AFTER THE FALL

Kylie Ladd’s writings have appeared in O, The Oprah Magazine, Reader’s Digest, and the Sydney Morning Herald, among others. She holds a Ph.D. in neuropsychology and lives in Melbourne with her husband and two children. After the Fall is her first novel.

“After The Fall examines two marriages racing toward collision. Author Kylie Ladd, using precise and crystalline language, looks through each side of the prism, bringing forth all points of view with raw honesty. The reader will peek out between covered eyes as they watch these husbands and wives in denial singe the ones they love.”
—Randy Susan Meyers, author of The Murderer’s Daughters

“Ladd takes on adultery and its consequences in this accomplished debut… The book is told from multiple perspectives, in lush, often beautiful prose. Vivid language makes each page a joy to read.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Told from the perspective of each person, the book has a deliciously voyeuristic feel that will have you hooked.”
—Cosmopolitan

“Ladd’s potential is more than evident.”—The Age

After the Fall is largely narrated by four characters: Kate, Cary, Cressida and Luke. Why do you think the author chose this method rather than just one narrator? Does it alter your view of events? Do you think each of the narrators is equally reliable or believable? 

Kate says, “I work with artefacts, with relics.  I know in my heart that there’s little that stays shiny forever, even with effort.” In contrast, Cary remarks, “Familiarity breeds content; love plateaus but is none the less for that.”  Which of these attitudes do you most identify with?  And how do you think Kate and Cary’s occupations have influenced their views? 

The word ‘fall’ is used in various contexts throughout the book. Why do you think we use the term ‘fall’ to denote both the beginning of something (“falling in love”) but also the end (leukemia patient Emma’s “fall toward death”)?  

Which of the four main characters do you most identify with? Which do you find the most sympathetic? Why? 

A number of weddings take place in the course of After The Fall: Sarah and Rick’s, Cary and Kate’s, Luke and Cressida’s, Dan and Jane’s (where Luke and Kate first kiss), Tim and Joan’s. How has Kate’s attitude to marriage changed from the first of these to the last? Cressida’s? And what do you think of Kate’s pronouncement that no one should be allowed to marry before the age of thirty? 

Was Kate right to have given Luke an ultimatum? What do you think would have happened if she hadn’t? 

Kate says, “Situations don’t arise; you create them. Luke must have told me he loved me a thousand times in our seven months together, must have risked his marriage at least half as many to meet me or call or make contact somehow. Why, then, choose that marriage?” Why do you think Luke made the decision he did? And why is it that Luke’s proposed compromise—to stay with their spouses but continue to see each other—satisfies him, but not Kate? 

Cary and Cressida respond very differently to the discovery of their respective spouse’s infidelity: Cary decides to put it behind them and move on, while Cress is unable to forgive or forget, and moves out. Why do you think each reacts the way they do? Do you believe a marriage can survive infidelity? 

Cressida gives up her fellowship to care for her father at the behest of her sisters. In what other ways has she been influenced by her family in the choices she makes? Do you think that has changed by the end of the novel? 

When Kate and Cary first sleep together in Venice, Cary says, “In the end it was her decision. It had to be, didn’t it? Kate had always set the agenda.” Do you find Cary’s relative passivity (and later his determination to forgive and forget) touching or annoying? 

Were you satisfied with the ending of After The Fall? Did it finish the way you expected it to? Do you believe that the characters will be able to put the events of the novel behind them?