As a local, picking up this book is such a novelty at first, seeing all the places you know talked about on the page is quite an unusual thrill for those of us from our little county. It's not always a pleasant experience though, as sometimes it forces you to hold up a mirror to a murkier side of small community living that many may find uncomfortable confronting.
As you read it won't be long before you notice the writing structure is unlike anything you've read before. There are no full stops or commas here but one long sentence after another punctuated by forward slashes instead. To me this just enhances the fact that the whole story plays out over one sweeping weekend, whisking you along with it.
The story itself is so layered with different contexts and themes that it was only on my second read that I really appreciated all these different parts of the whole story.
The writer is able to seamlessly weave them all together into the one premise that marks them out as a skilled storyteller, that you don't notice being taken on this ride. These themes of race, family separation, sexuality, inequality, loss, grief and desperation are tough subjects to tackle but crucially there are moments, glimmers of hope, that things can get better...hopefully before it's too late.

4.5

Aidy is working to a deadline. He can't think about the consequences of punching a work colleague or whether he'll have a job come Monday; he can't even think about when or if his birth mother will reply to his letter; he can't think about the mess his life has become. He needs to write and the story is vivid in his mind. He needs to write but he's forgotten that it's his weekend with his daughter ...

About to Fall Apart is a story within a story and I do enjoy those. Aidy is an interesting character who seems unable to stop himself getting into trouble. He has a string of broken relationships and has difficulty being relaxed with his children, particularly his eldest son. But he is trying hard to get himself on the right track with his writing, work and his family. He hopes the story he is writing will just be the start of good things.

Although this is written as a stream of consciousness it didn't put me off. The plot is engaging and even though it is only a short novel (novella?) it packs quite a punch.

I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend it.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Faber & Faber for the digital review copy.

Aidy's life is unravelling - but can he pull it back? Ashley Hickson-Lovence is quietly one of England's best authors. The tenderness with which he writes his books and the care he shows to seemingly each and every word he chooses show a true poet's soul.

If you are a lover of poetry but also a sucker for narrative with real human feeling and depth - you will love About To Fall Apart.