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A review by maryehavens
All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner
5.0
My first Jennifer Weiner and if every book is as well written as this one, I've just found a new favorite author!!!
I have a soft spot for addiction memoirs and this fiction work was like an addiction memoir a bit. Same kind of arc but you got more of the "in the moment feel" versus the "looking back, piecing together" aspect like a memoir.
I talked to my husband about the main character: Allison. I don't live in a world of Jimmy Choo shoes, McMansions, and name dropping brands or that social hierarchy that people use to measure themselves with the amount of money they spend on athletic wear. It's hard for me to relate to that. I wondered what would have happened if Weiner had set this book in the middle class or in a lower socioeconomic level. But then, it goes from being a "Allison can't get her life together" book to a sad book and social commentary. It can still be used as social commentary but it's less tragic in a way if the main character can buy her way out of her addiction??? If rehab was $1,000/day without the extras, Allison was expected to be spend at least $28,000 for treatment. That thought alone was quite sobering and not something that most people can afford.
It would be easy to hate on Allison but I actually liked her, especially as she started stripping off her mask layers and dug down deep. I HATED her daughter at the beginning but actually grew to like Ellie towards the end. Some of the things that I thought were a little over the top at the beginning really wrapped up well in the end, which is probably why I loved this book.
I hope this work of fiction is a wake up call to readers. If nothing else, to know that you don't have to do everything yourself.
I have a soft spot for addiction memoirs and this fiction work was like an addiction memoir a bit. Same kind of arc but you got more of the "in the moment feel" versus the "looking back, piecing together" aspect like a memoir.
I talked to my husband about the main character: Allison. I don't live in a world of Jimmy Choo shoes, McMansions, and name dropping brands or that social hierarchy that people use to measure themselves with the amount of money they spend on athletic wear. It's hard for me to relate to that. I wondered what would have happened if Weiner had set this book in the middle class or in a lower socioeconomic level. But then, it goes from being a "Allison can't get her life together" book to a sad book and social commentary. It can still be used as social commentary but it's less tragic in a way if the main character can buy her way out of her addiction??? If rehab was $1,000/day without the extras, Allison was expected to be spend at least $28,000 for treatment. That thought alone was quite sobering and not something that most people can afford.
It would be easy to hate on Allison but I actually liked her, especially as she started stripping off her mask layers and dug down deep. I HATED her daughter at the beginning but actually grew to like Ellie towards the end. Some of the things that I thought were a little over the top at the beginning really wrapped up well in the end, which is probably why I loved this book.
I hope this work of fiction is a wake up call to readers. If nothing else, to know that you don't have to do everything yourself.