A review by nordstina
Lean Fall Stand by Jon McGregor

emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

In Jon McGregor's Lean Fall Stand three men are surveying Antartica when disaster ensues. Much of what happened on the ice is locked in Robert "Doc" Wright's mind after he experiences what is believed to be a stroke and has difficulty accessing and communicating the memories of the accident on Station K. Doc was a mainstay on the island- he would travel to Antarctica every year as a guide, and thrived in the environment. He now finds himself on a whole different mine field. His relationship with his wife Anna, which thrived in the arrangement they had where he would be gone for many months of the year is changed dramatically after his stroke. Her career which brings her so much passion is sidelined as she takes over the role as Doc's caregiver. 

McGregor does a nice job of highlighting the difficult of communication between Doc and Anna, and there is also the mystery of what happened on Station K (which the reader only gets glimpses of early on). Both Anna and Doc are losing their autonomy, and physical (Doc)/metaphorical (Anna) voices, and struggling with that. I haven't seen many novels that highlighted the difficulty individuals with aphasia have, so it was fascinating.

Thank you to NetGalley and Catapult for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.
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