num_pages: 512
description: It is 1950 and, after a disastrous honeymoon night, Ariah Erskine's young husband throws himself into the roaring waters of Niagara Falls. Ariah, "the Widow Bride of the Falls," begins a relentless seven-day vigil in the mist, waiting for his body to be found. At her side is confirmed bachelor and pillar of the community Dirk Burnaby, who is unexpectedly drawn to this plain, strange woman. What follows is a passionate love affair, marriage, and family--a seemingly perfect existence. But the tragedy by which they were thrown together begins to shadow them, damaging their idyll with distrust, greed, and even murder. Set against the mythic-historic backdrop of Niagara Falls in the mid-twentieth century, this haunting exploration of the American family in crisis is a stunning achievement from "one of the great artistic forces of our time" (The Nation).
language: English
title: The Falls
titlecomplete: The Falls
characters: Bud Stonecrop, Stroughton Howell, Gilbert Erskine, Ariah Juliet Littrell, Dirk Burnaby, Claudine Burnaby, Juliet Burnaby, Royall Burnaby, Reginald Burnaby, Chandler Burnaby, Buzz Fitch, Reverend Thaddeus Littrell, Nina Olshaker, Clyde Colborne
genres: American, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Novels, Adult Fiction, Literature, The United States Of America, Family, Fiction, Contemporary
ratings_count: 10853
places: The United States of America, Niagara Falls, New York
awards: awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: Orange Prize
category: Fiction Longlist, awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: Prix Femina
category: Étranger
publisher: Harper Perennial