The Days the Falls Stood Still

Summary (from the publisher): 1915. The dawn of the hydroelectric power era in Niagara Falls. Seventeen-year-old Bess Heath has led a sheltered existence as the youngest daughter of the director of the Niagara Power Company. After graduation day at her boarding school, she is impatient to return to her picturesque family home near Niagara Falls. But when she arrives, nothing is as she had left it. Her father has lost her job at the power company, her mother is reduced to taking in sewing from the society ladies she once entertained, and Isabel, her vivacious older sister, is a shadow of her former self. She has shut herself in her bedroom, barely earing - and harboring a secret.

The night of her return, Bess meets Tom Cole by chance on a trolley platform. She finds herself inexplicably drawn to him - against her family's strong objections. He is not from their world. Rough-hewn and fearless, he lives off what the river provides and has an uncanny ability to predict the whims of the falls. His daring river rescues render him a local hero and cast him as a threat to the power companies that seek to harness the power of the falls for themselves. As their lives become more fully entwined, Bess is forced to make a painful choice between what she wants and what is best for her family and her future.

Set against the tumultuous backdrop of Niagara Falls, at a time when daredevils shot the river rapids in barrels and great industrial fortunes were made and lost as quickly as lives disappeared, The Day the Falls Stood Still is an intoxicating debut novel.

Review: This is the first novel I have ever read that focuses on the Niagara Falls, and its setting in 1915, when there is rising tension regarding harnessing the power of the river for commercial gain versus leaving it as a natural wonder was an insightful look at a specific time and place in history that is rarely captured in literature.  The narrator of this novel is Bess Heath, the young daughter of the director of the Niagara Power Company. Happy at boarding school and with her future life, everything is derailed when she learns her father has lost his job, her sister is not eating, and her mother has resorted to dressmaking to make ends meet. Bess must make a decision between marrying a man from a lower social class who she loves deeply, and a man from a well to do family to save her family.

The setting in Niagara Falls is pivotal to the plot of this book. From the first page, the importance and force of the river is felt; "Endless water plummets from the brink to the rocks below, like the careless who slip, like the stunters who fail, like the suicidal who leap. I nudge my attention downriver, to clouds of rising mist" (5). Most of the male characters in the book have an occupation that centers around the river or industry that uses the river's power. Furthermore, Tom Cole, Bess' love interest, is known locally as something as a river expert, like his grandfather before him. Tom has a sixth sense about the river, and is known for his bravery and help rescuing many who become trapped in the unpredictable currents of the river.

Furthermore, I liked the author's choice for Tom's character to be based on a real historical character, that of William "Red" Hill, who was known for rescuing those stranded in the river. Like the character Tom Cole, "Red Hill was born with a caul and had an uncanny knowledge of the river, a knowledge he would pass on to his sons. It was said he could predict the weather simply by listening to the roar of the falls, also that he would wake in the night knowing he would find a body tossing in the river the following day" (300).

Another major theme of this book is dressmaking and sewing. I love that Bess is independent and knows her own mind, and isn't afraid to drop to a lower social status. However, I appreciate that she nudges social conventions within an occupation that was acceptable at the time period, since it makes the novel more realistic to me. Bess, like her mother before her, is quite a skilled seamstress, and furthermore, seems to love her trade. "I pause at Isabel's wardrobe, fingering the clothes still hanging there, a tailored wool suit Mother made for her trousseau, a sea green chiffon gown. [...] Leaning into the wardrobe, I spread my arms wide, embracing the clothing" (147). There is much attention to detail and women's wardrobe and fashions in this book, which was interesting while also providing Bess with an independent source of income and a way to feed her family.

Scattered throughout the book are real historical photographs of the falls, which I really appreciated and added a visual element to the many descriptions of the river and falls within the novel. Additionally, fictional news articles are included throughout the novel. While these did add historical perspective to Bess' story, in particular revealing Tom Cole's family background, it was confusing to be reading a narrative about 1915 and then read an article from 1850 with no explanation as to why it was included when it was in the story. I think perhaps the historical news articles would have been better as a preface or had they been incorporated somehow in the narrative plotline.

My greatest frustration with this book is that it is all downhill for Bess. This is a very depressing novel. From the first chapter, bad things are happening in Bess' life, and that trend continues to the very end of the novel. Although not every event is an unhappy one, the author did not hesitate to kill off characters or continue the disheartening turn of events. Furthermore, while mostly realistic, I was frustrated by a few character choices. In particular, I found it hard to believe that her father would lose his job and then just turn to drink rather than attempt to find another. The reason he lost his job seemed fuzzy and a bit far-fetched to me as well. In addition, Mrs. Andrews, who Bess works for, seems too good to be true. Out of no where, she takes Bess in, provides her with an income, and deeds all her earthly possessions over to her. It seemed far too convenient. However, overall I greatly enjoyed this work by a Canadian author who has illuminated a time and place that I have not yet seen in any other literary work.

Stars: 3