Decline and Fall on Savage Street

It's a work of incredible research and incredible scope and incredible feeling . . . it's really wonderful. It think we will look back at these two books [Decline and Fall on Savage Street and The Villa at the Edge of Empire] and think of them as being very important in our local literary history as marking time and place and moment and feeling; it's a wonderful piece of art.

Louise O'Brien, Radio NZ

It's so vast, it shouldn't work; but it does. Primarily this is because, rather than anchoring her text to dry, historical minutiae, Farrell chooses to ground it to people, particularly family. So, as well as the impressive detail made especially graceful thanks to the author's poetic skill, the narrative follows one house settled upon the titular street and its inhabitants, particularly one family, extended and diverse. As such, chapter by chapter are, like a relay team, an exercise in passing the chronological story along. . . . Wide-ranging yet intimate, poetic yet simple, of the singular home yet speaking to the complexities of city and nation, Decline and Fall on Savage Street is a remarkable read.

Siobhan Harvey, Waikato Times

The intricate subtleties of private lives intertwine with the twists and turns of history, from the Great Depression to the Springbok Tour and the fall of the Twin Towers, as the house and its residents slide down and then up the social scale. . . . As the quakes take hold, Farrell's writing is at its finest. Flowing and apparently effortless, never self-consciously clever or intrusively overwrought, the expertly rendered detail is supported by strong foundations. She's particularly good at the difficult job of writing about children and teenagers, caught between the shifting earth and their destabilised parents, trying to make the best of their broken surroundings. The repeated blows endured by the house, the family and their community both generate and reveal deep fractures in lives and relationships.

Anne Else, NZ Listener

Decline & Fall on Savage Street follows the wonderfully engaging stories of the individuals and families, their inner and outer lives, who inhabit a house on the titular Savage Street. . . . If you have any interest in New Zealand social history, any interest in the Christchurch quakes or the rise of neo-liberalism, or if you just love good fiction, read this book.

NZ Doctor

Farrell's work is immensely readable. Her writing is simple and effective and flows beautifully. Her characters are well-drawn, the setting familiar, yet nonetheless fascinating, and the format ensures a natural pull to the finish. . . This is at once a captivating and poignant story and social commentary. Farrell reflects on progress and loss, the circle of life. Her love for Christchurch is evident, but her anger at various bureaucratic bunglings is never far from the surface.

Helen Speirs, Otago Daily Times

Farrell is a clever writer this book made me laugh, smile, feel sad and want to go back for more.

Linda Hall, Manawatu Guardian

Selected as one of the '100 Best Books of 2017'.

Russell Baillie, NZ Listener

Fiona Farrell is a marvellously inventive writer . . . Decline and Fall on Savage Street should not be approached as a conventional novel. . . . It races along at a rapid pace, introducing a plethora of characters. . . . As if it were a house itself, the book depends heavily on its architectural design. . . . Always, the language is light and inventive. There are flashes of humour and thunderbolts of anger . . . The book is a work of great maturity, wisdom and insight.

Stephanie Johnson, Landfall