Sometimes the greatest compliment you can give a piece of writing is how uncomfortable it makes you. That the experience is so raw, so vivid that it settles in your stomach, churning up your insides like a bad case of food poisoning.
Fallen Angel, a novella by Amy Grech and Michael McCarty, is a disturbing tale of Angel McCallister’s abuse by her father and her journey toward healing.
The haunting effects of abuse don’t fade when the child finally grows up and leaves home. The attacker still haunts the victim for a long time. What should be mundane and beautiful elements of life are left twisted. The innocent touch of a friend’s hand can cause a wince. The memories take over one’s dreamscape, forcing the dreamer to relive the events again and again.
Grech and McCarty make Angel’s memories vivid, realistic, and heartbreaking. The reader is drawn in. You feel the physical sensations and the toxic emotional cocktail of love, betrayal, fear, desire, and shame. It’s chilling to read. It’s unsettling. The fact that this horror exists in so many lives makes the evil powerful beyond any dreamed up boogieman.
Angel is a sympathetic and fleshed out character. The reader is taken on her journey as she tries to heal and make a life for herself. She has been in treatment with an empathetic counselor. She has channeled the emotional darkness into her music. McCarty’s poetry is effectively used as the lyrics of Angel’s songs. The reader experiences both the fractured vulnerability of Angel and her strength, her determination to fight her father.
These authors take the idea of being haunted by the memories of abuse and the difficulty of breaking the connection between abuser and victim to a new level.
When her abusive father dies, a door should have closed. The fear of turning out the light, the fear of falling asleep because of the unwanted visitor that had come so many nights, should have been put to rest with him. But in Fallen Angel, Travis finds a way to once again attack his daughter. He begins his victimization within her dreams. But the assaults soon escalate to physical encounters that leave familiar bruises on her body.
Angel manages to hold on to her sanity through the support of two dear friends – Uncle Brew, a comic, and Gio, a medical examiner. Brew is warm, protective, and hilarious. The reader enjoys his company as much as Angel. Gio is very intriguing, but not given much time in the story. She does have a poetic nature that adds a delicious mood to her scenes. Together this group searches for answers and battles this force reaching out across death.
There were a couple of points within the story I questioned and would have like to have more elaboration on. With the pattern of abuse underway, I found it difficult to believe Angel didn’t mind her father invading her space, moving close to her as she tried to teach him how to play the piano. Wouldn’t her guard be immediately up? Why would Angel move back into the house where she was abused and both her parents died in such horrific ways? It would seem like she would sell it and get a fresh start. But these are minor trifles.
The novella is overall skillfully crafted and has a satisfying conclusion. The lyrical tone of the language and realness of the dialogue are a credit to the writers. They paint with careful imagery the physical and soul landscape of Angel’s world. The painful reality of Angel’s experience is gripping. It’s not an easy read. But the story is a worthwhile one. Voices like Angel’s should be heard.
You can purchase Fallen Angel by Amy Grech and Michael McCarty by clicking here.
While I cannot speak for the authors, I can address the issues you have with her returning to the home of the abuse and parental deaths; as well as why she could sit by him without trepidation at the piano. As an advocate/counselor of abuse for forty years and a survivor of childhood sexual assault, I assure you these measures are in response to a survivor’s attempts to “be in control” and “gain some measure of power over the abuser”. The roles of abuser and victim are complex with the victim always struggling to validate “it wasn’t their fault” and to explore “why me?”. This novella is an important if ‘quirky’ attempt to address those questions. Sometimes an abstract and totally surreal look into the complex issues of incest, rape and molestation, take us just so far enough out of the “reality” to provide some “comfort” as we explore it. Fallen Angel would fall into that area and would no doubt be a tool of investigation for some people to use when exploring the complexities of the issues and attempting to resolve their own feelings and experience. A gutsy read, no doubt but a must read if you are looking for answers from a new vantage point..
Great review LN. I can sympathize just based on your analysis and retelling of the story. Sounds like a powerful read.
Thank you for the kudos and for reading the review! It is a very strong piece of writing for sure.
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