Book review: The shock of the fall

Goodreads 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.’
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.

The shock of the fall
Author: Nathan Filer
Published: 2013

This book won the 2013 Costa book award and has been surrounded by a lot of hype. For once, I've found a book that warrants all the hype its getting and may even deserve more. 

Nathan Filer's debut novel tells the story of Mathew, a young man and narrator of this novel; his story and experience with Schizophrenia. His voice, among other things, is what makes this work so very special. His narration and the ever fluctuating style of it, adds so much more depth and emotion to an already highly emotional story.

As the story progresses and we follow Mathew and the roller coaster that is his life and dealings with his diagnosis, family, feelings and everyday demons, stories unravel and you feel yourself increasingly empathizing - when he's happy and having a good day, you are jubilant, when he's not doing so well, you desperately wish that you could help. He's a dysfunctional character that you can't help but love and care for.

Its not just the characters and the narrative that makes this such a special story. The writing and choice of phrases (for want of a better description) are absolute genius. So perfect and gut-wretchingly beautiful that they really are haunting. I was going to insert one of my favourite quotes, something that I don't usually do, I thought it would far better illustrate what I'm attempting to say. However, not only did I quickly discover that I wouldn't be able to pick just one, I also realised that I want people to be able to discover the magic for themselves, in its original context rather than within my ramblings.

Because I can't properly express how amazing this book really is, and because I'm beginning to think I'm rambling I'm going to end this review by saying that this novel is honestly one of the most amazing reads, it really is incredible and everyone should read it! 

Rating: 5/5