Nathan Filer

Bruce Mann

The Shock of the Fall

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.

Roman Micevic

A combination of a bunch of other novels about schizophrenia. Structure is very similar to NOLA with a memoir told in first person. Events happen and jump back and forth based off of the narrator's conscience. The story also reminds me of Low Boy with the aggressive teenage boy outbursts and hazy plot revelations. Also talks about disease's relationship among family members going down the family line including mother/son. Good metaphors about the nature of the sickness, faults in memory as we grow older, etc.

Enjoyed this immensely -- though enjoyed is probably not quite the right word for a book about mental illness and grief. The narrator is someone you feel pretty close to by the end of the story, and although it was a tough read, it was also very touching. The ending made me cry, but it also made me hopeful, despite its unflinching realism and unwillingness to look away from guilt, sadness, and loss. It's hard to believe this was written as part of an MA program. Very sure-footed in every way, as it says on the back cover.

Leanne Wright

fizzy

I finally finished this book. I don’t recommend it to anyone 😬.

edith w.

Beautifully written, incredibly moving, and, as such, surprisingly engaging. I did not think I would like it so.

Sonja H

Matt Holmes ist 9 Jahre alt, als sein älterer Bruder auf tragische Weise ums Leben kommt. Nur Matt weiß, was wirklich geschehen ist und lässt es den Leser erst nach und nach erfahren, während er als Patient in einer Klinik für psychisch Kranke in Behandlung ist und die Bruchstücke seiner letzten 10 Lebensjahre zusammenträgt.

Sehr schnell wird klar, dass Matt mit einer großen Schuld kämpft, Teile seiner Erlebnisse erinnert, andere hallizuniert. Er hat sich von seinem Umfeld isoliert, ist nie aus der Vergangenheit herausgekommen und hat den Bezug zum Hier und Jetzt verloren.
Erst als er sich zurück an den Ort des Geschehens begibt, kann er einige seiner Gedanken und Gefühle loslassen.

Eigentlich haben wir es in diesem Buch mit einem nicht verlässlichen Erzähler zu tun. Nie kann man so recht wissen: ist es wirklich so geschehen oder hat seine Krankheit es so geformt? Er sagt später selbst, dass Erinnerungen lückenhaft sind und man sie sich zurechtbastelt, gerade wenn sie so lang zurückliegen.

Dennoch hat seine Geschichte mich berührt. Ich wollte ihm so gern sagen „alles wird gut“, aber gleichzeitig wusste ich, dass eine solche Situation nie wirklich „gut“ wird. Manche Menschen sind tatsächlich ihr Leben lang in einer Schuldspirale gefangen und wenn auch nur die winzigste Tatsache dafür spricht, dass diese Gefühle und Gedanken gerechtfertigt sein könnten, gibt es keinen Ausweg. Es ist sehr gut nachvollziehbar, dass so etwas eine mentale Störung hervorrufen kann – oder aber die Veranlagung bereits vorhanden und alles andere lediglich eine Sache der persönlichen Wahrnehmung ist.

„The Shock of the Fall“ ein ein sehr gelungenes Werk, das meiner Meinung nach zurecht den Costa-Award verliehen bekommen hat und das mich noch eine Weile gedanklich beschäftigen wird.

Cariena

Ik vond het moeilijk om dit boek een cijfer te geven. Het verhaal is namelijk heel mooi beschreven uit het perspectief van iemand met een mentale ziekte en mijn interesse was ook zeker gewekt. De schrijfstijl was soms wat rommelig, wat denk ik ook bij het ziektebeeld hoort. Het was een goed boek, zeker een aanrader om een keer te lezen. Het heeft me gepakt en geraakt. 3 sterren passen het beste bij dit boek volgens mij.

WINNER OF THE COSTA BOOK OF THE YEAR 2013 WINNER OF THE SPECSAVERS POPULAR FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2014 WINNER OF THE BETTY TRASK PRIZE 2014 It is recommended readers use the Publisher's Fonts as they are crucial to the storytelling.

Valeria

I've read this book a couple of times, and it's just lovely and heart-breaking at the same time. 

Cuando leí la sinopsis por primera vez pensé que iba a ser de temática fantástica, pero ni de lejos.

Estuve algo perdida la primera vez, ya que nos encontramos antes Matthew que nos cuenta su historia en diferentes líneas temporales, pero eso mismo le da un carácter personal y sentimental increíble. La relectura me ha dejado tan impactada como la primera vez, aún conociendo la historia completa.

Quiero destacar que, al estar escrita a modo de diario, es una lectura ágil: encontramos fragmentos escritos a máquina, cartas e incluso dibujos. Además de una mezcla increíble de sentimientos que calan hondo.

Michelle Xu

4/5

To be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve finished this book. I just haven’t had the time to write a review. Therefore this review will be a little outdated… meaning I probably will forget to write some things down about the book I would have wanted to initially.

This book was a really fast read… and it kept me reading and reading and reading. I didn’t really ever want to put it down because every page I flipped to had me wanting to know more.

There were twists and turns and, even though I sometimes found myself confused, I knew I just had to keep reading to understand what happened in Matt’s life. The confusion throughout the story was a realistic and motivating confusion. (Basically, a “good” confusion). It made sense that Matt’s story wouldn’t be completely linear since he goes through bouts of clarity and disease. You can tell as he slips from reality and when he complies with his medication. His stories jump from past to present and even though it was difficult to follow at times, it really fell together well in the end. It was interesting seeing all the pieces tie together; you also get small insights on Matt’s family and their history of mental illness running through the family.

I know many reviews found the story to be a mix of funny and heartbreaking, but I must say it was more heartbreaking than funny. I supposed parts of the story made me chuckle, but it wasn’t made to be a humorous novel. The part that really got to me was when Matt, as an adult, coming to terms with his disease would envision Simon. That was the most heartbreaking narration within the whole book. A month after I read the book, I can still remember sitting at my desk at work reading the part (view spoiler)[with Matt thinking Simon was under his bed, talking to emptiness, then staring out over the cliff and thinking about jumping, while shouting to Simon. (hide spoiler)] I almost lost it and started crying… lol probably not a good place to be reading.

The only reason I gave it a four was because there were certain parts within the novel that were so deep, insightful, and well articulated that I had a hard time believing that those words could come from a narration from a schizophrenic 19 year old who never completed school.

Other than that, I highly recommend this novel to everyone. As a person interested in mental health and mental health reform, it was definitely interesting reading a novel from a totally different point of view.

Not only was the story great, but I loved the style of the book. The book I owned had a velvety cover that felt soft and… it was just fun to pick up and feel. Additionally I liked how the fonts changed throughout the book, showing the different places and areas that Matt worked. What I LOVED was the fact that Filer (or his publisher?) put in drawings, doodles, and cartoons along the way. I love to draw, I occasionally draw cartoons for my school paper, and I think that seeing Matt’s thoughts and what he wrote about in a sketch really added to the story.

Anastaciya

a very touching story. raw... can't really say what I feel. 3.5 stars?..

Alyssia

This was a solid read, and an interesting insight into mental health. The ending wasn't as solid as the rest of the story, but it was good closure nonetheless.

Amy Buckle

This novel depicts the story of Matthew. His brother, Simon, died when Matthew was a boy and ever since that day, he has been fighting the demons which plague him and remind him of his loss. Unable to move on from Simon’s death, Matthew succumbs to his demons and as a result descends into schizophrenia. Having a poor relationship with his parents to begin with, the deterioration of his mental health only makes this worse and while throughout a lot of the novel it is unclear how much Matthew was responsible for the death of his brother,... read the full review here: https://www.amybucklesbookshelf.co.uk...

Laura

'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 ground breaking novel from one of the most exciting new voices in fiction.

The Shock of the Fall

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