The Falls (Oates novel)
Encyclopedia
The Falls is a novel
by Joyce Carol Oates
, originally published in 2004 by the Ecco Press
, and winner of the 2005 Prix Femina Etranger
.
It tells the story of Ariah, a woman whose husband threw himself over Niagara Falls
on their honeymoon. The rest of the book is the story of her life afterward and family, and how she finds love, then loses it when Ariah's new husband becomes engrossed in his work on what was to become the Love Canal
case.
The novel spans the time between 1950, when environmental issues were literally unheard of and 1978, when these issues became the object of nationwide interest and concern. The author makes use of information about the Love Canal scandal and uses information provided by the two books by Lois Marie Gibbs, Love Canal:My Story, and Love Canal:The Story Continues.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates is an American author. Oates published her first book in 1963 and has since published over fifty novels, as well as many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction...
, originally published in 2004 by the Ecco Press
Ecco Press
Ecco Press is a publishing imprint of HarperCollins, who acquired it in 1999. It was founded in 1971 by Daniel Halpern as an independent publishing company. Until 1994 the press was the publisher of the literary magazine Antaeus.- External links :**...
, and winner of the 2005 Prix Femina Etranger
Prix Femina
The Prix Femina is a French literary prize created in 1904 by 22 writers for the magazine La Vie heureuse . The prize is decided each year by an exclusively female jury, although the authors of the winning works do not have to be women...
.
It tells the story of Ariah, a woman whose husband threw himself over Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
on their honeymoon. The rest of the book is the story of her life afterward and family, and how she finds love, then loses it when Ariah's new husband becomes engrossed in his work on what was to become the Love Canal
Love Canal
Love Canal was a neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, located in the white collar LaSalle section of the city. It officially covers 36 square blocks in the far southeastern corner of the city, along 99th Street and Read Avenue...
case.
The novel spans the time between 1950, when environmental issues were literally unheard of and 1978, when these issues became the object of nationwide interest and concern. The author makes use of information about the Love Canal scandal and uses information provided by the two books by Lois Marie Gibbs, Love Canal:My Story, and Love Canal:The Story Continues.