Between the Cracks She Fell
- Publisher
- Inanna Publications & Education Inc.
- Initial publish date
- Aug 2015
- Category
- Literary, Contemporary Women
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9781771332255
- Publish Date
- Aug 2015
- List Price
- $22.95
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781771332262
- Publish Date
- Jul 2015
- List Price
- $9.99
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Description
If you loved The Girl On The Train, you will love this. Take one summer, an abandoned old school and an idyllic beach town. Meet Joscelyn who living off the grid, having lost her home, her boyfriend and her job. She clashes with a gang of street kids, befriends a disfellowshipped Jehovah's Witness and a runaway housewife who is living in her car with an enormous dog. The tension and violence escalates as the street gang kills one of their own, and it is not until Joss solves all the pieces of the puzzle, can she gather up the pieces of her own life and move forward. A thrilling suspense story, filled with unexpected twists and turns. A fast-paced, 'can't-put-this-book-down read' that will keep you enthralled from the first page. "Lisa de Nikolits's new novel about those who've slipped through the cracks will capture your heart. A must-read." Canadian Living Magazine. A thriller/suspense story, an exploration of faith, power, crime and social isolation.
About the author
Originally from South Africa, Lisa de Nikolits has lived in Canada since 2000. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Philosophy and has lived in the U.S.A., Australia and Britain. No Fury Like That, her most recently published work, is her seventh novel. It will be published in Italian, under the title Una furia dell'altro mondo, in 2019. Previous works include: The Hungry Mirror (winner 2011 IPPY Gold Medal); West of Wawa (winner 2012 IPPY Silver Medal); A Glittering Chaos (winner 2016 Bronze IPPY Medal ; The Witchdoctor's Bones; Between the Cracks She Fell (winner 2016 for Contemporary Fiction); and The Nearly Girl. Lisa lives and writes in Toronto. Her ninth novel, The Occult Persuasion and the Anarchist's Solution is forthcoming in 2019.
Editorial Reviews
"Fast moving and compelling, Between the Cracks She Fell explores the complexities of relationships, religions, and the various selves within that help us survive when we "fall" between the cracks. Through the eyes of the likable and lively narrator Joscelyn, and her ever-growing web of new and past relationships, we discover that home is not confined to a physical place--it's the landscape inside where you find yourself. Once again, de Nikolits exhibits her storytelling strengths by weaving various plot strands together, bringing her protagonist to a greater truth."--Catherine Graham, author of Her Red Hair Rises With the Wings of Insects "A lyrical and deeply moving examination of emotional pain and faith on a collision course with organized religion. Lisa de Nikolits' highly believable and human characters are outsiders struggling to find meaning, and perhaps hope, in contemporary urban society. With a deft and confident clarity of style, she explores the complex interplay of faith, crime and social isolation. Highly recommended."--M. H. Callway, author of Windigo Fire"Jolted by where Joscelyn begins, then utterly surprised and in awe of where she goes, I found the journey of a buoyant, playful woman embracing her own experiment of living compelling and real. Joss's attitude becomes evermore rich and grooves without destination. Hers has no absolutes! In spite of her returns to Tim Hortons, her dingy room in an abandoned school, and a rampant lust for her misguided lover, Joscelyn stubbornly derails relinquishing with her past in the attempt to keep a strait lid on her "almost 30" life. In her refusal to part with a home and roots she's outgrown, she scraps to "plaster up" the walls of a romanticized self. Between The Cracks She Fell has a fierce and passionate Joss eroding false identity by choosing to live among abandoned ruins. In this place, a young woman becomes witness to ever thinning spaces among the divine secrets of others, now lost to insanity, and finds a comfortable inner language that translates her abundant wishes to hold her own style of love and longing."--Sonia Di Placido, author of Exultation in Cadmium Red"As usual from Lisa de Nikolits, a well-plotted story, grippingly told. I was impressed by the use of the Qu'ran and The Satanic Verses; it's as if Between The Cracks She Fell is a response to Salman Rushdie's work. Between The Cracks She Fell is a great read. I wonder what Joss will do next?"--Terri Favro, author of The Proxy Bride"Between The Cracks She Fell is a whirligig-ride into the dark recesses of "what-next?" Compelling, multi-layered, bold and engaging, a thought-provoking exploration of gender, genes, nurture, liberty, commitment, ideologies, and doctrines of faith and worship. This is fine story-telling."--Shirley McDaniel, artist, art-explorations.com"Utilizing Joycean techniques of dialogue and a relatable prose, de Nikolits manages to paint a visceral world of a lost, but determined soul. Joscelyn, like many people do, encounters a whole range of characters in her journeys. From her egotistically-minded friend Emma to her relationship with Ashley, a friend who is troubled, but is confident in his own admirable way, Joscelyn must fight adversity at every step. She finds consolation unexpectedly in the diary of Imran Ali, an Islamic fundamentalist whose religious conversion holds a key to her own search for meaning. Her fiery connection with a drug dealer, Lenny, is an example to her fight for identity in a world that continues to repress and oppress her individual will to power. Between The Cracks She Fell is an engaging novel that will have you questioning the stability of learned faith and in awe of the strength of pure human will."--Jacqueline Valencia, author of The Octopus Complex"It's the idea that when everything else in your life is spiraling out of control, you'll grasp onto any idea for it to all make sense again. The juxtaposition between the characters reinforces that it's not any particular religion that is 'bad'. The characters lost control of their lives, and that's when they lost the delicate balance between themselves and their religion. It's beautifully done." --Samia Akhtar, reader