Before the Fall by Noah Hawley- Book Review

I had to wait a full day before reviewing Before the Fall by Noah Hawley. The reason why I needed to wait is because I was so upset with the ending of the book that I had to examine why I was so upset. I am so glad I did wait because after really thinking about it, I now think the ending is pretty brilliant.

I got Before the Fall from Book of the Month Club as my main pick this month. If you are interested in Book of the Month, click the link or the banner on the side and use the code "Summer30" to get 30% off a 3 month subscription, a BotM bag, and sunglasses. I was so excited about this book after reading about it.

A small private plane crash happens only a few minutes after it takes off. On the plane is the CEO of a Fox News like news channel, his wife, his daughter, his son, and his bodyguard. Also on the plane is a powerful investment banker who had monies tied up in places he shouldn't have, his wife, and his children. There is also a painter Scott, who was invited onto the plane last minute. Scott paints scenes of tragedies- train crashes, explosions, and plane crashes. There is also the plane crew- the captain, the co-pilot, and the stewardess.

The only survivors of the plane crash (non-spoiler) are Scott and the 4 year old son of the Fox News like station-JJ, who is now stands to inherit a multimillion dollar trust. Scott winds up saving JJ and is called a hero, but as the story begins to unfold, questions about who Scott is and how he got onto the plane start to emerge.

There are two other characters worth mentioning- Bill Cunningham, who is a Bill O'Reilly/Rush Limbaugh type character and Gus, the lead agent in the investigation. There are several more characters who are also fleshed out. These two though take the stage front and center though.

This is really Scott's story as his life is now transformed by the experience. Not only does he have the press constantly breathing down his neck and the investigation that keeps pointing to him as a suspect, but he is in the middle of a life crisis. One doesn't simply walk away from a plane crash where you are one of two survivors and not walk away changed. Scott transforms throughout the book as he comes to grips with what happened vowing to change his life for the better.

The book itself reads kind of like a Lost episode. Not because it deals with a plane crash, but how the story is told. The main story will be told for a few chapters, but as bodies are found or as other revelations come forth, the victims' backstories will be told. Each person has baggage and has reason to play a part in the crash. I will not spoil anything, but if any of them survived instead of Scott, they too would go through what was happening to Scott.

As stated earlier, after finishing the book, I did not like the ending. In fact, I told my wife the ending ruined the book for me. Then I started thinking about the conversation between Bill and Scott. I will not spoil the book at all, but if you are in the same boat as I was, re-read Bill and Scott's conversation and specifically what Scott says toward the end. What Bill does is what we want and Scott lectures the reader as well as Bill. This is why I changed my mind on the ending. I will leave it at that.

This was a fun read, but there came a point where I thought 400 pages was just a bit too long. It wasn't because the story was off, but I just wanted to know the ending and was ready for the book to end. 

I gave this one 4 stars.

Here is the Amazon link- Before the Fall by Noah Hawley