Reviews

And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott

elenahasashelf's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This is so incredibly hard to rate because I was slow to get into it, had mixed feelings most of the way through, and by the end

I was moved to tears.

This is really not the story you think it’s going to be! It reminded me a lot of Bad Cree, as a horror story that ends kind of hopefully, that’s really a story about family and chosen family and grief and guilt. I found the ending impossible to put down and incredibly powerful. I’ll be thinking about it for a long time. Having said that, the transition in tone and perspective was jarring. On the one hand I was in awe as the world grew bigger - and on the other I was like…why did we just go through everything we did in the middle then?!

The bulk of the novel definitely planted good seeds, built up the tension and gave me a thorough understanding of who Alice is. Her voice is distinct in a way that I find lots of other narrator voices aren’t. I did find myself getting a little bored by the more everyday mundane passages, but once I picked the book back up after an initial lull I didn’t want to put it back down. 

I loved the way mental health is treated by the ending - the way that Alice finds her experiences honoured by Eden, even the ones that are brought on by her psychosis. It brought me to tears thinking about mental health in my circles, and what it must be like not to be believed for a whole of your experiences - especially as a marginalized person. It makes you question your own reading of the bulk of the book - does it matter how unreliable Alice’s narration is? Is the hard truth of events what matters to this story? 

The overall message about finding meaning and persistence in each other was so powerful. We don’t see much of Alice’s cousins throughout but we always sense how important they are and I’m glad they were important to the ending.

Reading the acknowledgements and seeing that this went from short story to novel checks out - I think it could have been a strong novella. The same points

and twists

could have been delivered in a tighter way.

The emphasis on being a fish out of water in the city was so much the focus for so long, and didn’t end up being the main thing to pay off? Which on the one hand effectively threw me for a loop! And definitely added depth to Alice and her perspective. But I don’t think we needed that amount of focus on it! Though I do truly think that my opinion on this as a white reader is probably quite limited, and that could have been one of the more resonant points for Indigenous readers.

kateivy's review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I always gravitate towards stories that are focused on the challenges of motherhood. I think this is the first time, however, that the depiction of the perceieved judgement of all those around in those early days really hit me. Alice's journey was heartwrenching, stressful, and exhausting. I also loved and appreciated how the Mohawk creation story was weaved in. The ending was beautiful and emotional and really encapsulates the theme of choosing your family, an important part of Mohawk belief system. 

lawralthelibrarian's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

kylieqrada's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Harrowing depiction of perinatal mood disorders and more specifically postpartum psychosis. Also loved learning more about Indigenous lore. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Racism, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Addiction, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Minor: Drug abuse and Forced institutionalization

elevnnn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad

4.0

katiekay915's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

ripleynolan's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

oh my god i love body horror and motherhood together

gazook's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

amelie5m's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

jonjyn's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

updated review: overall, i do recommend it but forget that it's labelled as horror as for me i went in with expectations, which was unfair on the book. when people say it's an insight into PPP and mental illness i wonder did you miss the point?

throughout the whole book alice talks about how her experiences with racism are dismissed or played down, and we get a thorough explanation as to why she is experiencing the voices and visions. just because it's not explainable to modern white medicine doesn't mean what she's experiencing isn't truly happening. i think to conclude alice see visions and hears voices because she is mentally ill is incorrect and at a reader's level dismisses alice's experiences in the same way she recounts having been dismissed within the book. my average ranking is due to the fact that while i can see the genius behind it, i personally did not enjoy my reading experience and i did not like the time loop phenomenon at the end.

previously i reviewed it as: 2.5; when storygraph says horror, it doesn’t mean horror