

Unfortunately, it had promise, but fell as flat as a pancake. Boring and unbelievable.
The writing is sophomoric, and terrible dialog.
I sped it up just to finish and see if there was anything redeeming. There isn't.