The Girl Who Fell From the Sky

October 19, 2009
Durrow's debut draws from her own upbringing as the brown-skinned, blue-eyed daughter of a Danish woman and a black G.I. to create Rachel Morse, a young girl with an identical heritage growing up in the early 1980s. After a devastating family tragedy in Chicago with Rachel the only survivor, she goes to live with the paternal grandmother she's never met, in a decidedly black neighborhood in Portland, Ore. Suddenly, at 11, Rachel is in a world that demands her to be either white or black. As she struggles with her grief and the haunting, yet-to-be-revealed truth of the tragedy, her appearance and intelligence place her under constant scrutiny. Laronne, Rachel's deceased mother's employer, and Brick, a young boy who witnessed the tragedy and because of his personal misfortunes is drawn into Rachel's world, help piece together the puzzle of Rachel's family. Taut prose, a controversial conclusion and the thoughtful reflection on racism and racial identity resonate without treading into political or even overtly specific agenda waters, as the story succeeds as both a modern coming-of-age and relevant social commentary.

The first surprise of this novel may that its title is no metaphor: Young Rachel really falls from the sky, plunging from a city rooftop with her mother and two siblings. The sole survivor, Rachel must move on from unthinkable loss to understanding who she is as the child of mixed-race parentage--while those around her demand that she identify with either her Danish mother or her African-American father. The aftermath of the devastating fall raises questions about race, identity, responsibility, and love. Narrators Karen Murray, Emily Bauer, and Kathleen McInerney tell this harrowing tale with exceptional beauty, thanks, in part, to Durrow's artful prose. The gentleness with which the performers, particularly Bauer, as sweet-voiced Rachel, unfold the events is remarkable. These voices give a heartrending story its heart. L.B.F. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine