Sarah O'Connor

I received this book from Playwrights Canada Press in exchange for an honest review.

“Lily: They’re all dead now,” (Act 1, Prologue, 14).

An adaption of Ann-Marie Macdonald’s novel of the same name, the play follows piano tuner James Piper and his thirteen-year-old wife Materia Mahmoud, their four daughters Kathleen, Frances, Mercedes, and Lily. Dark secrets are unearthed as each daughter tries to find their place in the world, haunted by the mistakes of the past and, somehow, finding joy hidden as well.

I’m not one usually drawn to large generational stories, but that may have changed now that I’ve read Fall On Your Knees. I had never heard of this novel before being sent the adapted play by Playwrights Canada Press, but I do remember the play itself being put on in Toronto a couple years back. I remember being intrigued by it then, and regret not seeing it now.

Fall On Your Knees is a hard story to read because at it’s core it’s about generational trauma, most notably pedophilia and sexual assault. I think Moscovitch did a great job exploring these themes and showing how this trauma began and how it affected the generations of Piper’s differently. I thought Materia was an incredibly interesting character and also liked the discussion of race that surrounded her character and children in comparison to Black characters who became more present throughout the play. I liked how different the Piper sister’s were and the slow ways that the secrets, and trauma, was revealed to have affected all of them and how they all coped with it differently. I struggled with James’ character. I think Moscovitch was trying to show him as he was, just as tortured though the catalyst for the trauma. I thought he was shown in a fairly sympathetic light but I don’t know if I would have been as kind portraying him as such.

Fall On Your Knees is truly an epic play and I plan on reading the novel soon to see what differences there are between the two but also to get back into these characters stories. I loved reading this play and hope to get the chance to see it performed one day but will at least look at Ann-Marie Macdonald’s novels in the meantime.

Publication: November 14 2023
Publisher: Playwrights Canada Press
Pages: 288 pages (Paperback)
Source: Playwrights Canada Press
Genre: Fiction, Adaption, Canada, Play, LGTBQ2S+
My Rating: ⛤⛤⛤⛤
Summary:

In an adaptation of the classic Canadian novel, this epic play follows three generations of a Cape Breton Island family in a tale of forbidden love, inescapable bonds, and devastating betrayals, all while harbouring secrets that threaten to shatter the family entirely.
At the dawn of the twentieth century, a young piano tuner named James Piper and thirteen-year-old Materia Mahmoud fall into a whirlwind romance. As their family grows, the couple is strained by dark revelations that lead to dangerous consequences. Their headstrong daughters Kathleen, Frances, Mercedes, and Lily grow up haunted but fiercely connected in ways they must learn to fully understand. A richly layered story by turns both heartbreaking and joyous, Fall On Your Knees is a vivid portrayal of love, desire, and the quest for truth and redemption.