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La caída
El libro arranca con una frase escueta, demoledora: «Tito tiene parálisis cerebral». Es el primero de los 424 pasos en que se divide este testimonio literario escrito a pinceladas, a fogonazos, sin caer en el sentimentalismo desbordado, sin dejarse arrastrar por la autocompasión. Diogo Mainardi es un periodista y escritor brasileño. Cuando nació su hijo Tito, él y su familia vivían en Venecia y un error imperdonable de la ginecóloga provocó que al niño le faltase oxígeno durante el parto. Lejos de sucumbir a la desolación, el autor se hizo un propósito: «Yo acepté la parálisis cerebral de Tito. La acepté con naturalidad. La acepté con deslumbramiento. La acepté con entusiasmo. La acepté con amor», porque, como dice más adelante: «Tener un hijo con parálisis cerebral es la aventura más emocionante que existe».
157 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 22, 2012
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October 13, 2022
The Fall is a memoir consisting of 424 short passages that match the number of steps taken by Diogo Mainardi's son Tito as he walks through the streets of Venice. Tito's birth left him with Cerebral Palsy and he has had to struggle everyday to try to keep his mobility from further deteriorating. This book is a unique look at a fathers boundless love in the face of inevitably increasing pain.
November 11, 2014
I don’t know how Other Press does it. They just find these books that, in like 10,000 words, less than 200, digest-size pages, rip me to my gut. They’ve done it again with Diago Mainardi’s The Fall: A Father’s Memoir in 424 Steps.
You can’t even call it heart-breaking, just gut-twisting full of emotions. It’s the story of a father and his hero, his muse, his son, Tito, a boy born with Cerebral Palsy after the hospital made a mistake during his birth. It’s less a guide from Mainardi on how to deal with raising a kid with this condition, never a whine that his kid isn’t normal, but truly, a celebration and not-so-humble brag about why this little guy who has never walked more than 424 steps at a time without falling down is the best kid ever.
The story does, I guess, start off sad. The first steps – and the whole book is like this, pieced off into paragraphs that make up “steps” instead of chapters, filled loosely with photographs and pictures – outline his wife’s pregnancy, the bad jokes Mainardi made as she went into labor about never having a kid that could rival the architecture of that hospital, the mistakes nurses and doctors made by not delivering Tito as they should have, thus causing his Cerebral Palsy. More than anyone, though, Mainardi blames himself for Tito’s condition. He blames his bad jokes, he blames the things he said (the same things that any father might say), even blames the destiny of all history leading up to this point. Despite all the early blame, though, you can tell Mainardi doesn’t actually care about the circumstances; he’s a thankful bastard he’s got the son he has today.
Maybe mid-way through begins just the best gushing/fawning over a kid in modern literature. Doctors say his kid will never learn to talk; Mainardi writes about the genius of his son who created his own secret language that his whole family can crack like their special code. Doctors say his kid will never learn to walk; Mainardi counts the steps his son can take in a row before “the fall,” which is inevitable. Practicing on the beach, Tito learns slowly, taking a few steps at a time before landing in the sand, giggling as if a joke rather than getting stumped by the defeat. The number grows and grows, Tito gets farther before falling down (never losing the attitude that it’s okay to fall over). Eventually this kid, this little wobbly boy that nobody expected to move on his own or communicate, takes 424 steps. It’s a marathon. It’s a hell of a lot.
Basically this: If you’ve got a kid, you’ll know what it’s like to be so proud of them, from the first time they throw up and don’t get it all over your shirt to the first time they count to ten, and you’ll relate to the gushing-dad in Mainardi. If you don’t, and you know anyone with anything setting them back, anyone who’s overcome anything everyone talked against, your face is gonna glow with the same pride while reading this. And, if you’re not in either of those groups, you’re gonna need to read this book anyway, because it’s time you see some of the beauty this world’s got.
You can’t even call it heart-breaking, just gut-twisting full of emotions. It’s the story of a father and his hero, his muse, his son, Tito, a boy born with Cerebral Palsy after the hospital made a mistake during his birth. It’s less a guide from Mainardi on how to deal with raising a kid with this condition, never a whine that his kid isn’t normal, but truly, a celebration and not-so-humble brag about why this little guy who has never walked more than 424 steps at a time without falling down is the best kid ever.
The story does, I guess, start off sad. The first steps – and the whole book is like this, pieced off into paragraphs that make up “steps” instead of chapters, filled loosely with photographs and pictures – outline his wife’s pregnancy, the bad jokes Mainardi made as she went into labor about never having a kid that could rival the architecture of that hospital, the mistakes nurses and doctors made by not delivering Tito as they should have, thus causing his Cerebral Palsy. More than anyone, though, Mainardi blames himself for Tito’s condition. He blames his bad jokes, he blames the things he said (the same things that any father might say), even blames the destiny of all history leading up to this point. Despite all the early blame, though, you can tell Mainardi doesn’t actually care about the circumstances; he’s a thankful bastard he’s got the son he has today.
Maybe mid-way through begins just the best gushing/fawning over a kid in modern literature. Doctors say his kid will never learn to talk; Mainardi writes about the genius of his son who created his own secret language that his whole family can crack like their special code. Doctors say his kid will never learn to walk; Mainardi counts the steps his son can take in a row before “the fall,” which is inevitable. Practicing on the beach, Tito learns slowly, taking a few steps at a time before landing in the sand, giggling as if a joke rather than getting stumped by the defeat. The number grows and grows, Tito gets farther before falling down (never losing the attitude that it’s okay to fall over). Eventually this kid, this little wobbly boy that nobody expected to move on his own or communicate, takes 424 steps. It’s a marathon. It’s a hell of a lot.
Basically this: If you’ve got a kid, you’ll know what it’s like to be so proud of them, from the first time they throw up and don’t get it all over your shirt to the first time they count to ten, and you’ll relate to the gushing-dad in Mainardi. If you don’t, and you know anyone with anything setting them back, anyone who’s overcome anything everyone talked against, your face is gonna glow with the same pride while reading this. And, if you’re not in either of those groups, you’re gonna need to read this book anyway, because it’s time you see some of the beauty this world’s got.
September 21, 2012
Não é exatamente um livro - está mais para uma carta. Mas não uma carta aberta: uma carta pessoal, de pai para pai. Porque, não se engane: não é sobre a paralisia cerebral do filho; não é sobre sofrimento e superação - é sobre ser pai.
Há uma espécie de pai que desaparece quando nasce o filho. Meu pai foi assim comigo; eu sou assim com meus filhos. O Diogo do livro (da carta) é assim com os dois filhos deles – um dos quais, incidentalmente, tem paralisia cerebral, o que de certa forma facilita o processo de desaparecimento.
Digo isso porque tive alguns dias dessa experiência: a primeira filha foi prematura e, além de uns dias na UTI neonatal , ficamos alguns meses indo a médicos e laboratórios, na expectativa de alguma seqüela. Não veio, graças! - e os defeitos que ela e o mais novo têm, herdaram-nos de mim mesmo; não do parto. E é um pouco mais difícil desaparecer, se os defeitos mais visíveis são tão pessoais, tão genéticos, tão familiares.
Tudo o que se faz, nesta categoria de pai, se faz em função dos filhos. Os filhos são os leitores ideais, futuros – não só do que se escreve; do que se faz todo dia. Para pais assim, os filhos é que são uma espécie de super-heróis, de quem somos apenas os humildes alter-egos. Somos os Clarks Kents; eles, os Super-Homens.
É disso que se trata, na verdade: uma carta que o alter-ego do Tito e do Nico escreve para os outros Clarks Kents que há por aí.
E àqueles que se impressionaram com o parágrafo final do Brás Cubas, desculpem, mas é impossível explicar muito além disso: neste credo, transmitir o legado da miséria humana, desaparecendo no processo, é o único passo possível na direção do que é transcendental e divino.
Há uma espécie de pai que desaparece quando nasce o filho. Meu pai foi assim comigo; eu sou assim com meus filhos. O Diogo do livro (da carta) é assim com os dois filhos deles – um dos quais, incidentalmente, tem paralisia cerebral, o que de certa forma facilita o processo de desaparecimento.
Digo isso porque tive alguns dias dessa experiência: a primeira filha foi prematura e, além de uns dias na UTI neonatal , ficamos alguns meses indo a médicos e laboratórios, na expectativa de alguma seqüela. Não veio, graças! - e os defeitos que ela e o mais novo têm, herdaram-nos de mim mesmo; não do parto. E é um pouco mais difícil desaparecer, se os defeitos mais visíveis são tão pessoais, tão genéticos, tão familiares.
Tudo o que se faz, nesta categoria de pai, se faz em função dos filhos. Os filhos são os leitores ideais, futuros – não só do que se escreve; do que se faz todo dia. Para pais assim, os filhos é que são uma espécie de super-heróis, de quem somos apenas os humildes alter-egos. Somos os Clarks Kents; eles, os Super-Homens.
É disso que se trata, na verdade: uma carta que o alter-ego do Tito e do Nico escreve para os outros Clarks Kents que há por aí.
E àqueles que se impressionaram com o parágrafo final do Brás Cubas, desculpem, mas é impossível explicar muito além disso: neste credo, transmitir o legado da miséria humana, desaparecendo no processo, é o único passo possível na direção do que é transcendental e divino.
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October 8, 2021Haha, quase me esqueci de que li isso. Claro que a vontade é de falar que qualquer coisa criada por Mainardi é uma merda, e não teria lido esse livro se não tivesse anteriormente lido As Cidades Invisíveis, traduzido por ele (com direito a nome na capa e tudo). Como gostei muito da tradução, resolvi ver do que se tratava A Queda.
De fato, não é uma merda. Vale a pena as duas horas que se demora para terminar. Cultura ampla e clássica e sabidamente inútil misturada com ironia misturada com um sentimento honesto de aprender a lidar com um filho tornado deficiente por erro médico misturado com mais ironia e com mais cultura e tudo temperado com bastante raiva. Quase me fez odiar um pouco menos o Mainardi.
De fato, não é uma merda. Vale a pena as duas horas que se demora para terminar. Cultura ampla e clássica e sabidamente inútil misturada com ironia misturada com um sentimento honesto de aprender a lidar com um filho tornado deficiente por erro médico misturado com mais ironia e com mais cultura e tudo temperado com bastante raiva. Quase me fez odiar um pouco menos o Mainardi.
January 20, 2015
"A Queda" é, certamente, um dos livros mais impressionantes que já li. A maneira como os fios de sua narrativa vão sendo entretecidos é simplesmente soberba, única, revelando um escritor muito perto do auge de sua maturidade. Como bem disse um amigo, o livro "só" faltou ter sido escrito por um cristão devoto, pois a noção de um Grande Tapeceiro o autor parece já ter tateado. De qualquer ponto de vista (estético, literário, etc.), a obra de Diogo Mainardi é, numa palavra, brilhante. Profundamente brilhante.
Leitura recomendadíssima!
Leitura recomendadíssima!
August 5, 2015
¿Un libro mas sobre cómo ser padre paso a paso? o ¿un libro de autoayuda para aprender a serlo? Cuando leí el título en la página de la editorial fue lo primero que pensé aunque tenía una duda ya que Anagrama Editorial no suele publicar libros de este estilo, cuando recibo el pedido y ya lo tengo entre mis manos abro la primera página sin haber leído absolutamente nada sobre el (ni siquiera quise leer de que iba la novela) y me encuentro con la siguiente frase “1 Tito tiene parálisis cerebral”, ya leyendo este inicio sabía muy bien que había mucho mas dentro del libro “La caída – Memorias de un padre en 424 pasos” de Diogo Mainardi.
La historia es circular, el mundo no solo gira también lo hace la historia del planeta y todo da vueltas incesantemente para llegar al mismo punto de inicio sin que jamás aprendamos a no repetir los errores que se han cometido, eso es básicamente de lo que se aferra el guionista, productor y escritor brasileño Diogo Mainardi para contar paso a paso como pudo seguir adelante luego de que por un terrible acto de negligencia médica y por culpa de una amniotomia mal ejecutada su hijo Tito nacería con una parálisis cerebral la cual a medida que crecía se complicaría mas y mas.
Diogo Mainardi utilizando un orden y división de lectura por números con 424 pasos enseñará al lector como fue la difícil tarea para poder continuar siendo el apoyo absoluto para su hijo Tito y aprendiendo a ser padres con todo ese peso sobre sus hombros. Utilizando a veces un muy particular sentido del humor mezclado con la tristeza y siempre bajo el manto de la historia universal como la verdadera y única culpable de la desgracia, mas el día a día utilizando ejemplos tan extravagantes como el videojuego Assasin’s Creed II, personajes del humor como Abbott y Costello, músicos como Neil Young o U2, la película “Vértigo” de Alfred Hitchcock, escritores como Marcel Proust, Dante Alighieri, William Shakespereare o Ezra Pound, hechos históricos como la Segunda Guerra Mundial y hasta el mismísimo Dr. Josef Mengele son los personajes con los que se ayuda a dar fuerza y ver esta terrible experiencia como algo mas que superar, todo ello acompañado con fotografías no solo de su propio hijo sino también de muchos de los personajes y hechos históricos citados anteriormente haciendo su lectura un balance entre un drama y humor.
Me gusta mucho el juego que el autor hace con la palabra pasos y la verdadera razón de ella dentro de la vida de Mainardi y Tito. Es un libro hermoso a pesar de lo dura que puede resultar la historia pero el hecho de continuar adelante a pesar de todo y de saber que el verdadero culpable de lo que nos sucede cada vez que vivimos una tragedia es la historia de la humanidad me ha dejado un grato sabor de boca. La manera en que escribe me ha enganchado por completo, ver la vida como un paso a paso en la lucha diaria de esta familia hace que el libro sea aun mas interesante.
La historia es circular, el mundo no solo gira también lo hace la historia del planeta y todo da vueltas incesantemente para llegar al mismo punto de inicio sin que jamás aprendamos a no repetir los errores que se han cometido, eso es básicamente de lo que se aferra el guionista, productor y escritor brasileño Diogo Mainardi para contar paso a paso como pudo seguir adelante luego de que por un terrible acto de negligencia médica y por culpa de una amniotomia mal ejecutada su hijo Tito nacería con una parálisis cerebral la cual a medida que crecía se complicaría mas y mas.
Diogo Mainardi utilizando un orden y división de lectura por números con 424 pasos enseñará al lector como fue la difícil tarea para poder continuar siendo el apoyo absoluto para su hijo Tito y aprendiendo a ser padres con todo ese peso sobre sus hombros. Utilizando a veces un muy particular sentido del humor mezclado con la tristeza y siempre bajo el manto de la historia universal como la verdadera y única culpable de la desgracia, mas el día a día utilizando ejemplos tan extravagantes como el videojuego Assasin’s Creed II, personajes del humor como Abbott y Costello, músicos como Neil Young o U2, la película “Vértigo” de Alfred Hitchcock, escritores como Marcel Proust, Dante Alighieri, William Shakespereare o Ezra Pound, hechos históricos como la Segunda Guerra Mundial y hasta el mismísimo Dr. Josef Mengele son los personajes con los que se ayuda a dar fuerza y ver esta terrible experiencia como algo mas que superar, todo ello acompañado con fotografías no solo de su propio hijo sino también de muchos de los personajes y hechos históricos citados anteriormente haciendo su lectura un balance entre un drama y humor.
Me gusta mucho el juego que el autor hace con la palabra pasos y la verdadera razón de ella dentro de la vida de Mainardi y Tito. Es un libro hermoso a pesar de lo dura que puede resultar la historia pero el hecho de continuar adelante a pesar de todo y de saber que el verdadero culpable de lo que nos sucede cada vez que vivimos una tragedia es la historia de la humanidad me ha dejado un grato sabor de boca. La manera en que escribe me ha enganchado por completo, ver la vida como un paso a paso en la lucha diaria de esta familia hace que el libro sea aun mas interesante.
November 9, 2014
A parents obsession over for their child is nothing new and is the focus of this slim volume: "the Fall A Father's Memoir in 424 Steps" authored by novelist Diogo Mainardi. The book is written with 424 blog style entries, and details the life of Mainardi's son Tito, who was diagnosed in with Cerebral Palsy.
Mainardi recalls how startled he was when he discovered his son in an incubator, unattended by medical staff, turning green, in the maternity ward at Scuola Grande di San Marco hospital in Venice. His wife Anna didn't receive the emergency caesarean she needed, and lack of oxygen caused Tito's CP. When Mainardi massaged his sons back the day after he was born, suddenly Tito became responsive and more alert. Tito would need a great deal of therapy, support, and assistance to manage his needs. CP became Mainardi's second language, and Tito's natural state was to be happy; he inspired his father with "cosmic optimism," he devoted his energy "solely and entirely" to Tito. His son became his God, Auschwitz survivor, Richard III, his turtle, James Stewart, Jacopo Tintoretto, everything he read and loved.
Mainardi's other topics related to historic events, art, and literature; making this book more interesting. The 1487 "Malleus Maleficarum" (Dominican friar Heinrich Kramer) concerned the "witch midwives" that committed crimes against children. In 1808 Napoleon Bonaparte expelled all the monks in the monastery that became the hospital where his son was born. In 1833 John Ruskin wrote in the "Stones of Venice" that the "immortal elements" had the power to shape the destiny of its inhabitants, sometimes going against the "law of the spirit". Mainardi felt these ideals, elements, etc. namely Pietro Lombardo, John Ruskin, Napoleon, and the amnihook were the things that led to Tito's affliction.
The reader also learns more about Ezra Pound: his distain for the Jewish people. The 1939 Action T4 of Adolf Hitler. This secret program began with the execution of 5 month old Gerhard Kretschmar, born blind with only one arm and leg. Unwanted by his own father, he deemed him an "idiot" and a "monster", after being examined at Leipzig University by Hitler's personal physician Karl Brandt, this infant was murdered. The first phase of T4 eliminated disabled adults, mentally ill, epileptics, alcoholics. These events led to the Holocaust that claimed the lives (1942-1943) of over 800,000 Jewish people; deemed enemies of the Third Reich. Mainardi observed that Tito wouldn’t be alive if he had been born during that time.
The family relocated to Rio de Janeiro where Nico was born June 16, 2005. After Nico's birth, Tito, who used a communication device, became more vocal. The brothers mirrored each others speech and movements. The use of the "Kaye Walker" increased Tito's mobility, in 2008 Tito walked 359 steps solo. Typically, children may resent parental favored preferential treatment over one child for another. Anna and Nico are barely mentioned in this unique passionately written book. Great artistic pictures, photos of Tito and family were included.
Diogo Mainardi is a novelist, and writes for “Veja” the largest news magazine in Brazil. He has translated the writing of Evelyn Waugh, Italo Calvino, and Gore Vidal into Portuguese. He lives in Venice.
Mainardi recalls how startled he was when he discovered his son in an incubator, unattended by medical staff, turning green, in the maternity ward at Scuola Grande di San Marco hospital in Venice. His wife Anna didn't receive the emergency caesarean she needed, and lack of oxygen caused Tito's CP. When Mainardi massaged his sons back the day after he was born, suddenly Tito became responsive and more alert. Tito would need a great deal of therapy, support, and assistance to manage his needs. CP became Mainardi's second language, and Tito's natural state was to be happy; he inspired his father with "cosmic optimism," he devoted his energy "solely and entirely" to Tito. His son became his God, Auschwitz survivor, Richard III, his turtle, James Stewart, Jacopo Tintoretto, everything he read and loved.
Mainardi's other topics related to historic events, art, and literature; making this book more interesting. The 1487 "Malleus Maleficarum" (Dominican friar Heinrich Kramer) concerned the "witch midwives" that committed crimes against children. In 1808 Napoleon Bonaparte expelled all the monks in the monastery that became the hospital where his son was born. In 1833 John Ruskin wrote in the "Stones of Venice" that the "immortal elements" had the power to shape the destiny of its inhabitants, sometimes going against the "law of the spirit". Mainardi felt these ideals, elements, etc. namely Pietro Lombardo, John Ruskin, Napoleon, and the amnihook were the things that led to Tito's affliction.
The reader also learns more about Ezra Pound: his distain for the Jewish people. The 1939 Action T4 of Adolf Hitler. This secret program began with the execution of 5 month old Gerhard Kretschmar, born blind with only one arm and leg. Unwanted by his own father, he deemed him an "idiot" and a "monster", after being examined at Leipzig University by Hitler's personal physician Karl Brandt, this infant was murdered. The first phase of T4 eliminated disabled adults, mentally ill, epileptics, alcoholics. These events led to the Holocaust that claimed the lives (1942-1943) of over 800,000 Jewish people; deemed enemies of the Third Reich. Mainardi observed that Tito wouldn’t be alive if he had been born during that time.
The family relocated to Rio de Janeiro where Nico was born June 16, 2005. After Nico's birth, Tito, who used a communication device, became more vocal. The brothers mirrored each others speech and movements. The use of the "Kaye Walker" increased Tito's mobility, in 2008 Tito walked 359 steps solo. Typically, children may resent parental favored preferential treatment over one child for another. Anna and Nico are barely mentioned in this unique passionately written book. Great artistic pictures, photos of Tito and family were included.
Diogo Mainardi is a novelist, and writes for “Veja” the largest news magazine in Brazil. He has translated the writing of Evelyn Waugh, Italo Calvino, and Gore Vidal into Portuguese. He lives in Venice.
March 11, 2015
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.
February 6, 2015
Mainardi estabelece uma rede de ligações geniais entre os fatos que viveu com seu filho e aquilo que se passou centenas de anos antes na política, na economia, no mundo das artes etc, amarrando tudo muito bem amarrado nessa narrativa rica de experiência humana e de ironias cheias de ternura. Primorosamente bem escrito, a despeito do formato despretensioso. Leia!
October 6, 2024
Esta es una obra que te llega a lo más hondo. Casi parece escrito en forma de poema, más que en forma de prosa. A lo largo de sus páginas, el autor Diogo Mainardi cuenta lo que sintió cuando le anunciaron a los pocos días de nacer, que su hijo estaba muy enfermo, y que prácticamente no podría nunca hablar ni andar por una negligencia en el parto. Parálisis cerebral.
El autor basa su relato sobre los progresos en la enfermedad de su hijo Tito, cómo les cambió la vida a la familia, cómo emigraron a Brasil, y cómo han aceptado su enfermedad, haciendo bellos paralelismos sobre arquitectura, escultura, o pintura, basados en la ciudad de Venecia. Va mezclando esos elementos de la historia del arte, dando pinceladas sobre ellos, mientras le sirve como metáfora. Con cada uno de sus fragmentos, Mainardi acompaña los pasos que su hijo Tito logrará ir dando poco a poco: frente a la caída, la literatura; la palabra desgarrada de un padre con la que ir abriendo, trenzando para su hijo, la emoción de un camino que recorren juntos.
Un libro muy corto, pero que deja mucha huella. Por todo ello, 4 estrellas.
El autor basa su relato sobre los progresos en la enfermedad de su hijo Tito, cómo les cambió la vida a la familia, cómo emigraron a Brasil, y cómo han aceptado su enfermedad, haciendo bellos paralelismos sobre arquitectura, escultura, o pintura, basados en la ciudad de Venecia. Va mezclando esos elementos de la historia del arte, dando pinceladas sobre ellos, mientras le sirve como metáfora. Con cada uno de sus fragmentos, Mainardi acompaña los pasos que su hijo Tito logrará ir dando poco a poco: frente a la caída, la literatura; la palabra desgarrada de un padre con la que ir abriendo, trenzando para su hijo, la emoción de un camino que recorren juntos.
El miedo duró una semana. Luego desapareció. El motivo por el que desapareció en tan sólo una semana fue una caída. Tito estaba en mi regazo. Yo leía el diario en el sofá del salón. Mi mujer, que caminaba apresuradamente de aquí para allá, tropezó con la alfombra y se cayó de bruces justo delante de nosotros. Al verla caer, Tito soltó una carcajada. Fingimos otras caídas. Tito se desternilló de risa. Nosotros nos desternillamos con él. La parálisis cerebral de Tito se convirtió al instante en algo más familiar. Las payasadas eran un lenguaje que todos comprendíamos.
Tito se cae. Mi mujer se cae. Yo me caigo.
Lo que nos une —lo que siempre nos unirá— es la caída.
Un libro muy corto, pero que deja mucha huella. Por todo ello, 4 estrellas.
February 18, 2016
Release Date - 8th May 2014 (England, translated from Brazilian)
Synopsis:
Join Diogo Mainardi and his son Tito on a journey of 424 steps, starting with Tito’s disastrous birth in a Venetian hospital. It’s a journey full of joy and reflection, and an honest exploration of fatherhood. It’s a journey that follows the arc of western culture, from Rembrandt van Rijn to Assassin’s Creed and from Dante Alighieri to Auschwitz, to show how one boy’s fate has been shaped by history. Above all, it is a celebration of love and courage, and of the hope and faith we place in our children.
"The Fall is a mercurial and enriching walk through 'off-script' fatherhood, cerebral palsy, art history and this commonplace mystery, love. The Fall is wise and kind and moving" (David Mitchell)
This is a non-fiction short novella about a father and his son in his struggle to come to terms with his son’s Cerebral Palsy due to a disastrous birth, emotionally and economically. Filled with anecdotes, photographs, pictures, diagrams, art and newspaper clippings it is truly the masterpiece released this year. At only 145 pages it will fascinate, emotionally wreck and amuse you along the way and because it only took me an afternoon to read, I was left in what is known as a reading hangover.
It was the advanced proof copy before the publication date that I picked up from the Amnesty International UK building in London and unfortunately because Diogo Mainardi is a Brazilian writer, unless I want to translate them myself, I can’t read anymore of his works. This was the first non-fiction book I read this year and has inspired me to read similar works of non-fiction however the trouble is, it is entirely unique.
The blurb says it all really:
This is a book about fatherhood.
It is about Cerebral Palsy, art, stories and journeys.
It’s about Claude Monet, Marcel Proust and Neil Young.
This is a book about my son Tito and his 424 steps.
This is a book about love.
It is utterly moving and beautiful both physically and regarding the story. The only reason why I did not give it 5 stars both here and on GoodReads is because someone as little read as myself did not get to grips with the beginning part which dealt with rather heavy cultural stories in Venice to do with art and history although this would not be a problem for a lot of readers. I love it both with admiration and adoring sympathy and will continue to read and re-read it on afternoons when my faith in good writing and good people is in need of nourishment.
My favourite quotation from Mainardi is: “Astonishingly for me and Anna, Tito’s cerebral Palsy was never a cause for sorrow. Astonishingly, for me and Anna, Tito’s Cerebral Palsy never seemed a burden. At seven months, Tito was simply a person we loved.”
Synopsis:
Join Diogo Mainardi and his son Tito on a journey of 424 steps, starting with Tito’s disastrous birth in a Venetian hospital. It’s a journey full of joy and reflection, and an honest exploration of fatherhood. It’s a journey that follows the arc of western culture, from Rembrandt van Rijn to Assassin’s Creed and from Dante Alighieri to Auschwitz, to show how one boy’s fate has been shaped by history. Above all, it is a celebration of love and courage, and of the hope and faith we place in our children.
"The Fall is a mercurial and enriching walk through 'off-script' fatherhood, cerebral palsy, art history and this commonplace mystery, love. The Fall is wise and kind and moving" (David Mitchell)
This is a non-fiction short novella about a father and his son in his struggle to come to terms with his son’s Cerebral Palsy due to a disastrous birth, emotionally and economically. Filled with anecdotes, photographs, pictures, diagrams, art and newspaper clippings it is truly the masterpiece released this year. At only 145 pages it will fascinate, emotionally wreck and amuse you along the way and because it only took me an afternoon to read, I was left in what is known as a reading hangover.
It was the advanced proof copy before the publication date that I picked up from the Amnesty International UK building in London and unfortunately because Diogo Mainardi is a Brazilian writer, unless I want to translate them myself, I can’t read anymore of his works. This was the first non-fiction book I read this year and has inspired me to read similar works of non-fiction however the trouble is, it is entirely unique.
The blurb says it all really:
This is a book about fatherhood.
It is about Cerebral Palsy, art, stories and journeys.
It’s about Claude Monet, Marcel Proust and Neil Young.
This is a book about my son Tito and his 424 steps.
This is a book about love.
It is utterly moving and beautiful both physically and regarding the story. The only reason why I did not give it 5 stars both here and on GoodReads is because someone as little read as myself did not get to grips with the beginning part which dealt with rather heavy cultural stories in Venice to do with art and history although this would not be a problem for a lot of readers. I love it both with admiration and adoring sympathy and will continue to read and re-read it on afternoons when my faith in good writing and good people is in need of nourishment.
My favourite quotation from Mainardi is: “Astonishingly for me and Anna, Tito’s cerebral Palsy was never a cause for sorrow. Astonishingly, for me and Anna, Tito’s Cerebral Palsy never seemed a burden. At seven months, Tito was simply a person we loved.”
June 15, 2014
diogo mainardi's the fall (as memórias de um pai em 424 passos) is a moving portrait of a father's love and devotion. the brazilian journalist/novelist/translator's son, tito, was born in 2000 with cerebral palsy - a result of negligence and incompetence on the part of a venetian hospital. mainardi's memoir, through the lens of architecture, literature, art, and history, aims to make sense of his son's disability - highlighting the circular nature of both tito's story and the world itself.
composed of 424 brief passages (many of which are photographs, paintings, or film stills), the fall draws from both antiquity and popular culture to cast the challenges and joys of fatherhood within a broader scope. mainardi's adoration of, devotion to, and reverence for his son are genuinely portrayed, with the author humble and reflective enough to expound on the many unexpected ways tito and his cerebral palsy have shaped his life for the better. the fall is a stirring synthesis of filial affection and literary sensibility.
*translated from the portuguese by margaret jull costa (saramago, marías, de queirós, et al.)
composed of 424 brief passages (many of which are photographs, paintings, or film stills), the fall draws from both antiquity and popular culture to cast the challenges and joys of fatherhood within a broader scope. mainardi's adoration of, devotion to, and reverence for his son are genuinely portrayed, with the author humble and reflective enough to expound on the many unexpected ways tito and his cerebral palsy have shaped his life for the better. the fall is a stirring synthesis of filial affection and literary sensibility.
there is no more thrilling adventure than having a child with cerebral palsy. the worst enemy for a child with cerebral palsy is gravity. it's as if he were being permanently pursued by come crazed judo player who enjoys tripping him up. what he needs most of all is to learn how to fall. then he'll leap from white belt to yellow belt, from yellow belt to red belt, until he reaches his limit. all the motor abilities that we acquire automatically, instinctively, he is trying to acquire through discipline, method, thought. it's the struggle of the intellect against savage nature. the perfect metaphor for the history of humanity. david and goliath. theseus and the minotaur. dr. jekyll and mr. hyde.
*translated from the portuguese by margaret jull costa (saramago, marías, de queirós, et al.)
January 17, 2014
Diogo Mainardi ci offre, con soave levità, un memoriale della propria vita al fianco del figlio Tito. Tito è nato nel settembre del 2000 a Venezia ed è affetto, dalla nascita, da una paralisi cerebrale causata da un errore medico, dovuto ad estrema negligenza, del personale impegnato a seguire la madre di Tito nelle fasi del parto. Con “La caduta: I ricordi di un padre in 424 passi” Diogo Mainardi racconta, inframmezzando la cronaca quotidiana con spunti di storia, arte, letteratura e poesia, le vicende legate ai primi anni di vita di Tito che è ora avviato verso il traguardo dei suoi primi 14 anni. Con intermezzi che svariano tra la storia, il famigerato “programma Aktion T4” di epoca nazista, l’arte, con accenni a Pietro Lombardo per l’architettura, a Rembrandt e Tintoretto, per fare solo i primi nomi che mi tornano in mente, per la pittura, a Dante e Marcel Proust per la letteratura e a Giacomo Leopardi per la poesia, con qualche intermezzo dedicato anche al cinema, in particolare al duo comico Gianni e Pinotto, Diogo Mainardi ci conduce, passo passo, lungo il cammino dei primi anni del figlio Tito.
I quattrocentoventiquattro passi citati nel titolo rappresentano il più alto numero di passi fatti di seguito dal figlio senza inciampare né rischiare di cadere. Dopo quella “storica soglia” Tito ha continuato la sua marcia senza più che il padre tenesse il conto. Un libro toccante che però regala anche momenti nel quale affiorano un sorriso sulle labbra. Non si ride, questo no, dato anche il tema di fondo trattato, ma di sorridere, a volte, capita. Un libro del quale consiglio senz’altro la lettura a tutti.
I quattrocentoventiquattro passi citati nel titolo rappresentano il più alto numero di passi fatti di seguito dal figlio senza inciampare né rischiare di cadere. Dopo quella “storica soglia” Tito ha continuato la sua marcia senza più che il padre tenesse il conto. Un libro toccante che però regala anche momenti nel quale affiorano un sorriso sulle labbra. Non si ride, questo no, dato anche il tema di fondo trattato, ma di sorridere, a volte, capita. Un libro del quale consiglio senz’altro la lettura a tutti.
August 30, 2014
I don't read much Nonfiction. After reading this, there isn't much reason for me to read any more. This was, honestly, the best book I have read in years. I have read a lot of good fiction, really good. But nothing touched me more than this story.
This is a short read, and I admit I neglected my own family in my haste to get to its conclusion.
A beautiful story of a father who's sole purpose is to care for his child. A child wrongfully stricken with Cerebral Palsy. But this isn't a sad tale. It's far from that. It's a tale of triumph. A boy's triumph. Woven among the achievements of Diogo's son, are circular tales of all the things around them and how they relate. Diogo is so involved with his son, he sees him in everything and everything is a part of his son. From architecture, literature, sculpture, medicine, holocaust, and politics, all these things become part of the cosmic makeup of Cerebral Palsy and the events that shaped the Mainardi family.
This is a truly engrossing story which evokes deep empathy. I'm happy to have read this story more than any other story since probably Krakauer.
This is a short read, and I admit I neglected my own family in my haste to get to its conclusion.
A beautiful story of a father who's sole purpose is to care for his child. A child wrongfully stricken with Cerebral Palsy. But this isn't a sad tale. It's far from that. It's a tale of triumph. A boy's triumph. Woven among the achievements of Diogo's son, are circular tales of all the things around them and how they relate. Diogo is so involved with his son, he sees him in everything and everything is a part of his son. From architecture, literature, sculpture, medicine, holocaust, and politics, all these things become part of the cosmic makeup of Cerebral Palsy and the events that shaped the Mainardi family.
This is a truly engrossing story which evokes deep empathy. I'm happy to have read this story more than any other story since probably Krakauer.
January 4, 2015
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!
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!
February 18, 2022
Li “A Queda” na época de seu lançamento em 2012. Agora, dez anos depois, fiz uma releitura com o intuito de avaliar se minhas impressões haviam se mantido ou se o tempo modificara minha opinião sobre o livro.
A escrita de Mainardi é enxuta e direta ao ponto e, portanto, torna a obra fácil de ser rapidamente concluída. Eu fiz a leitura em três dias, mas um leitor mais ávido pode percorrer todas as páginas em poucas horas.
A trama do livro é sobre a história do trágico parto de Tito (primogênito de Diogo Mainardi) que acabou adquirindo paralisia cerebral. O desenrolar da história, ora autobiográfica, ora fantasiosa, é permeado por diversas citações e paralelos com fatos e personagens históricos aparentemente sem correção com as vidas de Mainardi e de seu filho.
Escrito em 424 microcapítulos, “A Queda” é uma aula de narrativa circular recheada de pretensiosa erudição, mas que na maioria dos casos serve bem à trama. Quem sabe daqui a dez anos eu não faço mais uma releitura?
A escrita de Mainardi é enxuta e direta ao ponto e, portanto, torna a obra fácil de ser rapidamente concluída. Eu fiz a leitura em três dias, mas um leitor mais ávido pode percorrer todas as páginas em poucas horas.
A trama do livro é sobre a história do trágico parto de Tito (primogênito de Diogo Mainardi) que acabou adquirindo paralisia cerebral. O desenrolar da história, ora autobiográfica, ora fantasiosa, é permeado por diversas citações e paralelos com fatos e personagens históricos aparentemente sem correção com as vidas de Mainardi e de seu filho.
Escrito em 424 microcapítulos, “A Queda” é uma aula de narrativa circular recheada de pretensiosa erudição, mas que na maioria dos casos serve bem à trama. Quem sabe daqui a dez anos eu não faço mais uma releitura?
April 11, 2015
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 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.”
May 12, 2015
This is a short quirkly little memoir of a father and his son Tito who was injured at birth, resulting in tito's diagnosis of cerebral palsy. I had to admit to ignorance of most of the artist references.
But Mainardi's style reminds me of MTV's "Pop Up Video", in its loopy referential style.
How can you resist a book with references to Abbott & Costello Go to Mars, and Jacopo Tintoretto?
I couldn't!
But Mainardi's style reminds me of MTV's "Pop Up Video", in its loopy referential style.
How can you resist a book with references to Abbott & Costello Go to Mars, and Jacopo Tintoretto?
I couldn't!
January 22, 2015
Really unusual book - difficult to classify. Written by the father of a child born with cerebral palsy, it relates the causes of his son's (Tito) condition and their journey through his childhood via Italian Renaissance architect Pietro Lombardi, Abbott & Costello and Assasin's Creed II to name but a few. I can guarantee it won't be the book you're expecting.
February 11, 2015
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.
December 20, 2014
Ainda pretendo ler muitos livros até 31 de dezembro de 2014. Contudo, dificilmente lerei algum melhor do que “A Queda”, de Diogo Mainardi. Portanto, sou obrigado a profetizar, praticamente sem chance de erro: este foi o melhor livro que li em 2014!
March 29, 2015
This book, and particular this quote from the book, is going to stay with me for a long time:
"That's the huge secret about disability- anyone with experience of it knows that a disabled person is just someone they love."
"That's the huge secret about disability- anyone with experience of it knows that a disabled person is just someone they love."
September 9, 2016
Desavergonhadamente sentimental, como diz o próprio autor. Paternidade radical, desmente a cultura da morte.
July 31, 2018
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.
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.
January 19, 2022
Eu tenho que admitir que esse livro foi uma experiencia completamente nova afinal eu não estou acostumado com tal leitura e devido a isso eu tive um certo estranhamento no inicio do livro que se rompeu com o passar das paginas e me mostrou que mesmo esse estilo de “Biografia sentimental" pode ser bom e vale a pena de ser consumido...
A historia e emocionante de certo modo e vale a pena ser consumida pois ela nos mostra o outro lado De varias minorias Éticas muito julgadas ao longo dos anos,a historia aqui presente tambem e muito interessante e o livro em si apesar de ser “Diferente" vale a pena ser consumido por quem esta afim de uma experiencia nova
Nota:9/10
A historia e emocionante de certo modo e vale a pena ser consumida pois ela nos mostra o outro lado De varias minorias Éticas muito julgadas ao longo dos anos,a historia aqui presente tambem e muito interessante e o livro em si apesar de ser “Diferente" vale a pena ser consumido por quem esta afim de uma experiencia nova
Nota:9/10
June 1, 2020
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.
August 3, 2021
Welp that was alright I guess. My impression was that each step was going to be some sort of life lesson or conversation that was being had with his son as they went on this walk. Instead it was very circular and and brought back the same thoughts over and over again. I could something on page ten, then flip to page seven five and it would still be on the same topic. I liked the staccato format of the book, but other than that it wasn’t spectacular. A solid 2.5 stars :(
April 29, 2022
A wonderful little book, a story of unconditional love, acceptance and the realities of parenting a child with a disability. This is written in short segments that all connect to one another in fascinating ways. This book also examines art and how, for example, a beautiful, well-designed building may fool us into thinking that what is inside the building must be good as well. A brief read, but a powerful one.
September 25, 2018
“Faldet” er en slags erindringsbog om forfatterens erfaringer som far til en hjerneskadet dreng. Samtidig et strejftog i essayets form gennem kunst-, litteratur- og idéhistorien. Først og fremmest er bogen dog en fars kærlighedserklæring til sin hjerneskadede søn.
Læs anmeldelsen på K’s bognoter: https://bognoter.dk/2018/09/25/diogo-...
Læs anmeldelsen på K’s bognoter: https://bognoter.dk/2018/09/25/diogo-...
December 21, 2023
Que delícia de livro! Relato emocionante de um pai apaixonado pelos seus filhos acima de qualquer coisa. Foi possível ter todo tipo de sensação, estive triste, irritada, com muita raiva, incrédula, e principalmente emocionada, foi lindo ver o que só o amor de um pai e de irmãos podem fazer por uma pessoa. Recomendo fortemente, leitura rápida para fazer numa sentada só.
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