We All Fall Down

by Brian Caldwell

The Bible is true, the prophets were right, and Armageddon is Brian Caldwell explores the nature of hatred and forgiveness, divinity and damnation through the story of one person's confrontation with the end of the world, God, and, most harrowingly, himself.

Genres: Fiction, Christian Fiction

300 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Pam]

"You wanna keep saying no, then ya better find your Inch, boy. Find it and protect it. Ya can cry and scream and beg and curse. Ya can do any damn thing ya gotta do to get through it, but as long as you don’t say yes, you win. Long as ya keep yer Inch for yerself, long as ya don’t pussy out and give it to [anyone:], you win. You win and they lose."

This is spoken by a character introduced briefly towards the end of the book, an old man who has refused any type of compromise in his life, and it's gotten him through a prison gang rape and continuing torture through dismemberment. And while in certain respects this is a deeply admirable quality, it has also prevented him from developing any meaningful relationships with others (because everyone wants a piece of you, wants to make you less). He's reached the end of his life, and while he maintains in full his sense of dignity and self-respect, one has to question whether it was worth the cost.

We All Fall Down focuses on one man's refusal to commit to a cause with which he agrees, but to which he isn't fully committed. By the end, his refusal to commit seems much more to be about digging his heels in and saying no simply for the sake of proving that he can. The only thing he strongly believes is that he won't be forced to commit to something, even if he agrees with it. This becomes the defining principle of his life, and it presents some interesting - if frustrating - reading.

Caldwell has an interesting premise and promising plot, but the poor writing and underdeveloped main character prevent the book from rising above average.

[Rjones2818]

This is brilliant. Period.

Sure, the f-bomb is dropped (ok...thrown down with a malicious glee) much more than one might expect from an end times novel. Jimmy's not the most likable bloke you'll ever read about, either. The Anti-Christ is an Englishman (ok...that's not really a surprise...now is it?).

On the other hand, you get a really good look at someone who struggles with what's going on even though he knows pretty much from the start of the book what's going on.

I think that this is why many readers don't like the book. It's not a neatly tied up story about redemption which comes to easily. The characters aren't cartoons, and you may even need to think a little while you're reading the book. It may even leave you a little bit angry.

To my mind, this is a good thing, and Brian Caldwell deserves praise for writing such a fine novel.

[Shannon]

A pretty good portrayal of how the world could possibly end. I really liked how the Jimmy struggles between saving himself or accepting himself as a 'bad person.' The book made me think a lot about the struggle we all deal with internally and how we justify out wrongdoings. Some people are 'good' but want to be bad all their lives, their hearts were never really pure and they were just pretending. A lot of violence and darkness in this book but sadly I think it's an accurate picture of what society could become.

[Jesse]

Very interesting, given the time we are currently living in. I may be a little biased, but i find it to be one of the most interesting books ive read so far, definitely recomend it.

[Sheila]

A depressing, violent, graphic end times story full of foul language and horror. I cannot say I would recommend this one.

[Jesse Fusco]

great book

[Linda]

Scared the living crap out of me...