The Opposite of Falling
By Jennie Rooney
Random House
Reviewed by: Darko Milenkovic
In Jennie Rooney’s second novel, The Opposite of Falling, a young woman is abruptly abandoned by her fiancée, and takes to traveling the world of the late 19th century as a way to find fulfillment and purpose.
Ursula’s first travels are around Europe, in tours organized by Thomas Cook, which later lead her to join the Round-the-World Cook’s tour in 1872. Unfortunately by then Ursula is no longer a young woman, and her traveling companions from previous tours are now married with families of their own. Ursula wishes to go on the tour, yet is not eager to do so alone. As such, she arranges for seventeen year old orphan Sally Walker to accompany her as a lady’s maid. Sally is meek and timid, and as a child had developed a deathly fear of falling.
The tour arrives in Niagara Falls, and it is there that Ursula and Sally meet young Toby O’Hara, the pilot of a hot air balloon offering rides over the falls, and also an inventor attempting to perfect his late father’s flying machine. Despite his mother’s ill-fated death in a flying attempt with an earlier prototype, Toby is confident that flight is possible, dubbing himself to be “air-minded” and assured of his success.
It is when the two stories converge that Rooney’s novel truly takes flight. Sally’s fear metaphorically extends to falling in love, and having been raised by nuns surrounded by religious symbols, her fear takes a spiritual meaning as well. It is only Toby’s imagination and determination to witness human flight that can set her free from her fears.
Rooney employs a third person narrative to tell her tale, regularly changing the point of view between various narrators and offering their internal monologues. Her narrative is full of poise, and a sadness that oftentimes leaves a feeling of deep regret as we witness the characters yearn for something greater, something more. Rooney presents a true love story about overcoming the fear of falling in love and discovering both direction and purpose.
