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Arnold Falls
by
IPPY AWARD WINNER 2020
Given the choice of go big or go home, nine times out of ten the townspeople of Arnold Falls will go home, get back into their house slippers, and forget about the whole thing, whatever the whole thing was this time. Tempests great and small (mostly small) are always brewing in this tiny, upstate hamlet where half of the residents are fighting to pres ...more
Given the choice of go big or go home, nine times out of ten the townspeople of Arnold Falls will go home, get back into their house slippers, and forget about the whole thing, whatever the whole thing was this time. Tempests great and small (mostly small) are always brewing in this tiny, upstate hamlet where half of the residents are fighting to pres ...more
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Paperback, 280 pages
Published
March 24th 2020
by Charlie Suisman
(first published February 12th 2020)
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Small 🏡🏠 community with loads of quirk, supporting each other. Timely message for these troubled days👍
4-4.5🌟stars
This book took me on a unique journey to a lively but seen-better-days small New York State town where most of the characters are heavily invested in each other's welfare and the common good for their Arnold Falls community. So many quirky, zany characters from a highly social tom turkey called Chaplin, to a 93 year-old waitress with a big secret and even bigger heart. There's clean r ...more
4-4.5🌟stars
This book took me on a unique journey to a lively but seen-better-days small New York State town where most of the characters are heavily invested in each other's welfare and the common good for their Arnold Falls community. So many quirky, zany characters from a highly social tom turkey called Chaplin, to a 93 year-old waitress with a big secret and even bigger heart. There's clean r ...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

Received a free ARC from BookSirens in exchange for my honest opinion.
Well, I gave this one a try because one of the blurbs said it was similar to P.G. Wodehouse, whose work I've always enjoyed.
I'm not sure I'd agree that there's that much of Wodehouse in there but I did notice a few touches here and there. Funnily enough, for some reason it reminded me, tone-wise, more of a mix of J.K. Rowling's "The Casual Vacancy" with that part at the middle of Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" where Shadow is h ...more
Well, I gave this one a try because one of the blurbs said it was similar to P.G. Wodehouse, whose work I've always enjoyed.
I'm not sure I'd agree that there's that much of Wodehouse in there but I did notice a few touches here and there. Funnily enough, for some reason it reminded me, tone-wise, more of a mix of J.K. Rowling's "The Casual Vacancy" with that part at the middle of Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" where Shadow is h ...more

Charlie Suisman has created an interesting and unique cast of characters, alternating smoothly between first- and third-person perspectives, in his latest creative work, ARNOLD FALLS.
From the beginning, we join the main character, Jeebie, in a small New York State town that has obviously seen better days, but we are carried through the book on creativity, hilarity, and genuine depictions of its people. Timely to its core, the book's undertones emphasize the community's investment in each person ...more
From the beginning, we join the main character, Jeebie, in a small New York State town that has obviously seen better days, but we are carried through the book on creativity, hilarity, and genuine depictions of its people. Timely to its core, the book's undertones emphasize the community's investment in each person ...more

A WISHING SHELF BOOK REVIEW
30th April 2020
TITLE: ARNOLD FALLS
AUTHOR: Charlie Suisman
Star Rating: 5
‘A fun, always engaging story packed full of unforgettably odd characters. Highly recommended.’ A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review
REVIEW
Just like most of the world, I’m presently in lockdown. It’s not all bad. I get to spend time with my wife and children and I have even started writing chapter three of that novel I have been procrastinating over for twenty years. I also get a lot of time to read. And, ...more
30th April 2020
TITLE: ARNOLD FALLS
AUTHOR: Charlie Suisman
Star Rating: 5
‘A fun, always engaging story packed full of unforgettably odd characters. Highly recommended.’ A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review
REVIEW
Just like most of the world, I’m presently in lockdown. It’s not all bad. I get to spend time with my wife and children and I have even started writing chapter three of that novel I have been procrastinating over for twenty years. I also get a lot of time to read. And, ...more

Finishing this book was like having to say goodbye to old friends. Suisman gives the reader a window into the town of Arnold Falls, sweeping you through into the most intimate corners of its resident's lives. Much like the town, the novel starts off slow, but grows on you in a very surprising way.
Once the characters are established, you find yourself invested in their struggles and successes. Told mostly through Jeebee, the newcomer. He acts as a very strong protagonist to anchor the reader in t ...more
Once the characters are established, you find yourself invested in their struggles and successes. Told mostly through Jeebee, the newcomer. He acts as a very strong protagonist to anchor the reader in t ...more

A truly delightful read. This book was a lot more fun and funny than I was expecting it to be. It was also incredibly lovely to see queer representation at the forefront of this novel. This felt like such a reminiscent read for me; think The Casual Vacancy.
Fantastic character development and great attention to detail. i was never bored but instead found myself wanting to savor this read, dreading the moment I would have to leave these new friends of mine.
A success with beautiful movement and a ...more
Fantastic character development and great attention to detail. i was never bored but instead found myself wanting to savor this read, dreading the moment I would have to leave these new friends of mine.
A success with beautiful movement and a ...more

Go to Arnold Falls, you won’t want to leave
The perfect read for these difficult times: a laugh out loud satirical portrait of small town life rich with deftly drawn quirky characters thriving through fire, malevolence, aging and death. I began to read slower because I didn’t want it to end! Take a trip to Arnold Falls, you won’t want to leave.
The perfect read for these difficult times: a laugh out loud satirical portrait of small town life rich with deftly drawn quirky characters thriving through fire, malevolence, aging and death. I began to read slower because I didn’t want it to end! Take a trip to Arnold Falls, you won’t want to leave.

A delightful reading from the beginning to the end, this is a really fun book. If you're looking for a very light story, with fun characters and a fast plot, this one is for you.
Maybe it's the author background, but it feels like a column at New York Times talking about the life in a little city in a sly and cheeky way. When I start reading it the language was a little difficult, since English is not my first language, but I got used to it and learnead a lot along the way.
The main character is g ...more
Maybe it's the author background, but it feels like a column at New York Times talking about the life in a little city in a sly and cheeky way. When I start reading it the language was a little difficult, since English is not my first language, but I got used to it and learnead a lot along the way.
The main character is g ...more

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Arnold Falls is a very unique book. I haven’t ever read anything like it, which maybe isn’t so surprising since I tend to read sci fi fantasy and this is definitely not that.
What is is, however, is a delight. Witty, warm and welcoming to the core, Arnold Falls is full of bright characters, a handful of slightly slow but interesting plots and a lot of heart. Chaplin the turkey won me over from the first gobble and Jee ...more
Arnold Falls is a very unique book. I haven’t ever read anything like it, which maybe isn’t so surprising since I tend to read sci fi fantasy and this is definitely not that.
What is is, however, is a delight. Witty, warm and welcoming to the core, Arnold Falls is full of bright characters, a handful of slightly slow but interesting plots and a lot of heart. Chaplin the turkey won me over from the first gobble and Jee ...more

I saw great reviews for Arnold Falls on book review services like BlueInk Review and Reedsy Discovery and thought I'd give this novel a try. The last few books I read were great but heavy, so a comedic novel sounded just about right. Arnold Falls is a funny book, for sure.
From the publisher: Spend time in the funny, oddball village of Arnold Falls, where larger-than-life characters deal with the smallest of problems. Somehow, it all comes out right in the end. Arnold Falls is a novel that tips ...more
From the publisher: Spend time in the funny, oddball village of Arnold Falls, where larger-than-life characters deal with the smallest of problems. Somehow, it all comes out right in the end. Arnold Falls is a novel that tips ...more

Arnold Falls was a great book to read just for the enjoyment of reading. I wasn't forced to take sides, or learn something, or be emotionally overwhelmed-- I was able to just relish a pleasant reading experience, taken away from the real life drama of today.
The genre for this was listed as LGBTQIA, and yes, there were gay characters- but I would consider this general fiction. This book is about what a real COMMUNITY looks like. (Good and bad.) As quirky as some of the character may seem, each un ...more
The genre for this was listed as LGBTQIA, and yes, there were gay characters- but I would consider this general fiction. This book is about what a real COMMUNITY looks like. (Good and bad.) As quirky as some of the character may seem, each un ...more

Won a free copy through a Goodreads giveaway.
This was an adorable novel chock full of odd, intriguing characters. Judge Harschly is officially my favorite, as he acts exactly how I suspect I would act if I were a judge, lol.
There were a few places where it was difficult to distinguish whose point of view we were getting, until ...more
This was an adorable novel chock full of odd, intriguing characters. Judge Harschly is officially my favorite, as he acts exactly how I suspect I would act if I were a judge, lol.
"Was that hissing? Hissing?! You hissing people, do you want me to come over to your office and hiss you into next week? Because I will do that. I will make time for that."
There were a few places where it was difficult to distinguish whose point of view we were getting, until ...more

This was a quirky, fun little read.
The visuals in this book are great, and it builds the town in your mind easily. The characters are many and varied. I will admit to having trouble keeping track of the narrative changes between chapters, I really wish there would have been something denoting those changes, which is why this is three stars instead of four.
It feels very much like Gilmore Girls, so if that sort of vibe is something you'd enjoy, it's almost a given you'd enjoy Arnold Falls. The cas ...more
The visuals in this book are great, and it builds the town in your mind easily. The characters are many and varied. I will admit to having trouble keeping track of the narrative changes between chapters, I really wish there would have been something denoting those changes, which is why this is three stars instead of four.
It feels very much like Gilmore Girls, so if that sort of vibe is something you'd enjoy, it's almost a given you'd enjoy Arnold Falls. The cas ...more

Apr 04, 2020
Angie Boyter
added it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
kindle-unlimited,
didn-t-finish
I stopped 30 pages in, so I won't rate it. Maybe it got better, but instead of being humorous, I found it very unappealing. Characters like the 93-year-old waitress who would have gone into a career in the family bordello if she hadn't had a flatulence problem got to be too much for me. And I must admit that, as someone who is active in my own local elections, I do NOT find stealing your opponent's election signs AT ALL funny.
I think I had been envisioning something like a Richard Russo book, so ...more
I think I had been envisioning something like a Richard Russo book, so ...more

This novel was a bit hard for me to get into and just never really captured my attention. To be fair, I only made it to page 101 before I stopped. A little too much small town mentality was hard to grasp and there were quite a few characters to keep track of. Several of the characters were funny, but overall, just not my cup of tea or style of reading. I gave it 3 stars because I think the writing was good and there are probably a lot of people that would be interested in a story about a small t
...more

This book started off a little rough, with a few unnecessarily added words (and some missing quotation marks) throughout that sometimes made reading feel a bit stilted. With this being said I found a few of the characters intriguing enough that I decided to hang in there and see where it would go. Overall this was a cute, entertaining, humorous read. Perfect for the election and Thanksgiving season. Thank you to Charlie Suisman and Goodreads giveaways for the signed copy!

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
This is not my usual genre, I’m more of a crime/thriller reader however this story intrigued me. I absolutely loved it, truly one of the best books I have read. I am extremely pleased and grateful to both for opening up my mind to something totally different.
This is not my usual genre, I’m more of a crime/thriller reader however this story intrigued me. I absolutely loved it, truly one of the best books I have read. I am extremely pleased and grateful to both for opening up my mind to something totally different.

Oct 29, 2020
gj indieBRAG
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
b-r-a-g-medallion-books
We are proud to announce that ARNOLD FALLS by Charlie Suismand is a B.R.A.G.Medallion Honoree. This tells readers that this book is well worth their time and money!

Arnold Falls is a charming read. A snapshot of the lives - the challenges and the ups and downs, the laughs and loves - of the characters who populate the quirky, tight knit, New York community. The story can be slow at times and would have liked to have seen some aspects of the narrative built out, but overall, it was a fun tale about people whose lives are connected by virtue of living in the same town. Enjoyed the character Sofia, and her development. Writer clearly likes to make music refere
...more
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Charlie Suisman launched Manhattan User’s Guide in 1992, creating the first city newsletter.
He has written several guide books to New York, including Manhattan User’s Guide, published by Hyperion, Shop Talk, The New York Times Guide to Hotels in New York City, and The New York Holiday Guide
He has a Tibetan Terrier named Nipsey.
Arnold Falls is his first novel.
He has written several guide books to New York, including Manhattan User’s Guide, published by Hyperion, Shop Talk, The New York Times Guide to Hotels in New York City, and The New York Holiday Guide
He has a Tibetan Terrier named Nipsey.
Arnold Falls is his first novel.
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