Book: We All Fall Down

So I bought Brian Caldwell’s “We All Fall Down” over a year ago and just never got around to reading it. It was yet another end-of-the-world-in-Armegeddon novel and I haven’t been in the mood to read it. However, a couple weeks ago I chose it as my latest book to read.

Think “Left Behind” was too wimpy? Think the Christ Clone trilogy was more realistic? Well, “Fall Down” was not wimpy and was even more horrifyingly realistic than the other two. “Left Behind” is the feel-good version of the end times, and Christ Clone Trilogy is the slightly darker version. “Fall Down”? Well, it’s the version you hope doesn’t come true. It’s the version you hope you don’t have to live through because it’s so overwhelming and dark that no one in their right mind would make it.

This story follows Jim, a man who lost his wife to the Rapture and resents God and everyone around him for the loss. In his head he knows what has happened, but instead of taking a step of faith based on his knowledge, he chooses to reject God even as he decides to try and save his father and an old girlfriend who were also left behind. What ensues over the next seven years in Jim’s life is a picture of post-Rapture life that is unspeakable in it’s horror.

The question is, though, did I like the book? Well, I’m not sure. The language was atrocious – it’s up there with “Scarface” or “Glengarry Glen Ross”, two films noted for their abundant cursing. And the lead character was not likeable in the least, which was obviously the author’s intention. Having said that, the descriptions of post-Rapture life were like a bad car accident – you know you shouldn’t look as you drive by, but you can’t help it.