Cover Image: And Then She Fell

And Then She Fell

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Member Reviews

This was a intricately woven indigenous story that deals with, racism, trauma, addiction, mental health, postpartum depression, with a touch of supernatural thrown in. You don’t know if the MC is going crazy or if things are real. Loved how this book is told, loved the writing style, could not put the book down. We need more from this kickass Canadian author.

If you enjoy an amazing indigenous story, look no further and but this book. I myself have pre ordered it from indigo.

Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random house, and the author for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

4.5/5 stars, rounded up.

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This was an intense and creepy read. As a new mom, I could relate to some of Alice's experiences, minus the racism, magic, and mental illness. I liked the unreliable narrator aspect of this novel - you could never quite tell what was in Alice's mind and what was real, even by the time the novel ended.

I loved Alicia Elliott's first book, A Mind Spread Out on the Ground, so I was happy to find that her second did not disappoint.

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Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for my ARC. This was an emotional read that made me think. If you would like even a glimpse of what it feels like to live with a mental illness this is the book for you. It will make you feel all the things.

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One of the most beautifully written stories about racism, sanity & motherhood. I couldn’t decide if Alice was suffering from psychosis or if she was really in danger for most of the story. The story carried me through stages of denial & acceptance as I grieved with Alice for the loss she’s suffered. I absolutely loved reading this exploration of human pain and trauma. What does ‘genocide’ mean when you have to survive it? What does ‘genocide’ mean when you still have to face the descendent of the ones perpetrating it throughout the history while they realize their own truth? What is your truth?

* I got a free copy of the book from NetGalley. I’d say I was very fortunate to read this book so early on but I am disappointed that the publisher couldn’t be bothered to provide an Epub/AZW3/Mobi/ Whatever-your-typical-ebook-reader-reads version & only released the book in pdf. It was confusing & frustrating to navigate the story & hope that the random numbers popping up in the middle of the paragraphs were due to the incompatibility of the book and my kindle. It was also a testament to the strength of this story & the author & that I never even considered stopping despite the insurmountable frustration & chalked it up to another microaggression Alice had to live through to tell her story.

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Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott. Published by Penguin Random House Canada
There are so many topics covered in this novel, what a brilliantly written story. Oh mental illness, so much of this story I was able to relate to, having had a husband with mental illness, using alcohol and pot to calm the voices, not being able to trust anyone, thinking every person is out to get you.
This novel also touches on Native American perceived prejudices and some issues, auch as water, on the reserves. Mostly its Alice's progression with her mental illness, motherhood, living away from family and off the reservation
I really enjoyed this novel, how it was written, the characters were great and well developed and described. I enjoyed the first three quarters of this novel more, the writing style changed at the end and I was a little lost to be honest. This is the first book by this author that I have read, and look forward to reading more

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First of all, let me just say that this book is without a doubt one of the best that I've read so far this year.
And Then She Fell is the story of Alice, an indigenous woman named Alice who from the outside seems to have the perfect. life. A nice home, a successful husband and a beautiful little baby named Dawn.
But what lies below the surface is a lot of doubt, postpartum depression, paranoia, fear of addiction and mental illness.
The story explores all these issues and then takes you on a journey even deeper.
A beautiful told and powerful story, And Then She Fell will stick with you long after you've turned the final page.

Please find attached my more in-depth, but still spoiler free youtube review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDwwNQC0Az4&t=452s

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I really enjoyed A Mind Spread Out on the Ground and while this is a novel instead of essays/memoir, it touches on many of the same issues. It is very well written and makes it easy to get into Alice's character, and the extra parts (the excerpts of the character's writing and then the whole end section) are an unusual way to explore the story from other angles. It almost feels a bit like horror in some ways, there are good pop culture references and some local colour. I highly recommend it.

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This novel delves into so many important issues and will definitely stick with me as I reflect on these issues, many of which I don't see in a lot of fiction. Alice's internal monologue was well written and heartbreaking at times.
With about 1/3 of the story remaining, the novel does take a bit of a left turn and this change did take me out of the story a bit, but in the end it makes sense to the narrative. Really well written story and worth the read.

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A beautiful, sinister, love filled story! It is, of course, about indigenous peoples and culture, the loss of family, mourning, mental illness, and touches on a lot of serious ideas. But there is so much love and emotion here, strength of will, too. It has the creeping tones and social commentary and outright horror of many modern horror films but feels so rooted in Alice and her love of her family that these big themes are an important part of her story, and not the story themselves. Wonderfully done and an incredibly enjoyable heart wrenching read.

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Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. The following opinions are my own.

I was really happy to receive this book as it has been on my list for a while. I'm trying to get my hands on as much indigenous literature as I can. Admittedly I knew going in this would be a difficult read just based off the premise. I really liked the structure of the book though. The first half describes the main characters descent as she spirals with her mental health. The second half is a conversation she is having between her and her granddaughter.

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