When the English Fall: A Novel - Hardcover

An Amazon Best Book of July 2017: When the English Fall is a fascinating, dystopian novel that uses journal entries to recount the unraveling of present day society from the point of view of an outsider community. The journal’s author is an Amish man named Jacob, who firmly believes in his religion’s dedication to peace, family, and community. It is in his words that the story begins and ends, as day by day Jacob records his family’s life on their Pennsylvania farm and their interactions with the English. When an unprecedented disaster brings nearby cities to a grinding halt, the cities’ inhabitants turn to the Amish farmers for help; but they also intrude upon them with violence. As lawlessness and acts of savagery intensify, Jacob’s peaceful community is forced to make hard decisions. Author David Williams grants us access into a closed society, a reminder of how reliant the rest of us are on technology to sustain our way of life—and that even the most steadfast will struggle in the face of chaos. When the English Fall is a gripping story, with an ending that made me want to go back and read it all again...--Seira Wilson

“A standout among post-apocalyptic novels, as simply and perfectly crafted as an Amish quilt or table.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“When the English Fall takes its place in the landscape of post-collapse survivalist fiction as satisfyingly as a puzzle piece clicking into a gap. You’ll read it and wonder how you never realized it was missing.” —Kevin Brockmeier, author of The Brief History of the Dead

“She talks about the lights, and about the darkness. The skies are bright with angel wings, she will shout, suddenly. The English fall! The English fall! Again and again she says this.”

After a huge celestial storm sends out magnetic waves so powerful that planes fall out of the sky, phones stop working, and computers go dead, all the ties that hold together modern society begin to unravel. But amid the confusion and panic—and imminent, encroaching violence—there remains one group of people untouched by the spectacular events: the Amish. Thrifty and steadfast, they have remained true to the traditions they have followed for generations, completely independent from technology. How long can this peaceful people stay safe from the disintegrating society around them?