Summary

Don DeLillo’s novel from 2007, Falling Man, describes the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. But first and foremost it describes the emotional consequences of that day for Keith Neudecker, who experiences the attack first hand as he works in the north tower, and not least for his wife, Lianne Glenn, their son, Justin, and the people around them. The novel also shows the events from the perspective of one of the terrorists.

In the beginning of the novel, Keith escapes the north tower and is given a ride to the apartment of his wife, Lianne, who he has been separated from for a period of time. Through jumps in time and perspective, the novel gives an insight into the characters’ attempts to grasp what has happened.

Keith moves back in with Lianne and their son Justin, but things are different for all of them. Keith has an affair with a woman called Florence, who was also in the north tower on that historic day, and whose suitcase he accidentally carried out of the tower. Keith has lost many of his old colleagues and poker buddies in the towers. After a while, he starts playing poker again and spends less and less time with his family.

Meanwhile, Lianne tries to come to terms with what has happened by reading obituaries in the paper and by seeking comfort in a therapy group for Alzheimer’s patients that she is responsible for. Whil...