Will has never been outside, at least not since he can remember. And he has certainly never gotten to know anyone other than his mother, a fiercely loving yet wildly eccentric agoraphobe who drowns in panic at the thought of opening the front door. Their world is exotic and adventuresome—full of art, experiments, and music—but confined to their small house.
But Will’s thirst for adventure can’t be contained. Clad in a protective helmet and unsure of how to talk to other kids, he finally goes outside. At school, he meets Jonah, an artsy loner, who introduces Will to the danger and freedom of skateboarding. Together, they search for a missing local boy, help a bedraggled vagabond, and evade a dangerous bootlegger. The adventure is more than Will ever expected and pulls him far from the confines of his closed-off world and into the throes of early adulthood and the dangers that everyday life offers.
In buoyant, kinetic prose, Michael Christie has written an emotionally resonant and keenly observed novel about mothers and sons, fears and risks, and the lengths we’ll go for those we love.
I was struck by the beauty of the prose in this book. For a book that I was expecting to be about a boy, his mum, and his love of skateboarding it became so much more. The development of the relationship between Will and his mum, between Will and the Outside (capital ‘O’ very important), and the uncovering of the story of their past leads into almost a mystery / thriller with Will and his new friend investigating the disappearance of kids and having dealings with the town bad guy.
I loved how thorough the author has been with the detail in this book, both fictional details of the characters lives, and actual details of the joys of skateboarding – his passion for the sport is really apparent, but not in an overpowering way. I also loved how all the loose ends seemed to tie up beautifully by the end of the novel. Even though some aspects of the characters lives are hard to comprehend, the author has provided amazing insights into their descent into or out of madness.
I felt quite disoriented reading this book at times, but this was probably a reflection of the fact that several of the main characters are battling mental breakdowns. Following the ups and downs of these battles was fascinating.
I’ve found this quite a hard book to review. It’s left me happy yet sad, hollow yet satisfied. I would definitely recommend it though, as it is beautifully written and tackles a set of unusual subjects.
If I Fall, If I Die is due to be published by Hogarth on 20th January 2015.
Disclaimer: I was provided with an e-ARC of this book for review purposes, but all opinions are my own.
Catrad 