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After the Fall

by Kylie Ladd (Goodreads Author)

3.45 of 5 stars 3.45 · rating details · 290 ratings · 76 reviews

“That’s the thing about falling. It doesn’t go on indefinitely, and it rarely ends well...”

In her page-turning fiction debut, neuropsychologist Kylie Ladd delivers a searing portrait of two marriages united and betrayed by friendship.

“I had been married three years when I fell in love,” begins Kate, a firecracker of a woman who thought she’d found the yin to her yang in C...more

Hardcover, 304 pages

Published June 15th 2010 by Doubleday (first published March 2009)

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May 14, 2013 Rebecca rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, don-t-read

I won this book. (Thank You Good Reads) I'm afraid, however I do not like to read about other's bad choices. I don't want to think that an affair is exciting or anything close to it. It seems that no matter what I read it becomes a little bit a part of me, and this is one is not worth it!

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Feb 06, 2013 Chris Howe rated it 4 of 5 stars

OK, I gotta admit right up front that Kylie’s book does not fall into what would traditionally be on my ‘must-read radar’. Or of any of my read radars. For starters: no Nazis. No car chases. Not even a gun. I mean, no guns WTF? All good writers when they sit down at their desks should think “What would Matthew Reilly do?”. When stuff gets interesting she doesn't use italics to let her readers know. Again, Mr Best-Cussing-Seller Reilly does that.

That said, it’s not shit at all.

In fact, it was a s...more OK, I gotta admit right up front that Kylie’s book does not fall into what would traditionally be on my ‘must-read radar’. Or of any of my read radars. For starters: no Nazis. No car chases. Not even a gun. I mean, no guns WTF? All good writers when they sit down at their desks should think “What would Matthew Reilly do?”. When stuff gets interesting she doesn't use italics to let her readers know. Again, Mr Best-Cussing-Seller Reilly does that.

That said, it’s not shit at all.

In fact, it was a surprisingly cracking read. I may be unable to read about good looking & rich people with problems without thinking boo-the-fuck-hoo (I struggled with The Chimney Sweeper’s Boy by Barbara Vine for exactly the same reason, I just didn't give a fuck about the characters). However, Kylie is a wordsmith. The dilemmas feel genuine and repercussions aren't solved with easy solutions. The characters evolve in a satisfactory manner. To her great horror, I may even classify the book as a page-turner (take THAT, literary snobs!).

Maybe it comes from Kylie’s dilly-dallying in the topic previously (you'll have to Google that, no not google images you sick… sigh…) but the plot feels real. I don’t know if you can compliment a book much more than by saying the suspension of disbelief was complete and the book itself completely enjoyable.

Chicks’ll dig it. Guys, I recorded UFC 110 Sydney. Let’s go watch it again because I’m feeling icky from reading chic-rom-lit-fic.

Lastly a public service announcement: Kylie Ladd is moving to a small country town in Northern Western Australia. You know people are going to start getting murdered once she does because of her… bio. She’s perfect murder story heroine fodder. Every thriller book has the small town cop who’s a single parent, the evil clergyman or the local Native American who just happens to know all the old stories (yes, even in Broome).

Well, Kylie is a highly regarded psychologist slash published author. If you don’t run screaming for the hills when she moves in next door you’ve got rocks in your head.

To top it off her husband is a IT specialist, which obviously really means “hacker”. Psychologists and hackers always live in Murderville.

Should I go on? (The answer is always yes). The cute-as-a-button psychologist loves her hacker husband and finds him adorable, despite the fact he’s not as handsome or suave as the single-parent cop who comes around to ask her for her help with a murder case. Hacker hubby helps her, right up to the point the psychopath traces the hacks back to her house and viciously kills him. You can see it, can’t you? Murder will follow Kylie because it MUST. Terry Pratchett called it narrativium.

Broome residents, you’ve been warned: get out. But come back for her wedding to the cop. It takes several books worth of murders so NOT TOO SOON! And don’t be a bridesmaid. I’m just saying.(less)

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Apr 27, 2012 Laura Rittenhouse rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book gives the plot away on the first page - a woman is devastated after a bad love gone bad. Then the book weaves the stories of the 4 protagonists (with a couple of other minor characters) into a single narrative where each chapter is told (roughly chronologically) in the first person by one of the 4 people most affected by this dramatic love affair.

I liked the style - very little little action but moving experiences nonetheless. I enjoyed the story - never pretending to be a happy tale a...more

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Oct 26, 2011 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

I don't think I could look my husband in the eye for at least an hour after i read this one and I didn't even do it!!!

A book told for many different point of views: a wife cheats on her husband, a husband chests on his wife, and it devastates everyone.

I read this one in about a day and a half, unable to put it down once I got wrapped in the scandal of Kate and Luke. My heart was literally pounding, wondering why they would do it and how they would make it out the other side in one piece. You fe...more

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Jun 29, 2011 Danielle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: early-review, wow-that-is-a-bargain, own, betrayal, divorce, love, jealousy, marriage, moving-on, sex

For me, reading "After the Fall" was like walking out from a dark house into a summer afternoon...there is so much light shed on things that it is overwhelming. The reader is given not only the point of view of each of the four main characters, but also, intermittently, of the offending spouces' best friends. You know exactly how everyone feels, what they are and are not willing to admit, and what ridiculous and unrealistic expectations they each have. This overabundance of information also serv...more

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Aug 23, 2010 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars

After the Fall by Kylie Ladd
This is very different from the books I usually read, but I decided to give it a try since it was written by a psychotherapist. I am in a long time monogamous marriage, but I know several couples who have had the "best friends romance" happen to them. I am always curious as to why people would endanger a good marriage to a sexual fling.I am not sure I understand it better after reading this book. It seems it just happens, I do feel that Kate was not necessarily going...more

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Feb 10, 2012 James Tierney rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After the Fall's narrative cycles almost entirely around the voices of four people, two couples. Kate & Cary, Cressida & Luke.
Initially friends, a mad insistent need draws Kate and Luke out of companionship into infidelity.

Displaying remarkable skill, Kylie Ladd has a different character narrate each chapter, intensifying a reader's reaction to each, as well as managing to weave the plot beautifully amongst the perspectives.

This close ear to each character's voice is key as it draws on...more

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Aug 23, 2010 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2010

"After the Fall" tells the story on an affair from rotating first-person perspectives from each of the players involved in the story. It's an interesting hook and conceit for the story and it almost feels a bit voyeuristic as we get inside the heads of each person involved in the affair.

Luke and Kate are married to other people--Cressida and Cary. The two couples maintain a friendship, hanging out together, taking vacations together, etc. Luke and Kate are extremely outgoing while Cressida and C...more

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Aug 25, 2010 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mainstream, literary

This review originally appeared on www.readinasinglesitting.com

Kylie Ladd’s debut After the Fall is a perfect example of the sort of book I shouldn’t begin reading late at night. It’s the sort of book that robs me of my sleep, although not because it’s full of harrowing scenes and terrifying monsters, but rather because, like a packet of Tim Tams, it just demands to be finished.

Curiously, and perhaps not entirely evidently from the initial pages, the book’s title encompasses a multiplicity of me...more This review originally appeared on www.readinasinglesitting.com

Kylie Ladd’s debut After the Fall is a perfect example of the sort of book I shouldn’t begin reading late at night. It’s the sort of book that robs me of my sleep, although not because it’s full of harrowing scenes and terrifying monsters, but rather because, like a packet of Tim Tams, it just demands to be finished.

Curiously, and perhaps not entirely evidently from the initial pages, the book’s title encompasses a multiplicity of meanings, and upon reflection can be aptly applied to a number of the themes that can be picked out from this deceptively slight novel. The most blatant of these is, of course, that of adultery and deceit, and the fall from moral grace that accompanies each. However, the novel also seeks to tease out the precariousness that comes with falling in and out of love, as well as the ease with which it is possible to slip between different phases of life. But lest the above make you wary that After the Fall is a finger-pointing proselytising read, rest assured: Ladd weaves a careful narrative that considers rather than judges, illuminates rather than condemns. It is, though, a challenging read at times, and quite a confronting one, and no doubt many a reader will find themselves staring thoughtfully at the curled up figure of their partner lying at their side. There are a dozen themes and issues that, after reading this book, I’m turning over in my mind—oh, to set this novel as a bookclub read!

After the Fall is a confession of sorts, a choral retelling of the slowly amassing events and opportunities that lead to an affair between two seemingly happily married individuals. Interestingly, Ladd focuses less on the why of the affair in question and more on the how and the what, an approach that some may find frustrating, but that gives the story a raw and honest tone. We see the characters as they see themselves, and our perspectives of them are focused through the lens of their actions, past and present, more than any sort of expository justification or search for salvation. It’s an almost voyeuristic approach, with the reader positioned in the role of the knowledgeable friend: privy to what is going on, but all but helpless when it comes to taking any action to address the situation. Indeed, in addition to the four main narrators, Ladd draws in the perspectives of two others who are friends with those embroiled in the affair. These perspectives are intriguing in that these additional narrators are representative of the what could have been—Kate’s friend Sarah is a mother of three, admittedly harried and frustrated, but largely content with her lot, while Tim, a school-friend of flighty Luke, has recently found himself in a promising, stable relationship. The particular narrative asides of these characters serve the role of the Greek chorus, or perhaps of a bard or minor character in a Shakespearean play: reflecting, contrasting, juxtaposing. At some times the vignettes told from the perspectives of these characters do feel a little heavy-handed, working to highlight and clarify particular themes or moral dilemmas, but the characters themselves are well-rounded enough that their occasional appearances do not feel intrusive.

The main narrative is told in a series of alternating scenes by each of the affected: Kate and Luke, and their spouses, Cary and Cressida. While initially the clamour of voices is a little difficult to follow—this is partly due to the brevity of the first few scenes, as well as the fact that the book uses a first-person viewpoint for each character—the device is effective, as it clearly illustrates the myriad voices and perspectives involved in a situation such as that described in the novel. The novel begins almost at its climax, the admission of the affair, but then circles back to trace its evolution, and the frenetic introduction gradually subsides into something softer, more measured as the characters seem to take a breath and reflect on the events that have led to their current situation.

Kate is an extravert, vivacious and outgoing, and is someone who acknowledges but scarcely reflects on her past (and often questionable) actions. A chance and curious meeting at the Melbourne Cup leads to her developing a relationship with the considerably more quiet Cary, whose film-star moniker is a painful reminder of all the things others have dreamt for him throughout his life. Their relationship is less than passionate, but Cary provides the counterweight to Kate’s teetering rapidity, and the two press on towards a life of domesticity, although in retrospect, both might agree that this is perhaps due to the a lack of a better alternative. This is highlighted in the scene where Kate, harassed by a well-meaning friend over whether her ‘big day’ will ever eventuate, demands an on-the-spot proposal from Cary, who shruggingly capitulates. Leaving a slumbering Cary in bed, Kate goes out the next morning to purchase her own engagement ring. Cary’s surprise at her purchase is palpable: the ring is vastly different from what he would have chosen. To what extent, he wonders, is it possible to truly know someone?

But wonders whether it is really the lack of knowledge of a person that is in question here. Perhaps it is more to do with the little compromises one makes, the little quirks, annoyances, behaviours, that one ignores under the guise of maintaining one’s happiness, contentment, the status quo. This, it seems, is the case for Cressida and Luke, who are the sort of couple who pair up perhaps less out of love than out of social expectation. They are the real life equivalent of a television couple: strong, successful, driven—with their blonde good looks they’re even aesthetically compatible. Cressida receives tacit kudos from Luke’s friends and acquaintances for having ‘tamed’ him; Luke is respected for having given up his partying ways. But with their roles so frankly defined, one has to wonder whether this brings the antithesis of that role so much closer, and so much more desirable. Luke’s womanising prowess is something that has defined him, and it is a role that he has been cast into and out of in quite a visible way. There is almost an expectation that he will cheat on Cressida, and when anthropologist Kate ingratiates herself into the two-person village he has created with Cressida, well, let’s just say she manages a truly emic encounter.

It is perhaps the fact of the affair that is so painful to read. There is no one instigating point or force or reason: initially, the two seem only to be attracted to each other purely because the opportunity has arisen, and indeed, as the relationship progresses, one can’t help but wonder whether it is doing so because neither party is sure how to escape what has been set in motion. Guided by inertia, their affair facilitated by their partners’ long working hours and quiet truet, they continue doing what they are doing until other forces demand that things change: Cressida accepts an overseas placement, and Cary confronts Kate about beginning a family. It’s curious that such an ultimatum would arise amidst both relationships—perhaps the wronged parties are more aware of the reality of the affair than anyone, including themselves, is willing to let on.

Curiously, After the Fall ends in a rather more up-beat way than I might have imagined from the raw, almost cruel, narrative that precedes it, and I must admit that I’m almost grateful for this turn. It doesn’t feel tacked on, however, or that the author has taken an easy way out: rather, the denouement remains true to the characters, and actually serves to underscore or elucidate (and in some cases, hint at a possible repetition) a lot of the behaviour or reasoning that has gone on throughout. In part, this shift works because of the cyclical approach of the narrative: the thoughtful, retrospective vignettes at the beginning of the novel do, upon reflection, provide an opening for hope.(less)

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Oct 27, 2010 Isavirtue rated it 4 of 5 stars

I quite liked this book. Although it was difficult at times to keep straight who was married to whom. It was well written and uiquely organized - not just telling the story from beginning to end. I also appreciated the interesting Australian setting.

The author really assisted you in getting inside these characters heads. What I took away most about the author though was her honesty. Even when the characters had made the choice of their marriage partner over their affair partner, and you, as a re...more

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Jul 07, 2010 Staci rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010-reads

Thoughts: I've never made any bones about the way I view adultery....it's wrong and I don't care what your reasons are for crossing the line. This book made me uncomfortable because I can see how easy it is for someone to cheat and why they feel they're validated in doing so. I never felt close to Luke or Kate (the cheating spouses), in fact, I really had a hard time feeling anything but disgust for these two characters. I thought the author did a great job of telling the story...you get to know...more

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Jun 13, 2012 Jessica Smith-harper rated it 4 of 5 stars

Oh, the tangled seaweed drowning of affairs. This book does, as promised, capture the "origin and fallout" of the affair that destroys two marriages, and does it beautifully. My complaint is this: the entire novel, though broken into chapters from the viewpoints of various characters, reads like Kate. The multiple voices effect only works if you can feel - not just read - every heart. And I could only feel Kate's. This book would lose none of the plot and probably gain in the characterization (C...more

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Sep 12, 2010 Bree T rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

fter the Fall is the story of two couples, Kate & Cary, Luke & Cressida. Cary and Cressida work together, so the two couples meet through that and become good friends. They are all at a wedding when suave, good-looking Luke sees Kate standing off to the side, staring longingly at the dance floor. Cary, who doesn’t dance, is outside, trying to escape the possibility of having to. Cressida is in the bathroom, so Luke asks Kate to dance. It is an innocent act that will quickly become not-so...more fter the Fall is the story of two couples, Kate & Cary, Luke & Cressida. Cary and Cressida work together, so the two couples meet through that and become good friends. They are all at a wedding when suave, good-looking Luke sees Kate standing off to the side, staring longingly at the dance floor. Cary, who doesn’t dance, is outside, trying to escape the possibility of having to. Cressida is in the bathroom, so Luke asks Kate to dance. It is an innocent act that will quickly become not-so when the two kiss passionately and intensely in front of everyone, in front of their returning spouses. Cary and Cressida are forgiving of this indiscretion, probably more forgiving than I would be, but quickly there is the law laid down that there will be no more socialising. No more cosy foursome dinners and weekends away to the river.

But with Cary and Cressida working at the same hospital, they can’t go forever without the four being in the same room again. At a hospital fundraiser trivia night, Cressida is called upstairs to a patient, Cary away to fix the temperamental sound equipment. Luke and Kate take advantage of their spouses absence to rekindle what started at that wedding. This time though, there is nothing to stop them. They fall headlong into an affair, they fall headlong into love, they fall headlong into an obsession.

It’s written in an interesting way – the chapters are short, clipped, almost abrupt. They alternate points of view between Kate, Cary, Luke and Cressida so you get all four sides, but with a personal touch rather than just being told in a distant third person sort of way. They read like the characters are speaking directly to you, like you’re their therapist or their counsellor. Like they’re answering questions you have asked them. It was a very effective tool, I thought, because it places you right in there. You’re involved, whether you want to be or not! You get into each of the characters, you hear from them, you get to know them, you feel for them. And given I’m a massive voyeur who loves to peek into people’s lives, this is like story-telling gold for me.

It was impossible not to get swept away with this novel as it unfolded. I was amazed and yet disturbed at how easily these two characters fell into such a fully-fledged affair and how easy it was that they kept it hidden for so long. They saw each other nearly ever day, leading to their work being affected, such was their obsession, their total immersion into this affair. It brought me back to the themes in books recently read, both The Pilot’s Wife and The Post-Birthday World: how well do we really know someone? Especially when that someone is our spouse? The person we have chosen to marry, chosen to spend the rest of our lives with and yet – how well, really? Cary and Cressida seem blithely unaware of this affair as it carries on, apparently secure in the knowledge that the temptation has been removed now that the two couples do not socialise. How many people have found out their partner has had an affair and said ‘I never knew a thing’. This book shows you just how freaking easy it is for two people to fall into one. To fall into the subterfuge, the guilt (but not enough guilt to stop!), the deception, the pure thrill of the forbidden. The affair is discovered by mere chance, the discovery enough. Neither Cressida nor Cary demand the details (as I would, I have to know everything, even things that would cause me considerable pain) but it’s clear that it’s no longer the case of just a kiss anymore. It’s so much more than that now.

Despite the fact that your sympathies automatically go to the injured parties Cary and Cressida, it didn’t mean that I loathed Luke and Kate for their wrong doing and betrayal. At times, I did dislike them intensely for their cavalier attitudes to their partners, their carelessness but I was so fascinated by them and so drawn in by the story that I couldn’t get angry at the book. I did find Kate much more palatable than Luke and that the session Cressida has him attend with the therapist nails him aptly: the longed-for son, subject to adoring female attention his whole life, good-looking and with a truckload of conquests behind him. Although he intends to stay faithful to Cressida, it’s without surprise that he doesn’t. He’s shallow, self-involved and smug: ‘For seven months I was the happiest man in the world. Who wouldn’t have been? Two beautiful women whose faces lit up when they saw me, one always available if the other was elsewhere’. He shows very little remorse at all. When Cressida wants to apply for a fellowship overseas, he is quite happy to tell Kate that they’ll just be ‘on hold’ and pick up exactly where they left off after the two years of the fellowship is over and he returns from overseas. It’s that kind of attitude that has me skeptical that he ever loved either Cressida or Kate – he married Cressida seemingly because she was beautiful, well bred, and he says he loves her but he never actually shows that he loves her. With Kate, she is sick sick sick at the thought of Luke leaving to go overseas (indeed, she barely coped when she was parted from him for a week over Christmas) but Luke seems mostly unaffected by it other than being a bit angry when Cressida informs him she wants to apply. It is also Kate that forces things to a head with Luke, offering him the choice of Cressida or her and he must choose before the verdict on the fellowship comes back. She is forced into action, whereas he would’ve been happily passive.

Not only is it difficult to read this novel as a fiance (did I mention my husband works nights? Up to 3 hours away? And often doesn’t get home until after midnight (or does he???) when I’m long in bed) it’s also hard to read as a mother. Cressida works in paediatrics, with children who have cancer and the story of Emma, her first patient, woven so cleverly into this tale, is heartbreaking. Equally as heartbreaking were the scenes featuring Emma’s parents and her little sister Shura. I just wanted to scoop her up and hug her and tell her that it was okay, she was special too. And yet I sympathized so much with her distracted parents as they watched their older daughter deteriorate. I’d have read a whole book on just that family even if I bawled my entire way through it. Sick kids are my Achilles heel. And sick old people…. oh wait, this book has that too!

Is this book for everyone? No, probably not. But if you can get past the subject matter and dive in, then you’ll find yourself praying that you’ve got a lot of oxygen in your tank because you won’t want to come up for air. It’s addictive and mesmerizing and you’ll keep turning pages until you reach the ending. The pacing is quick, the style conducive to being utterly devoured. Anyone who reads my blog knows I like neatly tied up endings, they don’t always have to be happy, but I usually like to be left without questions if the novel is stand-alone. This one leaves me with plenty, and lots of reflections and I’m still mulling it over right now.(less)

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Jun 22, 2010 Rich Stoehr rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: amazon-vine

I was surprised, while reading Kylie Ladd's debut novel After the Fall, by just how completely I was drawn in. With hints and suggestions and teases I fell into this story. Its not an easy subject to tackle, but Ladd does so with admirable honesty and with a compelling narrative line from beginning to end.

The subject of After the Fall is adultery - or on a broader scale, the ebb and flow of intimate relationships, marriages, and love. Conventional wisdom would say that in such a story (as in mos...more I was surprised, while reading Kylie Ladd's debut novel After the Fall, by just how completely I was drawn in. With hints and suggestions and teases I fell into this story. Its not an easy subject to tackle, but Ladd does so with admirable honesty and with a compelling narrative line from beginning to end.

The subject of After the Fall is adultery - or on a broader scale, the ebb and flow of intimate relationships, marriages, and love. Conventional wisdom would say that in such a story (as in most stories) there's a right side and a wrong side, but Ladd's tactic here is to allow each perspective to speak fairly, without taking sides. With four main characters, there is no clear-cut 'bad guy' and no obvious 'good guy' - no heroes, no villains. Just people with honest feelings and justifications for what they did. The characters feel genuine and three-dimensional, not cardboard cutouts or stereotypes. I was sometimes happy with each of them, and at other times frustrated by their choices and mistakes. In each of them I saw aspects of men and women I've known. And, if I am really honest, aspects of myself too.

After the Fall is told in turns by each of the four characters, and occasionally one of their acquaintances gets a short chance at the narration. Mostly, though, we get the story in snippets from Kate, Cary, Luke, and Cressida, the four main people involved. No one gets more than a few pages at a time before jumping to a new point of view. Sometimes it's even shorter; you might see a paragraph or two from Cary and then jump back a little and get a couple pages from Kate, then jump forward and have a page or three from Luke. It's a clever trick, but it doesn't come off as gimmicky. Instead, it lets the story spin out naturally. At one point while I was reading it I realized it was 1:30 in the morning and I had gone over halfway through the book without even noticing the time. To me, that's a hallmark of a story well told.

It came as no surprise to me to learn that Ladd is a psychologist. The early passages read a little like overheard therapy sessions, and the tone overall is slightly distant and clinical. I thought this would be a weakness, but the effect soon wore off as I was drawn into the story and got to know the characters.

In the end, I was impressed by After the Fall. It's a fast, compelling read with rich, believable characters and true insight into a difficult issue. Many will doubtless hate this story, for its balanced perspective, for its honesty, and because its a painful subject in the first place. For those same reasons, I admire it, and I admire Kylie Ladd for writing it. I look forward to more from her. (less)

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May 24, 2010 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a thought provoking exploration of an affair without judgement and almost brutal honesty. The author manages to suspend moral judgement without sacrificing empathy. It's not an easy subject to read about and may be too raw for someone who has had a similar experience but the honesty is refreshing.
The author uses alternating first person of the adulterers, their partners and friends with distinct voices. Each of the characters are well developed and the transition between perspectives is...more

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Aug 05, 2012 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I happened to read a random tweet a few weeks ago – the person said that Kylie Ladd’s novel, After the Fall, was the “…best book they had EVER read.” I replied – “Have you read Last Summer?” (the most recent book by Ladd, which I really enjoyed). They had read Last Summer but apparently it didn’t come close to After the Fall.

I always feel compelled to read a book that someone else claims is their ‘absolute favourite’. Personally, I can’t narrow down to one favourite – I love a handful of differe...more

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May 11, 2012 Dani Peloquin rated it 2 of 5 stars

Next month, Kylie Ladd’s first novel titled After the Fall will hit bookstores and libraries. Of all the pre-release novels that I have read, I have to say that I was most disappointed in this one. Perhaps some of the fault lies in the fact that it is Ladd’s debut novel, and therefore needs some more polishing. However, there is no escaping the fact that the novel is (overall) weak.

The plot is extremely simple and one that has been used any times before in movies, books, plays, tv shows, etc: ad...more Next month, Kylie Ladd’s first novel titled After the Fall will hit bookstores and libraries. Of all the pre-release novels that I have read, I have to say that I was most disappointed in this one. Perhaps some of the fault lies in the fact that it is Ladd’s debut novel, and therefore needs some more polishing. However, there is no escaping the fact that the novel is (overall) weak.

The plot is extremely simple and one that has been used any times before in movies, books, plays, tv shows, etc: adultery. Kate and Cary have been married a couple of years and their life together appears perfect. Kate is an extrovert who enjoys parties and flirting while her husband is introverted and loves to watch his wife work the crowd. Though Kate catches the eye of both men and women, she never dreams of falling in love with someone other than Cary. The second couple in the novel, Cressida and Luke, who haven’t been married as long as Kate and Cary and who seem to be comfortable in their relationship even if they are not completely happy. Luke is a tease and will lead women on even though he has no intention of being unfaithful to his wife. Cressida is not proud of Luke’s intense flirtation with other women, but she rests assured that he is handsome and all hers. Trouble begins when the two couples meet and become friends. It is not long before Kate and Luke become entranced with each other and share an adulterous kiss and at wedding. They are caught and agree to never speak to each other again. Of course that makes their forbidden love even more enticing, and the two being an illicit affair.

What makes the novel so disappointing is that it doesn’t bring anything new to the classic story of adultery and betrayal. Ladd tells the story from each viewpoint and bounces back and forth between the four people involved. This was interesting, but only to a point. Instead of delving into the minds and psyches of these characters, it left them as two dimensional and further perpetuated the stereotype of cheating and cheaters.
At times, the viewpoints seem to read almost like case studies and not even like a novel. The multiple narrations became even worse when Ladd integrated the viewpoints of Luke’s best friend and two of Kate’s friends. Both characters are moralizers and attempt to summarize the importance of monogamy and the disappointment of all people involved when someone betrays his/her spouse.This seemed unnecessary and took away from whatever story there was. The writing was decent but filled with cliches and statements that were supposed to make a bang but inevitably fell flat.

Overall, I was clearly disappointed. I do believe that Ladd has potential to be a good writer but this book, unfortunately, does not show that. I did like how she focused solely on the affair and act of adultery. However, I would still like her to delve deeper by making the characters more three dimensional and real. With some more work on writing and plot/character development, I think that she could write a great book in the future.

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Jan 07, 2013 Marci Glasgow-Haire rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a story of infidelity and its consequences. I love how true the emotions read, but then the book was written by a psychologist, so I'm assuming the characters were a mash-up of real clients. In the beginning, I was afraid it might trigger some very strong emotions in me, but the author kept us a step removed (a clinical distance?) from the passion. It was realistic, though, in that some of the characters didn't have closure by the end of the book. So, to recap: cheating spouses, human re...more

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Aug 21, 2012 N.C. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-fiction

Here's a random and completely uninteresting fact for you - I seem to be reading a lot of these kinds of books recently.

Anyway...

So the premise of the story is an affair between two individuals who are married to another. As you can imagine there is passion and excitement and all of this is textbook for this kind of subject matter. What I found interesting however is that this tale is told by all four individuals who the affair is directly related to, i.e. the two wee dirties who are getting it...more

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Jul 24, 2011 Pam rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

The theme of infidelity is nothing new.

Two married couples, Cary and Kate, and Luke and Cressida, are friends who socialize together quite often. Cary is a doctor who desperately wants children. Kate, an anthropologist, is an outgoing, flirty girl. Luke, an advertising exec, is a man every woman is after and who likes to have fun, and Cressida, a pediatrician, who is more dedicated to her patients than to her personal life. A couple of years into their respective marriages, Luke and Kate start...more

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Jul 24, 2010 Vicki rated it 3 of 5 stars

I picked this book up at the library on a whim and was surprised by how quickly I liked it. It is told from the point of view of four individuals. Cary is married to Kate and Luke to Cressida. Cary and Cressida both work together at the same hospital and the foursome become mutual friends. Kate is flirtatious and Luke is shockingly gorgeous. When the two secretly kiss at a friend's wedding they begin the love affair. Once their affair is exposed both couples try to deal with the infidelity and m...more

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Dec 15, 2012 Somi rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is heartbreaking. I kept thinking about it long after I'd read it. It is sad, it makes me sad.

A woman cheats on her husband with a family friend, their affair is passionate and despite the fact that they are both married, it seems to be true love.

But everything soon comes crashing down as the lives of both couples are torn apart by the discovery of the affair.

It is a good read. You will ask yourself a lot of questions, like, should marriage ever stand in the way of true love?

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Jul 21, 2012 Kristin rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was excited to read this boom based on all of the good reviews, and it was a topic that I hadn't read about in a long time (i.e. extramarital affair). But, to be honest, it didn't live up to my expectations. I think the book did a decent job covering all of the various perspectives of those involved in the affair (i.e. the 2 in the affair, their spouses, and their various friends). It also did a good job covering the emotions (i.e. emotional and physical) of those entering into an affair (i.e....more

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Oct 02, 2010 Darcy Odden rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a story about infidelity. Kate is married to Cary; Luke is married to Cressida. The couples are friends, but Kate and Luke begin an affair which blows both marriages apart. I couldn't really like either Kate or Luke, both are selfish and don't consider the consequences of their actions. It was just an okay read for me, since I didn't like the characters and didn't agree with the decisions they made.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher.

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Jun 03, 2010 Kelly Hager rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is the story of Kate, her husband Cary, his coworker Cressida and her husband, Luke. The four of them are pretty good friends--they go on vacation together and spend a lot of time in each other's company. They are best friends.

Until at a wedding, Kate and Luke get drunk and kiss.

This is about an affair (which you learn in the first paragraph) and the effect that it has on the two marriages.

This is a very good book, but it's one that I didn't like very much. (Kate and Luke are both pretty ho...more

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Apr 21, 2010 Mollie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I got this book for free through Goodreads First Reads and I really liked it. The portrayal of all of the people who are involved in an affair is wonderful. Not only is there a focus on the people who are having the affair but their spouses and friends who experience the ripple effect that occurs. I never thought that I was reading this as a psychological text but as a real novel or a real story about adulterers. It also does not feel like chick lit which I enjoy because you do not have to be in...more

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May 06, 2012 Blair rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've read some intense literature recently, so I was in the mood to read something a little lighter. One might argue that there is nothing "light" about extra-marital affairs, and this is true, but it is the predictability of this novel that made it such an easy read, and a fairly boring one at that.

It's full of really tired cliches that pissed me off, most notably, the author's decision to have the more outgoing characters be the ones to cheat, as if this personality trait goes hand in hand wi...more

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Apr 24, 2010 Carrie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this novel. The book revolves around an affair. Two married couples become good friends. But then Kate (who is married to Cary) and Luke (who is married to Cressida) fall for each other. This grows into a full blown obsession.

The best thing about this novel is the voice. The book is told in first-person. Every couple of pages you get the point-of-view of a different character. Since you hear directly from each of the characters, you truly feel for them. I had no idea how this book was...more

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May 18, 2010 Bern_morley rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was an outstanding read. Would certainly recommend. There are so many facets to this book.

I believe if you knock over a book in 2 nights, have it with you so you can sneak in a read at the traffic lights and basically ignore the world until you are finished, you have a great book on your hands.

And After the Fall, was exactly like that for me.

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Aug 05, 2012 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: chick-lit, my-ebooks

This book was alright. It wasn't particularly original, but it was well written.

I found that the majority of the time I was reading it, I was really angry. Angry at Kate and Luke for there selfishness and cruelty. Angry at Cary for his willful ignorance. Angry at Cress for her naïveté.

That probably says more about me than it does about the book.

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About Kylie Ladd

Kylie Ladd is a novelist and freelance writer. Her essays and articles have appeared in The Age, Griffith Review, O Magazine, The Sydney Morning Herald, Good Medicine, Kill Your Darlings, The Hoopla and MamaMia, among others. Kylie's first novel, After the Fall , was published in Australia, the US and Turkey, while her second, Last Summer, was highly commended in the 2011 Federation of Australian...more

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Books by Kylie Ladd

Naked. Confessions of Adultery and Infidelity

Living With Alzheimer's And Other Dementias: After The Diagnosis

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Quotes from After the Fall

“Oh, I already loved my husband, of course, but this was different. That had been a decision; this was out of my control, an impulse as difficult to resist as gravity. Mad love, crazy love, drop, sink, stumble. The kind of love where every little thing is a sign, a portent: the song on the radio, his Christian name staring up at you from a magazine you’re flicking through, your horoscope in the paper. Normally I don’t even believe in horoscopes, for God’s sake. Love without holes or patches or compromises, soft as an easy chair, a many splendoured thing.” — 2 people liked it

“Maybe a better illustration would be a migraine. One moment you’re well, the next you’re in so much pain you can’t open your eyes. Everything is changed. Nothing exists except the throb and fret between your temples, though underneath it all you’re still perfectly healthy.” — 2 people liked it

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