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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
A touching book dealing with mental illness, unimaginable loss, and healing. Written from the perspective of a young adult dealing with schizofrenia, telling the story of his life and the loss of his disabled brother in a tragic accident while he was a young boy.
Now, I wouldn't call myself an authority on books that cover the topic of Mental Illness, but this is by far the best I have read on the subject. It handled the issue so well, treating it partly with the sensitivity it deserves, while managing an honesty that was frankly eye-opening. I can't believe I took so long to read this book! The characters were really well-written. Each of them was complex and had their own issues to deal with and I liked watching them develop as the book went on. They felt real and flawed too, and for me the best thing was that the way that they spoke felt so real. Sometimes when I read books, and conversations between characters, I think to myself 'There's no way they would have phrased it like that!' or 'Who says that?!'. Here, I had none of those problems and all interaction felt completely life-like. It was interesting to read from Matt's POV as well. Filer completely got the balance right when making sure that while it was clear that Matt had something wrong with him, he was still intelligent, funny and level-headed in his own way. It was clear that Filer's own experiences as a registered Mental Health Nurse played a huge part in the writing of this book, but I particularly liked that he touched upon the subject of grief as well. A shocking death hits the readers pretty early on in the book, and with that comes guilt, anxiety and anger for all those closely involved. It was so interesting to read as it had such a huge impact on the rest of the story. The fact that Filer clearly knows his stuff when it comes to the system made it an even more insightful read, and I adored the way he included letters and diagrams throughout (as well as changing fonts) to depict Matt's journey while recounting the story. This was such a well thought out book and I look forward to hopefully reading more of Filer's work.
For a full review, see here: http://chasedbymyimagination.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/book-review-shock-of-fall-nathan-filer.html
For a full review, see here: http://chasedbymyimagination.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/book-review-shock-of-fall-nathan-filer.html
Må huske å lese denne om igjen når jeg blir eldre, for tror jeg har lest for lite / er for ung til å få så mye "utbytte og glede" av denne boken som den kunne gitt deg
This book is about mental illness. It’s really well written and true to life from my own experiences of working with mentally ill people. I found it a little bit confusing and I don’t think I was in the right mood to properly appreciate it.
Having had one of my very best friends hospitalised with mental health issues, (who incidentally was just discharged from her second stay today), this book hit very close to home. There’s a hefty dose of mourning and how a loss can significantly affect a family.
I hate the term “page turner” as isn’t every book one that you have to turn the pages in order to read? I will, however, say that this did hook me, and that made it a relatively quick read. Having visited a few times, and spoken to most days, my friend in hospital, so much of the mental health side of this book was absolutely spot on, (of course as a registered mental health nurse you would expect the author, Nathan Filer, to get that right).
Maybe not a book for everyone, but certainly one worth reading as an insight into how mental illness is dealt with by the NHS in Britain, and how constant underfunding jeopardises the help that is currently available.
I hate the term “page turner” as isn’t every book one that you have to turn the pages in order to read? I will, however, say that this did hook me, and that made it a relatively quick read. Having visited a few times, and spoken to most days, my friend in hospital, so much of the mental health side of this book was absolutely spot on, (of course as a registered mental health nurse you would expect the author, Nathan Filer, to get that right).
Maybe not a book for everyone, but certainly one worth reading as an insight into how mental illness is dealt with by the NHS in Britain, and how constant underfunding jeopardises the help that is currently available.
3 for this book - it was really interesting! I really enjoyed the writing style even though it was very confusing at some points, but the fact that the protagonist wrote his own story, that you could read it from the point of view of a mental ill person made it so real and challenging. I also really liked the ending, it just felt right. I do enjoyed the story but in my opinion it wasn't as overwhelming as everybody says so.
5 Stars from me!
The Shock Of The Fall is a gentle yet deeply moving story told through the eyes of MatthewHomes as he grows up and battles a mental illness alongside grief and guilt following the death of his brother, Simon.
I really enjoyed this completely different narrative style; the places where the typeface is different all add to the atmosphere of the book. Things like that can often be twee and unnecessary but I felt it added to the overall enjoyment of the book in this case. STOP READING OVER MY SHOULDER for example gave me a wry smile.
This is a mostly sad book which has touches of humour and small uplifting sections. I thought the glimpse into the life of an adult living with a serious mental disorder was fascinating, a real caution not to judge the person next to you on the bus or in front of you in a queue - you never know what someone is living with inside.
I can see why The Shock Of The Fall has been so highly rated and has won so many reviews, it's literary style and bravery of subject are refreshing, clever, interesting to read and make for a great story.
I can't help wondering whether the illness the size and sound of a snake would always have reared it's ugly head or whether it was entirely caused by Simon's death, or even coaxed into life by his mum's ill-timed attentions?
The Shock Of The Fall is a gentle yet deeply moving story told through the eyes of MatthewHomes as he grows up and battles a mental illness alongside grief and guilt following the death of his brother, Simon.
I really enjoyed this completely different narrative style; the places where the typeface is different all add to the atmosphere of the book. Things like that can often be twee and unnecessary but I felt it added to the overall enjoyment of the book in this case. STOP READING OVER MY SHOULDER for example gave me a wry smile.
This is a mostly sad book which has touches of humour and small uplifting sections. I thought the glimpse into the life of an adult living with a serious mental disorder was fascinating, a real caution not to judge the person next to you on the bus or in front of you in a queue - you never know what someone is living with inside.
I can see why The Shock Of The Fall has been so highly rated and has won so many reviews, it's literary style and bravery of subject are refreshing, clever, interesting to read and make for a great story.
I can't help wondering whether the illness the size and sound of a snake would always have reared it's ugly head or whether it was entirely caused by Simon's death, or even coaxed into life by his mum's ill-timed attentions?
