Falling Out of Time

Grief isn't linear. It circles around and around, but never really gets anywhere. I don't know if this is what David Grossman meant to convey with the events described in his book, Falling Out of Time, but I think so. I think so because I know that David Grossman knows grief - not knows about - but knows in his bones through painful experience.I can understand that the form of this book (I hesitate to call it a novel, because it could just as easily be described as poetry, play, myth, fairy tale...) will put some people off. But it made sense to me, because it is a remarkably emotionally truthful depiction of grief, The spare structure enhances the message.There are so many ways to lose, but this is a book specifically about parents dealing with the death of their children. If you've had that experience, you will recognize yourself, your emotions and reactions in the pages of David Grossman's book: shock, denial, anger, desperation, guilt, bargaining, acceptance... It's all there, excruciatingly beautifully described: Midwife: Dear God, such pain cuts suddenly deep down in my stomach, my girl - if only I knew that th-th-there, too, when you arrived, when you finished dying, you were welcomed with loving arms and a warm, fragrant t-t-towel, and someone, or something, in whose bosom you found peace in those first moments.I think one of the greatest sources of comfort is knowing that you are understood. That you do not walk this terrible road alone. A book like Falling Out of Time can bring you some peace.

I bought this without realising that it was written as verse with narrative interspersed so at first I was taken aback, thinking I wouldn't have bought this if I'd known... but gradually I was taken over by the power of the words, the rhythms, the sounds in my head, the emotions. So many passages were memorable - I will read it again, it gives a comfort that I think we all need.

This book is written in a unique style, part drama, part poetry, about a cast of bereaved parents, groping to find a sense of where their children have gone and where they themselves are now. Deep, mysterious, and haunting.

Most unusual and a book that touches on so many depths. If you are finding your way through loss; work with bereaved; simply want to read something different, then I highly recommend this book.

Another D. Grossman work expressing thoughts related to death. The convoluted and complicated interplay between poetry and prose is stimulating. This reader had comprehension difficulties and is not certain how to apportion the blame: on the reader or the author.