This is the craziest book that I have ever read, but I couldn't stop reading. I liked Maurice as he was there for his wife after he discovered that she was pregnant by another man. All through their separation, he included her at dinner time every week. What annoyed me was the fact that the day never changed. Maurice was raised Jewish and his wife was Catholic, but he still loved her. After Katrina, there were birds dropping out of the sky and he was convinced that Jesus was coming back soon I AGREE WITH BRANDON, THE WHOLE FAMILY NEEDED COUNSELING!! ( )

Review of, “In the Valley of Falling Stars” Chapters 1-10.
By Kristin-Máire Chapman

The characterization of Walter is dead on. His ability to be likeable and yet at the same time, hated for his crazed ideas. It is so possible to feel sympathy for his lot in life, and frustration at the idea that Walter is content with his fantasy world. Vivian is uptight, who never really is held accountable for her actions, besides from Aubrey. The cheating, the pain pills addition; it is almost hard to find a reason to like her, besides the ones that Walter is constructing in his own mind. Brandon is a punk, and Audrey is a perfect 70s model of educated strong women; including the juxtaposition of the affair with a married man. The sympathy missing from Vivian’s character all lies with Aubrey, and in her relationship with Glenn. All relatable characters, which makes this read even better. Another example of this is the conversation between Brandon, Walter, and Virgil. While this conversation is cute, it does seem to be a little male-dominated with the sexual humour. It is a fine balance getting the tone right. Between the family dynamics, Brandon speaking to his girlfriend during the fake shooting incident, and Walter’s hysteria, the book runs off of a lot of drama. Walter’s paranoia may not exactly be unfounded in this world of post-Katrina New Orleans, but Walter is a willing character, written to be a kind hearted person, and to go as far as joining Vivian for her ultrasound does seem a bit far fetched. Suspending reality for the minute or so, the book is great. Walter might just be insane, but at least he is a consistent character. The drama level is high, but it’s good. Rein it in a little bit. ( )

Starkly told, darkly humorous, and disturbingly plausible, Chris Tusa’s In the City of Falling Stars is set in New Orleans during the Katrina cleanup. It depicts a family as storm-tossed as the city, with failing leadership from the father, helpless betrayal from the mother, and hopeless rebellion and dependence from the kids—a promiscuous college student and a depressed youth who regularly visits the counselor in school.

The author’s slightly detached style, describing rather than evoking each character’s personal thoughts, gives the reader just the right level of separation from unfolding disaster. Pitch-perfect dialog offers some vividly real and powerful humorous lines. And the internal map of a man losing connection with reality is sometimes so real the reader might question any kind of sanity.

Oddball, surprising, haunting, scary, happy and sad—this novel runs the gamut of emotions, contrives to slip past violence with scarcely a backward glance, and creates characters and place so real they feel like we must have seen them on the news. It’s a fast-moving roller-coaster ride; it’s intriguing; it’s disturbingly fun, with a dark human touch reminiscent of Peter Joseph Swanson. A really odd, good read.

Disclosure: I was given an ecopy and I offer my honest review. ( )

Loved the descriptive uses of language in this book, dark and yet full of humour in places where it seemed rude to chuckle, yet you did. ( )

I loved Chris Tusa's earlier novel, Dirty Little Angels, so I bought this one. I didn't like it as much, but still enjoyed this portrayal of a man losing his grip on reality. Maurice has two teen-aged children, and his wife has left him after having an affair with, and becoming pregnant by, a prominent local politician. Maurice's character becomes increasingly dysfunctional and we see a broken family struggle to support him, in spite of infidelities, teenage rebelliousness and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

I'm interested to see where this author will go next in his writing. ( )