In Falling Into Me, Mason Hamilton
starts his thirties off in what he
considers a great place in life; a
successful photography career in
San Francisco, close friends, and a
cute live-in boyfriend. Just when
he thinks things can’t get any
better everything rapidly falls
apart when his old high school
friend and crush, Billy Harris, pays
a surprise and turmoil filled visit.
Now feeling confused and
directionless, Mason travels back
home to the New Orleans French
Quarter to attend his Aunt
Savannah’s wedding. It’s there in
the decadent and live-and-let-live
Big Easy that Mason begins to
reconnect with old friends, family—
and perhaps finally even himself.
When Mason gets the opportunity
to rekindle a romance from his
teenage years with the guy he’s
never been able to forget, Joey,
he wonders is it possible to
recapture young love twelve years
later.
Perronne, Michael Holloway. “Falling into Me”. Chances Press, 2007
Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?
Amos Lassen
Some of you may remember that I reviewed a book called “A Time Before Me” by Michael Perronne which was about Mason and Joey and was set pretty much in New Orleans. Michael Perronne has written a sequel to it called “Falling Into Me” which takes up the story of Mason Hamilton when he turns the big 30 and when he feels he has reached a great place in his life. He is successful in his photography career in San Francisco, he has a great group of friends and he is in live with his boyfriend who shares his home and his life.
But there is a fly in the ointment. When it seems that things can’t get any better, everything starts to fall apart. His old friend from high school—the boy he once had a crush on—Billy comes to visit and suddenly what was so good turns unbelievably bad. Losing his sense of direction and feel depressed, Mason goes back to New Orleans, to the French Quarter. His Aunt Savannah s getting married and while there he finds his old friends and his family and in the process begins t fid himself. He has a chance to start over again with the guy he has never forgotten, Joey and while attempting to find the love he so desires he question the possibility of finding again what he once lost.
As a former New Orleanian, I can tell you that Perronne knows what he is writing about. He captures the essence of the decadence the town he, himself, once called home. His depiction of the Big Easy is true to every detail and his tender prose and artful characterization makes me remember what it is to miss New Orleans. (He also dedicates the book to “those impacted by Hurricane Katrina”.) His love for the city permeates his writing. His southern voice rings like a bell through the pages of his work
When “A Time Before Me” ended, I felt it cried out for a sequel—not that it did not stand on its own—it certainly did. Yet I was left wondering what would happen as Mason matured and would of all of his unfulfilled dreams. We no longer have to worry---the story is there and it is beautiful. I personally have to thank Michael Perronne for not one book but two books about one of what was and I hope will be again America’s most exciting cities. Even though I am not going back to the city I love so much, Perronne has given me fuel to add to the beautiful memories I have of the place. He has also incorporated a beautiful story. Keep your eyes on Michael Holloway Perronne. I hope this is just the beginning of a wonderful career as a writer who has something new and wonderful to say.
