Falling: A Novel

“‘We say it that way so that if we crash,’ he explained, ‘they know exactly how many bodies they’re looking for. Avoids the confusion of different titles like passengers, crew, infants. Just how many bodies, son. That’s all they need to know. Oh!’ He snapped his fingers. ‘And sometimes we carry dead bodies in the cargo hold so they need to know not to count them. So now, after you log in the souls…’”

Newman uses her extensive knowledge of airplanes to explain certain elements that are specific to flying. This particular element stresses the vulnerability of the people onboard a plane and the responsibility a pilot has. Newman thereby once again expresses Bill’s responsibility in assuring the people on the plane, not just passengers, but everyone, arrives at their destination unharmed. This statement gives a human element to the plot that is developing in this early chapter of the novel.

“Jaw clenched, Bill searched his bag. That’s how he got in the house and that’s how he got something onto the plane. He’d left the room when Bill came in the kitchen, that was when he put it in his bag. What was his name? Carrie had said it at one point. Bill couldn’t remember if he introduced himself or not.”

Moments after learning his family has been kidnapped, Bill begins putting together clues that explain how easy it was for a stranger to take control of his family. At the same time, he discovers that items were slipped into his bag that he unknowingly carried through security and onto the plane; these items respond to the subtle foreshadowing of Bill’s explicit observations about how easily he, as a pilot, is able to bypass the strict security at airports. Bill has already been shown to be a man who takes his role as protector of those flying on his plane seriously. At this moment, though, Newman suggests that no matter how careful and intentional a person is, he is still vulnerable in ways he might never consider.

“All I want is to see what a good man—a good American man—does when he’s in a no-win situation. What does a man like you do when he has to choose. A plane full of strangers? Or your family? See, Bill, it really is about the choice. You. Choosing who will survive. That is what I want.”

Sam’s alleged motive for hijacking the plane is one that ties into The Personal Consequences of Political Actions. Sam and Ben left their families in the hopes of securing a better life in the United States; not long after, the American public made little to no effort to stop their president from withdrawing troops from Syria, even though it was clear that Turkey was preparing to attack Kurdistan. Sam’s explanation here indicates a wish to force Bill, as a representation of the American public, to confront his indifference: That is, Sam wants to see if Bill is once again capable of murdering thousands, albeit this time with his own hands. The first time that Bill murdered thousands, in Sam’s eyes, was when Bill simply practiced disinterest and inaction regarding politics.

“‘You want me,’ she said, eyes narrowing, ‘to raise the alarm on an impending terrorist attack on Washington, DC. You want me to send Hostage Rescue into a suburban LA neighborhood in broad daylight. And all of this, based off intel you and you alone got in a text message. From your aunt.’”

Liu’s disbelief when Theo first tells her about Bill’s dilemma emphasizes the risk Theo is taking in presenting this information on behalf of his aunt. While the FBI takes terrorism seriously, Theo’s evidence is minimal, and his career is already on shaky ground. This moment also sets up the uneasy relationship between Theo and his colleagues, creating tension between them that will lead to Theo’s actions later in the novel.

“Bill’s high school history teacher had once showed the class grainy black-and-white films of American POWs in Vietnam reading forced confessions after having been beaten and tortured by their captors. Later that night, Bill was shaken awake by his wide-eyed little brother only to find his bed soaked and his voice hoarse after the prisoner’s hollow gaze had followed him to his dreams.”

When Sam asks Bill to make a statement, Bill connects his situation to memories of learning about Vietnamese soldiers forcing American POWs to issue statements. By comparing his situation with the POWs, Bill places himself in the role of victim and hero, expressing his innocence and virtue alike.

“Snot ran down the boy’s face onto the gag in his mouth. He had cried nearly as hard as Elise when Sam grabbed his mother’s arm.

Walking over to the boy, Sam placed the tissue over his nose.

‘Blow,’ he said. Scott blew and the man folded the tissue, wiping the child’s upper lip.”

Newman shows a tender side of the kidnapper, Sam, when he blows Scott’s nose. This moment is a drastic contrast to Sam’s demand that Bill crash the plane, suggesting Sam is a complex human being with motivations that are more than just a desire to see people die. By showing this more human side of Sam, Newman prompts the reader and her own characters to see Sam as a person rather than a just a terrorist. These moments play into the sympathy Bill and Carrie feel for Sam and Ben at the end of the novel.

“After all, a flight is just a random sample of the general population, a classic bell curve. A few assholes and a few exemplars, but primarily, a whole bunch of sheep.”

Jo’s observation of the passengers of the flight is an interesting characterization of a snapshot of society that plays on the idea that societies tend to exhibit a herd mentality. This observation plays into Ben and Sam’s motive for crashing the plane. Ben and Sam feel that Americans allowed their president to disregard the safety of Kurds by refusing to acknowledge the danger withdrawing troops from Syria would place them in. Newman clearly shows a pattern of behavior among American society that lends weight to Ben and Sam’s claims, setting up the ending in which Carrie and Bill take the time to educate themselves on the Kurds.

“When the passengers boarded the plane, they placed their lives directly into Bill’s hands. And once the plane was airborne it became a choice they couldn’t go back on. Bill would decide what happened to the plane. That’s what they agreed to. So now the only thing the passengers could do was trust that the captain would uphold his end of the bargain and land the plane in one piece.”

Again, Newman stresses that Bill is in charge of making sure the plane lands safely and everyone survives. Newman goes out of her way to stress this fact over and over again, adding tension to the plot and placing emphasis on Sam’s desire to force an otherwise good citizen to make a choice that would have lasting consequences on him, his family, and the country. At this moment, it is Jo pushing this idea as she worries about what a lack of trust among the passengers could lead to; Jo’s concern foreshadows the moment Dave attempts to stop her from catching the gas canister out of fear and misunderstanding.

“By then, Theo and his family were settled into the house four doors down from Aunt Jo’s, his new world consisting of two back doors that were never locked, constantly opening and closing. He was the eldest of the five cousins and since he didn’t have a father figure, he took it upon himself to fill the role. Even Uncle Mike, Aunt Jo’s husband, seemed to regard him as a peer, not a child.”

Newman takes time to describe Theo’s childhood, giving insight into his relationship with Jo as well as the circumstances of his childhood that help explain Theo as a man. Theo never really got to be a child, always treated as a grown-up due to his mother’s decision to leave her husband. Theo has been responsible for others for a long time, and he is a protector at heart; his background lays the foundation for Theo’s role in theme of Leadership and Willingness to Sacrifice. This upbringing is clear in his adulthood in his decision to follow instincts that have gotten him into trouble with the FBI. This information helps to foreshadow the moment Theo decides to take the safety of the Hoffman family into his own hands and go to Dockweiler Beach on his own rather than wait for permission from Liu.

“They knew, more than they had ever known anything, that this was their destiny. To go to America. To be comfortable, unbothered, and happy. To play on California beaches and date beautiful women. To fly airplanes.”

In a flashback, Ben reveals the motivation that brought he and Sam to the United States. It was the movie Top Gun. This motive shows the naivety of the two young boys while serving as foreshadowing to the time when their dream comes true only to turn into a nightmare. The words in this quote directly describe what happens to them and why they feel the intense guilt that leads to their decision to hijack the plane.

“‘The only people in that cockpit,’ Jo said calmly, ‘are the two pilots flying this plane. Who we very much need alive and well. The terrorist you want is on the ground back in LA. Breaking into the flight deck would accomplish absolutely nothing and only put us at greater risk.’”

Jo takes a role of leadership, illustrating her willingness to sacrifice as a leader, when she stands up against Dave in an attempt to convince him breaking into the cockpit won’t help their situation. This moment foreshadows Dave’s attempt later to get into the cockpit during the toss of the gas canister, as well as the moment later in the novel when Jo herself will attempt to break into the cockpit. Jo’s words do calm some of the passengers, however, and stress the difference between this modern-day hijacker and hijackers of the past by pointing out the fact that the hijacker is still safely on the ground.

“Bill was as rusty at listening and transcribing Morse as he had been at transmitting it earlier in the flight when no one seemed to be listening. His old knowledge was coming back quickly, but he could feel sweat lining his palms in the intense focus. Morse was hard enough to do on its own—never mind having to do it in secret while juggling another conversation.”

Bill’s choice to transmit messages via Morse code harks back on a past communication skill that is rarely used anymore, but often appears in books of this genre. Bill’s choice is a brave one because if he were caught, he could suffer the consequences through injury to his family or himself, touching on the theme of leadership and willingness to sacrifice. At the same time, the choice is a wise one because it is instrumental in Theo finding Carrie and the children, cutting out one half of the dilemma Bill has been struggling with.

“The souls on board had become a family—as perfect as imperfection is. The short life of this family was about to reach its end, and as a group, they faced their mortality together.”

Jo’s observation of the passengers and crew touches on the novel’s motif of family and familial connections in that she sees them as a family forged under duress. This perception goes hand in hand with Jo’s earlier observation that most of society is a group of sheep who act under a herd mentality, yet this time, her observation has more affection and less cynicism. This moment shows a change in Jo, an acceptance of her situation that, rather than undermining her determination to survive, enhances it with this emotional connection she has developed with the people on the plane.

“Marry me again, Carrie. I’m asking you now just like I did then—will you marry me? But don’t just say yet. Underlined. All caps. Not yet. Wait. Be patient. See if I prove myself worthy of you. I promise you I will. Carrie, I promise you. Don’t say yes until you believe I deserve you.”

Exploring the theme of leadership and willingness to sacrifice again, Bill and Carrie speak to each other in code with Carrie telling Bill she’s going to sacrifice herself and Bill begging her not to. This moment is emotionally charged and increases the tension in the novel as it foreshadows Carrie’s potential death. It also shows the depth of connection between Bill and Carrie, drawing again on the motif of family connections and illustrating their love for one another.

“Betrayed, again. Abandoned, again. And after we had sacrificed so much, fighting alongside you, destroying ISIS for you—we lost eleven thousand YPG fighters defeating ISIS for you. Eleven. Thousand. And you do that. You betray us like that.”

Sam finally reveals the event that motivated him to hijack a commercial airplane, and the anger that led to his decision is revealed in the words he chooses. While Sam connects his motivation to the acts of the United States government, he also continues to include personal guilt when he reveals that his family was killed. This moment reveals not only Sam’s motivations but also a level of emotion that makes Sam more relatable to the reader and his character sympathetic.

“All this, and I’m the one with a choice.”

Sam speaks these words before choosing to take his own life. The irony of the situation is clearly not lost on him as he realizes that he wanted a good American man to make a choice between family and society, but it is Sam who must choose between continuing to live without his family or dying for his cause. Sam has become Bill’s foil in an unpredictable moment of irony, which Sam appreciates the moment before making his choice. The moment adds dimension to the theme of The Power of Strong Relationships, indicating the capacity of deep bonds, when lost, to cause devastation.

“The agitator ball clanked. Bill heard the hiss of the canister being unlocked, immediately followed by the door opening. Ben gave a small grunt and the air whistled as he chucked the poison out of the cockpit and into the cabin.”

In the moments after Sam dies, Ben changes from an accomplice to the new threat. Ben’s act of throwing a second canister into the passenger cabin illustrates his potential as a present hijacker who could crash the plane in Bill’s stead. Bill’s priorities alter in this moment, changing the tone of the novel as the threat returns.

“The backup plan was Ben. The threat they had been looking for this whole time…

…was one of the them.”

Jo’s façade begins to crack when she learns the truth, that Ben was the hijacker’s accomplice. This moment is significant because it both leads Jo to the final conflict, and it shows how her resolve weakens not in the face of stress, but in the face of betrayal. Jo realizes that this family she has built with her coworkers includes a traitor, the last thing she expected given the trust she extends to those in her circle.

“‘It was never about the crash, Bill. It was never about you or the passengers or your family. It wasn’t really even about the choice.’ He shook his head. ‘It was about waking people up. About doing something dramatic enough to get their attention. Something they couldn’t ignore. It wasn’t personal.’”

Ben explains his motivation in the hijacking, touching on his desire to educate the American people. Ironically, he achieves this goal as seen in the final chapter of the novel, when Bill and Carrie go out of their way to educate themselves on the subject. However, Ben gives this explanation mainly in an attempt to express how his motives have changed since Sam died.

“I don’t know about you boys, but I always prefer to go out swinging.”

Bobby Adelson, the center fielder for the Yankees, makes the choice to remain at Yankee Stadium even though it has become evident that the stadium is the target of the hijackers. This willingness to sacrifice, especially when paired with the nonchalant tone, captures the image of traditional American leadership idealized in the novel.

“When Ben had recovered enough to move again, he went for the toggle, and in that moment, Bill reached into his seat, wrapping his hand around the only tool he had left. Clutching the pen that had laid in his lap the whole flight, Bill spun around, grunting as he unleashed his arm in an uppercut.”

The moment Bill must make the decision to take a life comes, and he uses a weapon he ironically used earlier in the novel to cover up his attempts to communicate with the ground using Morse code. This moment is the last chance Bill has to protect the souls on the plane, and it is also a moment that will change him because of the severity of the act.

“With Ol’ Blue Eyes crooning the Yankees’—and the city’s—iconic anthem, every person in the stadium, player and fan alike, held on to each other and made peace with their choice to stay.”

The Yankees win the World Series moments before the plane is due to reach the stadium. The victory contrasts with the lack of fanfare. While the Middle Eastern terrorist attempting to crash a plane on American soil evokes 9/11, the images of the baseball stadium evoke the intense patriotism that emerged in the wake of that attack. Baseball is a quintessentially American sport, and the united participants, “player and fan alike,” calls to the theme of The Power of Strong Relationships.

“Not even then. My husband, my sons, my parents, my sister, Theo, my friends…none of them. What kind of woman am I? What kind of wife, what kind of mother?”

Jo questions her character when she reveals that she didn’t think of her family at any time during the ordeal on the plane. This guilt Jo feels is ironically identical to the guilt Sam felt that led to the hijacking. This comparison grounds Sam as a normal human being despite his role as the antagonist, and it also reveals Jo’s humanity in a way that makes her even more sympathetic than she had been before.