Customer Reviews

The Shock of the Fall (Unabridged)

I was given this book by a friend, read it in two days - couldn't put it down.
The way Filer writes is mesmerizing, drawing you into Mathew s dark world. As someone who has been a 'service user' in I found his descriptions of secure units very accurate.
Well worth a read, we done Nathan - what a fabulous debut, can't wait for more.

Written from the point of view of a young man with 'an illness that sounds like a snake', this impressive first novel uses the author's professional experience of working with the mentally ill, to build a sympathetic and very convincing picture. The story line is simple, using the young man's everyday life and experiences to gradually reveal his back story. There's no happy ending, no cure, the peaks and troughs will continue, but I felt a more informed and understanding person for having read this book. Enjoyment is not the right word for a novel with a serious and disturbing subject, but I was completely involved with the characters. I'll probably read this again.

When reading at the weekend, I have some rules - I can read before getting up, but must not sit down with it again until after lunch. With this wonderful book, I tore up the rulebook and read it in one glorious sitting.

I was absolutely fascinated by this story narrated by Matthew Homes, a teenager suffering with mental illness in the wake of the sudden death of his brother Simon. For a difficult read in terms of subject matter, this is an easy and flowing read - a strange comment maybe, with the fragmented time frame, the different typefaces, and the dips into and out of Matt's mental illness, but it was all accomplished so effortlessly. There are lovely touches of humour, acute observations about life and human behaviour, and a set of exceptionally well drawn subsidiary characters.

I particularly liked Matt's parents - the tableau presented of them sitting as a family watching Eastenders, the father's awkwardness with his "mon ami" greeting and secret handshake, and the mother's attempts at home schooling after Simon's death (where Matt was forced to make deliberate mistakes to get her attention). His grandmother, Nanny Noo, is also a wonderful creation - calling at Matt's every other Thursday, cooking pasta bake, smoking one of her menthol cigarettes from the kitchen drawer, and already familiar with mental illness elsewhere in the family. I also loved the use of letters - Denise's attempts to get Matt to attend his medical appointments, and particularly the wonderful invitations.

It's hard to believe this is a first novel, so accomplished is the writing - but from hearing the author interviewed on Simon Mayo's Book Club, I know this book was a long time in the conception and writing, and that he continues to work as a mental health nurse. An incredibly moving read, and very highly recommended.

I struggled with this book to start with. It reminded me of "The Curious Incident..." but without the charm or humour. Matthew is not very likeable, in fact he starts by saying he is, "not a nice person." Liking the main character should not be prerequisite for enjoying a book, but I found he was difficult to sympathise with or care enough about through most of the first half. Towards the end some of the writing is very moving as we understand his illness better. So although this is a good read it was not gripping.
(Also another annoyance, and this has nothing to do with the writing, is the cover comments. Have the celebs and reviewers read the book? It might have some dark humour but it is not a 'funny' book. None of the amazon reviewers, who I'd trust more, use the word, 'funny'!)

Thought provoking. Strange but interesting.Initially thought it was going to be hard work but finally did not want to put it down.

Very few books tell the story of mental illness from the perspective of the sufferer. This book does so in an accessible and engaging way. Carefully constructed to ensure an element of suspense remains throughout, I found myself having empathy for all the characters.

I saw this book in a book review in a magazine and thought I'd give it a go. I was pleasantly surprised when I started reading the novel.

It's striking and quirky, the novel is written from the point of view of the main character and it allows the reader to really see into the depths of his character and how he was able to spiral into mental illness. I thought the way that the author depicted this downturn into his character to make him end up in an mental unit was well expressed and clear. The guilt that he felt about his brothers death was touching and the way that the scenes after his death and how his family went on living were really sad and very realistic.

One of the reasons why I think it is so effective is that the author previously worked as a mental health nurse so he was able to impart specialised knowledge of dealing with people with mental illness and mental deterioration.

I loved this book and am so glad that I took a chance on it and would certainly recommend it to anyone.

Authors stand or fall on their ability to create believable voices and as a reader that sense of being completely immersed in a character’s world is one of the unique joys of fiction. In “The Shock of the Fall” Nathan Filer has created a truly memorable voice for Matthew, his troubled young protagonist who sets out to relate the story of the death of Simon (his down’s syndrome brother) and to chart the ensuing legacy of his own mental health issues.

The book is essentially Matthew’s story, told in a series of flawed flashbacks and incomplete fragments of memory. The novel is part-confessional, part document, part epistle, complete with occasional line drawings and official letters. The sense of emotional connection to the main character is palpable, evoked entirely through the strength and depth of Filer’s writing. To my mind it was a worthy outright winner of the Costa Book of the Year (fully accepting the inherent limitations of that multiple-genre competition which one critic described as comparing custard to curry).

The comparison back to Mark Haddon’s “Curious Incident” is an obvious association, but they are very different in their overall approach and intent. I was struck by the uneasy feeling of suspense that Filer develops throughout the story as we slowly tease out the facts surrounding Simon’s death. His clever use of multiple viewpoints within a first-person narrative provides a resonant echo back to Matthew’s schizophrenic personality.

From the kernel of a fairly simple story Filer has managed to create a layered narrative of real depth and complexity.

I’m intrigued to see what he decides to write next.

After all, it’s a beginning.

This book was ok. It just wasn't as good as I expected. I got really annoyed that the storyline about the death of the brother was dragged out for ages and then there was no real surprise when it was revealed. The book wasn't terrible, it just wasn't as good as I'd hoped and wasn't as good as other novels I've read about mental health problems.

I could not put this book down! I was hooked from the start, and felt enormous sympathy for the main characters. The way the plot was gradually revealed was extremely clever, and his deep background knowledge of the subject was both obvious and key to the novel's success.