Cecily Bridge-Davis is a college professor who lives in Nashville with her husband and two sons. When she learns that she inherited a plot of land from her father’s family, she travels to Charlottesville, VA to check out the property, in hopes of selling it. When she arrives, she discovers several cabins, an apple orchard, and the original Bridge family house. Long abandoned, she explores the property and finds some interesting items. The Bridge family records dating back to the late 1700s, a map marking hidden survival kits among the land, and the (mysterious) Bridge Family Rules. Confused and curious, Cecily begins researching her family history. She discovers the Bridge Family Curse: one offspring from each Bridge family unit in each generation suddenly vanishes before the age of 27 and falls back in time. Once a child in that unit falls, the remaining siblings are safe. Once Cecily learns this, she realizes that she herself will fall soon, being only 26 years old. While she doesn’t now where the curse originated or how to break it, she wonders if any of her ancestors have the power to do so. So she takes the unadvisable risk to try to change the past and free her family. The Fallen Fruit by Shawntelle Madison is a time travel historical fiction novel that follows five generations of Bridge women as they experience inevitable loss and prepare for uncertain futures.
Book
Being a time travel novel, multiple timelines exist in The Fallen Fruit. The author includes a helpful family tree in the beginning of the novel. However, it won’t make must sense until readers progress through the story. However, the Bridge Family Rules that Cecily finds set the tone for the story and the mysterious family curse:
- Never interfere with past events
- Always carry your freedom papers (if members of this African-American family fall back in time, they have to prove they aren’t a runaway slave)
- Search for the survival packs in the orchard (so that they may have a chance to survive, wherever they end up)
- Do not speak to strangers unless absolutely necessary
Additionally, readers will have to play close attention and keep track of Bridge family members and names. That being said, we learn the stories of the different women among the generations. In 1780, there’s Sabrina Humbles, whose sister Addison is betrothed to their cousin Luke Bridge. Then Luke suddenly vanishes, frightening and confusing the rest of the family. And readers then follow his harrowing and fascinating life as he survives the years to eventually find his way back to his family. Although the reunion doesn’t go as planned. In 1817, we’ve got Rebecca Raley-Bridge who teaches children on the Bridge compound. One day, several children suddenly disappear within moments of each other, leaving the family grief-stricken and suspicious.
In 1919, siblings Amelia and Isaiah Bridge know and understand the family curse and are more prepared than their ancestors. They travel with supplies knowing one of them could fall at any time. And the one left behind, despite given opportunities to build a life, struggles with survivor’s guilt. But that story isn’t yet finished. A fallen relative from the future makes their move to change the past and free the Bridge family.
Review
The Fallen Fruit was quite the journey for this reader. Madison’s careful attention to detail and consistency with a complex narrative will capture readers’ attention. Once I got the hang of the story, the characters, and how the chain of events are all connected, I deeply felt for the family and their circumstances. Not only that, but the implications that the Bridges are an African American family whose members fall back in time are terrifying. Imagine one moment you’re sitting in a cabin speaking with your family. Then the next moment you’re in a field in the middle of no where. You don’t know where you are, or when you are, or what happened, or why. And suddenly someone approaches you with a weapon to bring you back to authorities because they think you’re a runaway slave. Terrifying is an understatement.
The only problems I have with The Fallen Fruit are the open-ended mystery of a horrible tragedy committed by one of the Bridge men. It’s not clear why he did what he did – we don’t get the scene on the page. It’s possible that I didn’t connect the dots. But it was a mystery throughout the book and I so wanted that explanation. And without spoiling the ending, it’s not what I expected. One might argue that things are left unresolved, but my interpretation is that the truth is a bit more heartbreaking. Readers will have to check it out for themselves – which I highly recommend, nevertheless.
Shawntelle Madison joins the Cantina Book Club Podcast to talk about how the hell she pulled off a multigeneration time travel novel and plans for the future. Keep an ear out for the interview on an upcoming episode and preorder The Fallen Fruit, available September 3.
