Product Description

A prize-winning, best selling, rivetingly dark and funny memoir of a most unusual girl. It is the mid-1950s in Lewiston, a sleepy town near Niagara Falls, famous only for the invention of the cocktail. Divorce is unheard of, mothers wear high heels to the beauty salon, and television has only just arrived. But with no siblings to provide role models; a workaholic father chosen by most of her class as Lewiston's present-day saint; a mother who looks the part of the perfect 1950s housewife but refuses to play it ('We ate all of our dinners in restaurants!Our fridge contained only allergy serum, coke and maraschino cherries. Our oven was only turned on to dry wet mittens on the door and the only cooking smell I remember from my youth is that of burning wool'); and a gambling-obsessed best friend, Roy, who is thirty years older, perhaps it's hardly surprising that Cathy grows up a little eccentric. Especially considering that the family doctor's prescription for her hyperactivity is a full-time job in her father's pharmacy -- at four. Cathy is rarely out of trouble whether it's asking why seeing Elvis below the waist is a sin, stabbing the school bully with a compass, breaking through police cordons to interview the Tuscadora Indians or swapping holy water for vodka to test the local priest's alcoholism. She even delivers Nembutal to a sleazy Marilyn Monroe who promptly makes an assignation with Roy. Her highly unusual adventures make compulsive, often moving, reading, but are always hilariously counterbalanced by all the conventional concerns of 1950s small-town life -- TV and rock 'n' roll, matching mother and daughter outfits, teenage rebellion, communism and catholicism. Like all really good memoirs, 'Too Close to the Falls' sneaks up on you; at first you're just reading it quietly to yourself and suddenly you're having to restrain yourself from reading great chunks out to everyone around you.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #294931 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Review
'The writing is spot-on, Gildiner at her best and funniest describing the palpable happiness of her chaotic childhood!and escapades so incredible that I turned back several times to make sure this really was a memoir.' Laurie Graham, Daily Mail 'Singular and wonderful.' Time Out 'A memoir of considerable charm.' Sunday Times 'This coming-of-age memoir cries out to be read aloud. Gildiner writes as if still a precocious, hyperactive child who knows no boundaries and is forever up to escapades, both comic and tragic!A dizzy, enchanting read.' Publishing News 'Charming and funny!the ideal book for escaping into someone else's family if you've had enough of your own.' Sunday Express "TCTTF shimmies and shakes with Gildiner's hilarious antics!Her writing sparkles on the page and the episodes she recounts have the clarity of ice after a winter storm in Lewiston. This is a memoir that makes the world seem fresh again, and worthwhile.' Literary Review of Canada 'Here is a memoir to prove that life is stranger than fiction. Both funny and true, TCTTF depicts the formative years of an extraordinary child, but it also captures the essence of childhood itself. The combination is altogether compelling; I cannot recommend this book highly enough! A fascinating childhood is no guarantee of a fascinating memoir. It still takes a gifted writer to translate the past into a work of art, and Gildiner is a gifted writer. Her prose is intensely colorful, like a concentrate, but never overwhelming or laborious in its details. Against a vivid backdrop, she brings into focus those moments when the child's world and the adult world intersect, when illusions are shattered and understanding begins.' Toronto Star

Literary Review of Canada
Her writing sparkles on the page and the episodes she recounts have the clarity of ice after a winter storm.

Time Out
Singular and wonderful.

Customer Reviews

A story so bizarre, it's hard to believe it's true!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Cathy's childhood is so fantastic I had to keep reminding myself that this is a true story. The book is very well written and at times a real page turner. A refreshing change from the more depressing memoirs available.

I would highly recommend this book, just goes to show that a happy childhood can be just as interesting to read about as an unhappy one. Can't wait for the sequel!

Looking for something different?
If you love a good read and are looking for something different, then try this "memoir". Written from the point of view of a super-smart child in 1950's Niagara, we see the world from a different perspective, meet the most engaging and likeable main character and watch her grow. Without a trace of adult cynicism she comes up with her own theories on religion, relationships and why people behave the way they do. Sounds a bit soppy - it's not. Our character has flaws and makes mistakes as she finds her way in the world. It made me smile and it made me laugh out loud - the humour is wonderful. Extremely well written, extremely sharp and funny, wonderfuly unusual.

A must read!
Smart, funny and sassy that is Cathy and her book is marvellous. My Mom, who is 90, and was brought up in Niagara Falls, has not read a book in 10 years, too much TV! She loved this book and so did I. A different way to treat an ADD child, make her work!Highly reccommended.