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Before the Fall 

Noah Hawley’s “Fargo” has done the improbable. It’s taken a near-perfect movie and turned it into a near-perfect television series, the best thing on TV for two straight years. Hawley has a great grasp of tone and character, and his work as “Fargo’s” creator has led to a show that is funny, suspenseful and surprisingly philosophical.

Hawley’s also a regarded novelist, and his latest is “Before the Fall.” I just started reading this a week back and am not that far through, but what I’ve finished so far is gripping. It opens with a group of people departing Martha’s Vineyard on a private plane, which crashes into the ocean 18 minutes later. There are two survivors: an unassuming painter and a young boy. From there, the story flashes back to examine the lives of the people on the plane and reveal what led to the crash. The mystery aspect is already intriguing, involving a former politician and the head of a major TV news network. But what I’m most intrigued by is Hawley’s character building and the relationship he’s weaving between the painter and the young boy. I’m eager to see where it goes from here.