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beeta_laskowski's review
2.0
A relatively easy read but surprisingly lengthy. The author takes you deep into the mind of the narrator, to the point of numbness. I was getting antsy waiting for any action. I even debated not finishing the book but ultimately decided that given its length, I may as well finish. The last 100 pages or so pick up the pace and wrap up the story well. It's definitely an easy read for a plane ride or a similar location.
nbonz4's review
4.0
Do you ever really know someone? Everyone has secrets. Perhaps we even keep secrets from ourselves. Who are you really?
The Fall Guy is written along this familiar theme. As you read about Charlie, Chloe and Matthew you begin to wonder who these people really are. A short novel about a summer during which Matthew stays with his cousin Charlie and Charlie's wife, there are a lot of undertones that make you wonder. Although it seemed like this story had a bit of superfluousness to it for being so short, it was interesting enough to make you wonder how the summer would end. And who the fall guy will be...
The Fall Guy is written along this familiar theme. As you read about Charlie, Chloe and Matthew you begin to wonder who these people really are. A short novel about a summer during which Matthew stays with his cousin Charlie and Charlie's wife, there are a lot of undertones that make you wonder. Although it seemed like this story had a bit of superfluousness to it for being so short, it was interesting enough to make you wonder how the summer would end. And who the fall guy will be...
ali_w15's review
3.0
It was OK. But of a strange story and I felt that large parts of it were a bit pointless. The ending was a bit of an anticlimax and too many parts of the story were obscure. A bit of an odd one really.
athompson0429's review
mysterious
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
It feels like a cozy, summer thriller. The main character was a dummy, but I still found myself wanting him to get away from everything. That said, the ending made a lot of sense.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism and Infidelity
ridgewaygirl's review
4.0
Well, this was just a lot of fun. James Lasdun's newest book is a suspenseful novel that rushes along until it ends at just the right moment (so hard for authors to get this exactly right). The Fall Guy is Matthew, a chef trying to decide what to do with his life. His cousin Charlie has invited him to spend the summer with him and his wife at their vacation home in an affluent area of upstate New York. Matthew and Charlie have a long history together and Matthew also gets along well with Charlie's wife, Chloe. Sub-letting his apartment and moving into the guest house is a perfect way to give Matthew a financial break and time to think over what he wants to do with his life. The peaceful summer he'd pictured is altered when Matthew begins to suspect that Chloe is having an affair and his curiosity and concern begins to take an ominous turn, even as Charlie and Chloe seem to be losing their affection for him.
Told from only Matthew's point of view, The Fall Guy has an anxious and claustrophobic feel to it. The reader begins to suspect that how Matthew sees things may not be the way the others affected see things and the inability to step away from Matthew's brain adds to the tension as it becomes clearer and clearer that things are going very badly wrong.
James Lasdun may be known for his more literary work, but he knows how to craft a fast-paced and entertaining novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Told from only Matthew's point of view, The Fall Guy has an anxious and claustrophobic feel to it. The reader begins to suspect that how Matthew sees things may not be the way the others affected see things and the inability to step away from Matthew's brain adds to the tension as it becomes clearer and clearer that things are going very badly wrong.
James Lasdun may be known for his more literary work, but he knows how to craft a fast-paced and entertaining novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
johndiconsiglio's review
2.0
Femme fatales may be staples of suspense novels, but even Barbara Stanwyck would be hard pressed to breath life into the cipher at the center of this two-men-&-a-mysterious-beauty plot. Down-on-his-luck chef spends the summer at the Catskills vacation house of his Wall Streeter cousin & his too-perfect wife. Does he catch her in an affair? For a sexual thriller, it’s not very sexy or thrilling. Takes half the book to get rolling. Attempts to pin it all on class and money never stick. Double Indemnity did it better.
nixieknox's review
3.0
Not bad. It was interested to read this kind of book (unreliable narrator) with a male protagonist, and also with the main relationship as familial and not love. I liked, as always, the reveal between the main character's understanding of things and how others see it.
I thought this might turn out differently. Don't want to say too much more before book club :)
I thought this might turn out differently. Don't want to say too much more before book club :)
lemeilleurs's review
3.0
So I'm really just not sure how I feel about this book. First off, I had a really hard time understanding what a "fall guy" is. There was mention of it several times, but never any explanation. So upon looking it up, I learned that a fall guy is someone who is deliberately and falsely accused of something to deflect from the other party. So in saying this, I feel like the title may be slightly deceptive? I guess there is a fall guy of sorts, but it's not overly obvious, in my opinion.
Secondly, I had a hard time getting a grasp on this book. If someone were to ask me what the book was about, up until about 3/4 of the way through, I wouldn't have been able to explain. I might have said, "well, it's about two cousins with very different lifestyles who have reconnected after several years, but still have a strange and strained relationship." Not to mention the Chloe character... the wife of one cousin and weird fantasy of another. Then FINALLY, as the book is coming to a close, the action starts to pick up and I realize, "oh. Well, that's not what it's about at all."
Overall, I'm a bit underwhelmed. The first half of the novel seemed very mundane and slow moving. The last quarter is where all the action was. It took way too long to build up to the "fall" and even then, the ending was so unsatisfying and anticlimactic.
Secondly, I had a hard time getting a grasp on this book. If someone were to ask me what the book was about, up until about 3/4 of the way through, I wouldn't have been able to explain. I might have said, "well, it's about two cousins with very different lifestyles who have reconnected after several years, but still have a strange and strained relationship." Not to mention the Chloe character... the wife of one cousin and weird fantasy of another. Then FINALLY, as the book is coming to a close, the action starts to pick up and I realize, "oh. Well, that's not what it's about at all."
Overall, I'm a bit underwhelmed. The first half of the novel seemed very mundane and slow moving. The last quarter is where all the action was. It took way too long to build up to the "fall" and even then, the ending was so unsatisfying and anticlimactic.