An excellent novel - although as a native Nova Scotian, I am probably a bit biased, as the book is set in my home province. To quote from the back cover:
"Chronicling five generation of thie eccentric clan, FALL ON YOUR KNEES follows four remarkable sisters whose lives are filled with driving ambition, inescapable family bonds, and forbidden love. Their experiences will take them from their stormswept homeland, across the battlefields of World War I to the freedom and independence of Jazz-era New York City."
This is not the sort of novel you'd read to cheer yourself up, but it's a good, solid read. Even Oprah says so!

Being sent to BXer SoftDrink as part of a book relay.

Received in today's mail...thank you!

All in all, this is a darn good book. It tells the story of the four Piper sisters from Cape Breton Island, Canada. At 656 pages, there's is obviously a bit more to it than that, but it would spoil the book if I said any more. So here's one of my favorite passages, instead:

'Lily has understood everything in the happy-death prayer except for one thing.
"What's a viaticum?"
"It's a holy word for clean underwear."
"Can I see the book now, Frances?"
Lily reaches, but Frances pulls the book away and explains, "When you're about to die and the priest comes and gives you extreme unction, he takes a set of clean underwear from your drawer and blesses them. Then he puts them on you. Or if it's an emergency and there's no priest, anyone can bless the clean underwear. That's where Fruit of the Loom underwear comes from, it comes from the Hail Mary when you say, "Blessed is the fruit of thy loom, Jesus.'"'

That one made me laugh out loud, which made my office-mate look at me (hey, I was reading on my lunch break). So then I had to read the section out loud. She laughed, too.

Thanks for sharing this book with me, jamesmum!

Released on Saturday, July 03, 2004 at Community Center in Morro Bay, California USA.

left on a bench in front of the building