This is a love story. A moving, clever memoir about a father’s relationship with his son Tito, born with cerebral palsy. It’s clever because Mainardi writes in 424 steps like the steps that his son has progressively taken over the years as he grows stronger and more confident in his movement. A poet and journalist, Mainardi writes lyrically as well as in a scrupulously researched manner. It’s beautiful and fascinating.

full review: http://entertainmentrealm.com/2014/10/01/the-fall-book-review/

Diogo Mainardi's tiny non-fiction book describes his son's birth and cerebral palsy through the lens of art and architectural history. It's a beautiful, devastating idea that falls(no pun intended) too flat.

The story is told through 424 "steps," or short vignettes. It's an interesting idea that could work but doesn't within this context. While the decision is poetic and revealed at the end in a heartwarming fashion, it just doesn't work for the first 400 "steps." The division of the story is a bit tumblr-style-poetry in a sort of mock depth that tragically detracts from Mainardi's point.

Beyond the format though, the heart of Mainardi's work is intrinsically meshy. Like cooking, there's a hodgepodge of diverse events, facts, and histories wrapped up to make a digestible story. While this wasn't innately problematic, it did lead to some precarious comparisons. For example, while few would argue that The Holocaust and cerebral palsy are both terrible conditions, it seems strange to say they're in any other way similar. Cerebral palsy is a medical condition while The Holocaust was a social one. The Holocaust resulted in the death of 6 million people, while cerebral palsy is a condition possible to live and thrive with. While comparing, even minutely, various shared histories, it feels awkward and difficult to make that connection.

Overall, this was a miss for me. Though I don't have any other recommendations, I don't doubt that there are much better books on either art history and its social connections, or cerebral palsy.

A unique book written in a series of 424 steps as a father recounts the birth and early life of his son, who, through a series of accidents during the birth, has cerebral palsy. Intertwined with the stories of his son are discussions of the historic events leading up to the birth - both directly related to the birth and also the culture behind the hatred and misunderstanding of disabled people or people with cerebral palsy (including artwork, pictures, etc). This book is another one of those which is both heartwarming (his love for his son + pictures of his son as he grew up) and heartbreaking (the mistakes during his son's birth + the history of the hatred).

I really liked this book - the writing, the pictures, the art, the history, and the fact that it was written in small steps! It was creative and unique and worked perfectly for the message. However, there were parts that seemed a bit dry. I am worried that something got lost in translation? Clearly I should just learn Portuguese and then read the original!

This is one of the most beautiful tributes to a child I have ever read. Smart and rich and raw, it covers history, art, architecture, music, and the deep love between a father and his son. It is romantic in a way I have seldom seen in this kind of relationship, and it made my jaw drop over and over.

Now that I've shared it with a few friends I thought would love it, I can come out about how taken I was by The Fall. I got the recommendation last week at Faulkner House Books in New Orleans, one of my favorite bookstores in the world. I read the book immediately and loved it - it's another hard-to-classify book like H is for Hawk, which I *also* read last week. The Fall is memoir, yes, but interesting in conception and format, and very moving. A hand-sized book, and a short but (I found) draining read. The relationship, through time, step by step, of father and son is beautiful and resonant, and The Fall has lingered like the New Orleans (and Venetian) mist. 4 1/2 stars!

On Monday, I was given this book in Cambridge by my friend Richard Russell. On Tuesday, I began reading it at a doctor's office in Waltham. On Wednesday, I finished it at a cafe in New York. Now, my mind doubles back and forth and back again as I ponder to whom I should send copies: Frederick of Boston, the charming scholar of Venice, the place where this book was set? Christy of Juneau, who blogs so magnificently about her son, who like the author's son, lives with cerebral palsy? My children, who, each in their own way, have their lives defined by their children? Everyone in the world? Maybe.

This is a moving and often humorous tribute from a father to his son born with cerebral palsey. The book is laid out in 424 tidbits (steps) of information about his life with his son. The author draws many likenesses of historical Italian monuments and buildings, Brazilian beach detail, and famous people and paintings in history to relate to the trials, tribulations, and remarkable moments in his son's life. Very interesting book layout and comparisons. I really felt the love this father has for his son.

"I accepted Tito's cerebral palsy.

I accepted it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I accepted it with delight. I accepted it with enthusiasm. I accepted it with love.”

“Knowing how to fall is much more valuable than knowing how to walk.”

I don’t know what I expected when I picked this up but I’m so pleased. I also realize I didn’t know much about cerebral palsy but the way Diogo wrote about it was educational but also so interesting. His love for his son and for cerebral palsy was incredible to read. The way he connects everything, all these events in the world to his sons cerebral palsy, the circle. It was wow. This was just a great read.

I bought this book at the dollar store and wasn’t expecting much. However, Mainardi weaves a wonderful tale in such a short book.