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Fall On Me
Lou Bard busies himself running a humble Launceston café, looking after his son Luke, and doing his best to bring a sense of normality to the old worker's cottage they rent with a series of housemates. But when Luke, an intelligent, provocative teenager, decides to risk all by making his body the focus of an art installation, Lou is forced to revisit the dark secrets of his past, question what it means to be a good father, and discover that there's more love in his life than he could ever have imagined.
Winner 2012 ACT Writing and Publishing Award (Fiction)
Winner 2012 ACT Writing and Publishing Award (Fiction)
136 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
2 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
Nigel Featherstone
12 books35 followersNigel Featherstone is an Australian writer for the page, stage, and music. His most recent work is The Wreck Event, a 16-song spokenword-and-music album under the moniker Hell Herons collaboration with award-winning poets Melinda Smith, Stuart Barnes, and CJ Bowerbird. Nigel’s most recent novel, My Heart is a Little Wild Thing, was published by Ultimo Press (Hardie Grant) in 2022. It has been described as ‘Epic in its intimacy–a triumph of a book’ (Peter Polites), ‘A remarkable look at Australian masculinity and its meaning’ (Newtown Review of Books), and ‘Yearning and intimate’ (West Australian). Nigel’s war novel, Bodies of Men, was published by Hachette Australia in 2019. It was longlisted for the 2020 ARA Historical Novel Prize, shortlisted for the 2020 ACT Book of the Year, and shortlisted in the 2019 Queensland Literary Awards. His short works - prose and poetry - have appeared in numerous literary journals such as the Review of Australian Fiction, Meanjin, Overland, Rabbit, Island, The Millions and the Chicago Quarterly Review. In terms of theatre, Nigel’s play with spokenword songs, The Story of the Oars, had its world premiere in 2025 at The Street Theatre, Canberra. As commissioned by the Hume Conservatorium, he wrote the libretto for The Weight of Light, which was developed by The Street Theatre and had its world premiere in 2018. As a freelancer, Nigel’s work has appeared in a variety of mastheads and journals, including the Sydney Morning Herald, Guardian Australia, and the Chicago Quarterly Review. In 2022, Nigel was named the ACT Artist of the Year. He is represented by Gaby Naher, The Naher Agency, Sydney.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 30, 2014
Fall on me is a novella by Nigel Featherstone, published by Canberra-based Blemish Books. I was intrigued with the blurb ‘… when Luke, an intelligent, provocative teenager, decides to risk all by making his body the focus of an art installation, Lou is forced to revisit the dark secrets of his past, question what it means to be a good father, and discover that there's more love in his life than he could ever have imagined.’
It is a softly-spoken book in many ways, that explores art and people's responses to it. I was reminded of the Bill Henson controversy over his photographs of naked teenagers, at that moment when they blossom from child to adult. Featherstone's book similarly asks the question is it art or pornography? Beauty or something unsavoury?
In Featherstone's novella, it is a 17 year old, Luke, who has taken photographs of himself to display in a very brave installation. The book is told from Luke's father's point of view, Lou is a courageous single father, focused on making his business successful, so that he can pay the rent and take care of their son. They have an enviable relationship, despite the hardships of their past.
The mystery of their past keeps us reading, but it is their charming relationship that makes this novel outstanding; a father wanting to protect his son, but also trying not to hold him back from having a voice.
It is a softly-spoken book in many ways, that explores art and people's responses to it. I was reminded of the Bill Henson controversy over his photographs of naked teenagers, at that moment when they blossom from child to adult. Featherstone's book similarly asks the question is it art or pornography? Beauty or something unsavoury?
In Featherstone's novella, it is a 17 year old, Luke, who has taken photographs of himself to display in a very brave installation. The book is told from Luke's father's point of view, Lou is a courageous single father, focused on making his business successful, so that he can pay the rent and take care of their son. They have an enviable relationship, despite the hardships of their past.
The mystery of their past keeps us reading, but it is their charming relationship that makes this novel outstanding; a father wanting to protect his son, but also trying not to hold him back from having a voice.
February 8, 2017
Stunning, beautiful; a story that's perfectly scoped for the length of a novella. Full review at allthenovellas.com.
March 2, 2025
This novella packs a punch. And one that is so rewarding. This is one of Nigel’s novellas that I was missing as I’ve been devouring all his other work. Sometimes it’s disappointing when you find something that you’ve been searching for. Not this time.
Seek this beautiful tale if you can. The bond between the father and son. “I’ll never, ever let you down.”
This resonated “the best people in the world don’t give a rat’s arse what others think about them, which means your son is one of the very best, Lou, one of the very, very best.”
Seek this beautiful tale if you can. The bond between the father and son. “I’ll never, ever let you down.”
This resonated “the best people in the world don’t give a rat’s arse what others think about them, which means your son is one of the very best, Lou, one of the very, very best.”
November 11, 2023
‘As he has done for as long as he can remember, which is too long, he knows that better than anyone, Lou Bard wakes alone at dawn.’
There are four significant characters in this novella: thirty-eight-year-old Lou Bard, his seventeen-year-old son Luke, their housemate Anna, and the Tasmanian city of Launceston. Lou runs a café in Margaret Street, Luke attends the local high school and Anna works in a local bookshop.
Lou is reinventing his café after thirteen years, and while he prepares breakfast for Luke and Anna finds a card affixed to the fridge:
‘Good morning, my father, there is something I’d like you to see. I’ll come around to the shop at 6.01pm this afternoon, and I’ll take you away to show you. I won’t be late. Make sure you don’t have any lingering customers! Love, your son, Luke. PS. Be brave, because that’s what I have been, more brave than I’ve ever been before.’
Luke, as Lou discovers, has made his body the focus of an art installation. Lou is torn between supporting Luke and protecting him. This involves Lou considering his own past, his role as a father, and whether (and how) he can move beyond what keeps him frozen. Listening to REM (Lou’s favourite band) is a great way to read this novella.
I’ve read this novella twice. The first time, in 2012 not long after it was published, I was looking for fiction set in Launceston. And, nostalgic for the city I lived in for fourteen years, I focussed more on the places mentioned than on the story. Last year, I visited Launceston. I stayed in Balfour Street and walked down Margaret Street to Paterson Street, on to Kings Bridge and past the Gatekeepers House into Cataract Gorge each day. I also walked along Welman Street, where a friend used to live, and could imagine Lou, Luke and Anna occupying Number 32, with its views of West Launceston. Mr Featherstone’s novel ‘took me home’.
So, the second time I read this novella, I focussed on the story. I admired Luke’s bravery, could relate to Lou’s fear and determination, and appreciated Anna’s role. We learn about the events that have frozen Lou, about the meaning and impact of Luke’s art installation, and Anna strides out of the background. I finished the novella confident of a brighter future for each of them.
I really enjoyed this novella. I loved the way Mr Featherstone developed his characters and captured Launceston.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
There are four significant characters in this novella: thirty-eight-year-old Lou Bard, his seventeen-year-old son Luke, their housemate Anna, and the Tasmanian city of Launceston. Lou runs a café in Margaret Street, Luke attends the local high school and Anna works in a local bookshop.
Lou is reinventing his café after thirteen years, and while he prepares breakfast for Luke and Anna finds a card affixed to the fridge:
‘Good morning, my father, there is something I’d like you to see. I’ll come around to the shop at 6.01pm this afternoon, and I’ll take you away to show you. I won’t be late. Make sure you don’t have any lingering customers! Love, your son, Luke. PS. Be brave, because that’s what I have been, more brave than I’ve ever been before.’
Luke, as Lou discovers, has made his body the focus of an art installation. Lou is torn between supporting Luke and protecting him. This involves Lou considering his own past, his role as a father, and whether (and how) he can move beyond what keeps him frozen. Listening to REM (Lou’s favourite band) is a great way to read this novella.
I’ve read this novella twice. The first time, in 2012 not long after it was published, I was looking for fiction set in Launceston. And, nostalgic for the city I lived in for fourteen years, I focussed more on the places mentioned than on the story. Last year, I visited Launceston. I stayed in Balfour Street and walked down Margaret Street to Paterson Street, on to Kings Bridge and past the Gatekeepers House into Cataract Gorge each day. I also walked along Welman Street, where a friend used to live, and could imagine Lou, Luke and Anna occupying Number 32, with its views of West Launceston. Mr Featherstone’s novel ‘took me home’.
So, the second time I read this novella, I focussed on the story. I admired Luke’s bravery, could relate to Lou’s fear and determination, and appreciated Anna’s role. We learn about the events that have frozen Lou, about the meaning and impact of Luke’s art installation, and Anna strides out of the background. I finished the novella confident of a brighter future for each of them.
I really enjoyed this novella. I loved the way Mr Featherstone developed his characters and captured Launceston.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
November 19, 2025
Author: Nigel Featherstone
Title: Fall On Me ( pg 118)
Genre: novella
Published: 2011
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Good News:
I had so much fun reading this book! I even contacted the author via Twitter! He told me he wrote the story...during a month's stay in Launceston Tasmania. I decided to investigate this town, its streets and iconic buildings! NOTE: book is perfectly paired with author's REM playlist!! NOTE: ...there are more songs, so read the book and keep Spotify handy! Radio Free Europe...is a favorite of mine in chapter 6! As Anna says (housemate): "it's good to allow a bit of nostalgia into your...life every now and again...."
Conclusion:
Fall on Me is short enough to be read in one sitting. What's not to love? A novella is still a novel and this one has complexity with relationships (Katelyn, Fergal)...and the all the subplots (Anna, surviving in Lonnie = Launceston, Tasmania) A novel if too long looses focus...but Nigel Featherstone uses compression and intensity...to keep this reader glued to every page!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews