Sunday, April 26, 2015

The Shock of the Fall

The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer takes a fascinating look into the mind of nineteen year old Matthew Homes as he falls further into schizophrenia. Filer's previous work as a psychiatric nurse and his knowledge of mental illness is very evident in his debut novel. There is something very real and very somber about this book that will immediately tie you to the characters and make you feel part of their story.

When Matt was a boy, an accident resulted in the death of his older brother Simon. Matthew believes that he was the cause of Simon's death and for the remainder of the book, he is struggling with the guilt of it. The story takes place over the next 15 years as Matt becomes ill, resulting in his taking up residence in a psychiatric ward. The writing was beautiful. Filer didn't need to incorporate any extravagant plot twists or events in the novel to make it a wonderful read. I found Filer's storytelling very engrossing. His characters were such real people that is was easy to fall into the story and associate myself with them. The way he delved into Matthew's mind really helped me understand this character and what he was going through.

Matthew would refer to his illness as a separate entity, saying such things as "we are selfish, my illness and I". To be in the mind of a person suffering from schizophrenia in this way was heartbreaking and humbling at the same time, to get even this small glimpse into what this character was trying to deal with. I very highly recommend this book to everyone, it's a wonderful read!



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