The Shock of the Fall

by Nathan Filer

WINNER OF THE COSTA BOOK OF THE YEAR 2013
WINNER OF THE SPECSAVERS POPULAR FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2014

`I'll tell you what happened because it will be a good way to introduce my brother. His name's Simon. I think you're going to like him. I really do. But in a couple of pages he'll be dead. And he was never the same after that.'

There are books you can't stop reading, which keep you up all night.

There are books which let us into the hidden parts of life and make them vividly real.

There are books which, because of the sheer skill with which every word is chosen, linger in your mind for days.

The Shock of the Fall is all of these books.

The Shock of the Fall is an extraordinary portrait of one man's descent into mental illness. It is a brave and groundbreaking novel from one of the most exciting new voices in fiction.

• ISBN10: 1250028132
• ISBN13: 9781250028136
• Publish Date: 6 January 2015 (first published 9 May 2013)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 19 October 2021
• Imprint: St. Martin's Griffin
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[leahrosereads]

For a debut novel, The Shock of the Fall was freaking awesome. Hell, for a however many numbered novel, this book was pretty spectacular.

This book follows Matthew and adult mental illness and very real family connections. It shows how mental illness can affect everyone's lives and how the person with the illness sees themselves, their family, and life/society. It was raw and bitter and beautiful to read.

Filer did just a fantastic job at giving Matthew an original and very genuine voice. I may not have liked him some of the times (partly because he's a bit of an asshole), but I connected with Matthew pretty early on. His struggles with himself, his family, and his illness were heart wrenching to witness.

The Shock of the Fall is told entirely in Matthew's point of view, and it is written/told in a diary-type format (without the weird dated headers - which I really liked not seeing). Filer did something pretty neat by changing up the text from traditional font to typewritten. It means something in the story and being able to see the changes really helped elevate this story to a whole new level for me.

What kept this novel from being 5 stars was the slow/disjointed beginning. It took me a while to get used to the writing and because I couldn't grasp the changes quick enough, my reading of this book for about the first 50 pages or so was just as disjointed and slow as reading the novel felt to me.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. There was a bit of hype around The Shock of the Fall and sometimes the hype isn't deserved. For this novel though, it really was.

[mary]

Matthew Holmes is nineteen and haunted. He’s haunted by what he remembers –his brother Simon’s death at the bizarrely sinister Ocean Cove Holiday Park in Dorset – and what he can’t – his role in it. He’s haunted by the voice inside his head that refuses to shut up. He’s haunted by the violence that he fears lingers beneath his skin. But, mostly, he’s haunted by words.

I think this book is a work of genius. This book isn't afraid to break the rules of YA. I find it to be a hidden gem in a genre that is oversaturated with the same type of novel. It is able to mix that deep and understanding knowledge of the subject matter at hand and also show respect for the reader. I enjoyed reading the book the whole time. It is a joy and a wonder and I am so glad I gave it a chance. You can tell by the writing that the author has had experience as a psychiatric nurse. He really captured how schizophrenia develops and the symptoms and signs of the disease.There is the gradual decline in personality, withdrawal, and neglect of self-care. Then there are then the auditory hallucinations (hearing voices), and delusions, such as the belief that other people are transmitting thoughts through the TV or controlling one's mind. Filer brings to vivid life the experience of being in a psychiatric institution. He is able to cover a very serious topic and he does so in such a beautiful way.

This is an incredibly sad and heart-wrenching story. And it is a novel that seems to challenge all other novels. I loved the way the story was portrayed, Filer uses different drawings, voices, and fonts to reveal simple assumptions in daily life. They are also used to ask those big questions about the brain (and the mind). How as humans are we able to construct memory? And mostly (as in with One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest) are those patients treated with the same respect as everyone else?