The Shock Of The Fall by Nathan Filer
Now I’ve never been one to find the contemporary section of the book shop but recently I’ve found myself liking it more and more. Saying this, I still cannot abide romance books 😜. My ‘contemporary sub-genre’ is definitely mental health - not the romanticised mental illnesses where having panic attacks is considered ‘cute’ and hearing voices means they’re so smart they need someone else to share the brains with; the real issues of living with a mental illness and dealing with the fact that it isn’t some quirky feature but a problem that can ruin lives and needs the term ‘illness’ in it’s name.
The Shock Of The Fall is the tale of a boy who sees his brother even after he’s gone. Beautifully written, it shows what it’s really like to live with Schizophrenia and how tragic events can be the cause of someone’s plummet into darkness. There are not a lot of books like this that deal with those socially unaccepted subjects and Filer took a risk with his first novel. A risk that totally paid off.
The plot - oh the plot. I’ve seen some reviewers that hate the plot and say it is completely unthrilling. They say that it was clear as day to everyone from the first few pages and ‘it hangs over the rest of the novel like a Big Black Cloud About to Burst Forth With Torrential Rain’ (not my words, though very descriptive). But to me, the way that Matthew doesn’t tell us the exact details of what happens until later on in the book is because of his denial and how his illness is preventing him from getting out what he wants to say. Everything Matt does adds to the effect and makes us see just how much this one terrible event has changed him.
Nathan Filer has a degree in Mental Health Nursing. I think he kinda knows what he’s talking about. I think he has at least a bit of knowledge on how mental illness affects a person. And for someone who doesn’t know any better, I think he did a truly fantastic job of untangling the jumbled, intricate, complex mess that a Schizophrenic’s mind is.
And can I just say, even mentally ill people can be sassy af. 😂😂😂
“Some madness doesn't act mad to begin with, sometimes it will knock politely at the door, and when you let it in, it'll simply sit in the corner without a fuss - and grow.”
Have you read The Shock Of The Fall? If so did you enjoy it? Tell me your thoughts in the comments below.
Goodbye and goodday,
Your modest but ever-awesome librocubicularist, Phoebe. x 😘😘😘
