The Storm At The Door by Stefan Merrill Block

Although fictional, this novel is heavily based on the author's family history. Perhaps because of this, this book is not a page turner as the plot is fairly light. The book incorporates both sides of the author's family but its central focus is on his maternal grandfather who is diagnosed with bipolar disorder and is confined to a psychiatric hospital. The writing is excellent, particularly the dialogue between the patients at the hospital, and he deals with the subject very sensitively. I did feel some of the characters were a bit one dimensional, especially the doctors and most of the nurses who were a bit too over-the-top baddie. I did enjoy this but I don't think it would have universal appeal. Once it's finished, you do get that feeling of having just looked through someone's family album - a fairly pleasant use of time but ultimately your role is merely to confirm their suspicion that they have a wonderfully interesting family.