REVIEW; 'The Shock of the Fall' by Nathan Filer

Afternoon guys, today's review is of the acclaimed book 'The Shock of the Fall' by Nathan Filer. I'd heard relatively good things going about in regards to this book, and thought I'd get it out from the library, just in case it wasn't good enough to live up to my expectations. 

In all honesty, I'm unsure as to what to think about this book. It's narrated by Matthew, a young man/boy who lost his mentally and physically ill brother when he was a child. This had a knock on effect with both his and his mother's mental health, and Matthew is eventually diagnosed as schizophrenic. The narration makes it a little hard to follow at times, and as with many books told from the perspective of somebody who isn't completely sane, a lot of the information is inferred, rather than stated. The book also jumps between Matt's childhood and his progression into his current position in a rather erratic manner. 

However, once I actually sat down and forced myself to pay attention, the story of Matt and Simon, his brother- along with all of their family- became extremely endearing, and completely heattbreaking. One thing I did particularly love about this book is that Filer avoided the trait of 'individual with mental issues is 'saved' by a romantic interest' and showed Matt's improvements as a genuine progression towards lessening the effects of his illness, rather than a 'cure'. I imagine this had a lot to do with the fact that Filer is a mental health nurse, and his protrayal of Matt is beautiful, if at times uncomfortably raw to read. 

Essentially, whilst this book is far from a poolside read, and is at times a little hard to follow, it is more than worth the read for the way Filer almost forces you to care for the family; for Simon and Matt, their parents and 'Nanny Noo' and many other characters. It surprisingly, does flow well- the book is a very very quick read considering how hard hitting the content matter is. The growth and progression of the story is beautiful and the ending offers real hope for a future that is, if not perfect, better. 

Characters; 4/5

Plot; 3/5

Overall; 3/5

While this book wasn't exactly what I was expecting, it was lovely, and it could well earn itself a place on my bookshelf soon! I'll be back tomorrow with another Challenge post and I'll have a review of COHF up soon!