Title: The falls : a novel /
Authors: Oates, Joyce Carol, 1938-
Publisher: Ecco,
Year: 2004
Subjects: Suicide victims Family relationships Fiction; Women New York (State) Fiction; Waterfalls Fiction.; Widows Fiction; Domestic fiction; Niagara Falls (N.Y. and Ont.) Fiction.; Love Canal Chemical Waste Landfill (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) Fiction.; Niagara Falls (N.Y.) Fiction.
Abstract: A stunning, major achievement from Joyce Carol Oates, "one of the great artistic forces of our time" (The Nation). A haunting story of the powerful spell Niagara Falls casts upon two generations of a family, leading to tragedy, love, loss, and, ultimately, redemption. A man climbs over the railings and plunges into Niagara Falls. A newlywed, he has left behind his wife, Ariah Erskine, in the honeymoon suite the morning after their wedding. "The Widow Bride of The Falls," as Ariah comes to be known, begins a relentless, seven-day vigil in the mist, waiting for his body to be found. At her side throughout, confirmed bachelor and pillar of the community Dirk Burnaby is unexpectedly transfixed by the strange, otherworldly gaze of this plain, strange woman, falling in love with her though they barely exchange a word. What follows is their passionate love affair, marriage, and children, a seemingly perfect existence.^
Contents: Honeymoon -- Marriage -- Family.