When the English Fall

By David Williams

Book Overview

A riveting and unexpected novel that questions whether a peaceful and non- violent community can survive when civilization falls apart. Again, all are asleep, but I am not. I need sleep, but though I read and I pray, I feel too awake. My mind paces the floor. There are shots now and again, bursts here and there, far away, and I cannot sleep. I think of this man in his hunger, shot like a rabbit raiding a garden. For what, Lord? For stealing corn intended for pigs and cattle, like the hungry prodigal helpless in a strange land. I can hear his voice. When a catastrophic solar storm brings about the collapse of modern civilization, an Amish community is caught up in the devastating aftermath. With their stocked larders and stores of supplies, the Amish are unaffected at first. But as the English (the Amish name for all non-Amish people) in the cities become increasingly desperate, they begin to invade nearby farms, taking whatever they want and unleashing unthinkable violence on the gentle communities. Written as the diary of an Amish farmer named Jacob who tries to protect his family and his way of life, When the English Fall examines the idea of peace in the face of deadly chaos. Should members of a nonviolent society defy their beliefs and take up arms to defend themselves? And if they do, can they survive? David Williams's debut novel is a thoroughly engrossing look into the closed world of the Amish, as well as a thought-provoking examination of how we live today and what remains if the center cannot hold.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1616208090
• ISBN13: 9781616208097
• Release Date: July 2018
• Publisher: Algonquin Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Profound and moving

To quote an anonymous review on Amazon, dated September 9, 2017, this book is “wonderful, disturbing, frightening, and almost holy”. It’s the fictional diary of Jacob, an Amish man with half-grown children. He is doing his best to follow his beliefs while dealing with issues from his past, and now there are unimagined difficulties in the present. His writings reflect the struggles he faces and the doubts that concern him. This is not an exciting book. He doesn’t build a new town using nothing but paracord and a pocket knife. He doesn’t form a militia. He isn’t able to provide food for the entire county. What he does is stay true to his beliefs while adapting to the frightening changes around him. I think that those who have given it negative reviews have missed the entire point of the story. It’s one that will stick with me for a very long time.