The Shock of the Fall - Nathan Filer

★★★★

Genre: Fiction
Synopsis: ‘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.’ 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.

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Review: The Shock of the Fall is a really unique reading experience. The style of writing is extremely distinctive, and presented in such a way as to capture a sense of being written in chunks (on a computer and typewriter, punctuated by formal letters and documentation) by a semi-unreliable narrator recalling the tragic experiences of his earlier life. I absolutely loved the repetition of phrases and words, across a couple of paragraphs or from one end of the book to the other, and the meandering thought processes that capture the indirect nature of human thought and recollection.

Despite the unusual writing style, it’s a highly readable and engaging story which starts off being about the death of a young boy as told by his younger sibling (an adult at the time of telling), but the reader quickly begins to pick up on the fact that there is more to Matt Homes than a straight-forward narrator. Over the course of the book bits and pieces are alluded to and finally revealed, ultimately slotting together in a heart-wrenching depiction of loss, grief, and mental illness.

For a debut, this is an extremely accomplished novel and the authenticity of Matt’s character should leave no reader surprised that the author is a registered mental health nurse. He knows what he’s talking about, and he talks about it with great care and great skill. I don’t want to talk to talk too much about the plot as much of the pleasure to be derived from this book is in the journey through Matt’s experience as though he is recollecting is for you personally, but I highly recommend picking this one up.


Rating: 4/5