The Shock of the Fall

‘I’ll tell you what happened because it will be a good way to introduce you to 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.’

‘Filer has an incisive eye for detail… authentic, funny and hauntingly sad’

The Sunday Times

Winner Of

The Costa Book Of The Year

The National Book Award For Popular Fiction

The Betty Trask Prize

The Writers’ Guild Award for Best First Novel

‘A gripping, exhilarating read… dazzlingly rendered’

The Guardian

‘Nathan Filer is following in the footsteps of Mark Haddon’s genre-setting The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time. Both funny and painful… you’re going to love it’

Daily Mail

‘A compelling story of grief, madness and loss. Filer has an ear for the dark comedy of life, and Matthew is a charismatic lead character who draws you in even as his world falls apart’

Observer

‘Bittersweet and wonderfully etched’

The Telegraph

‘A deeply moving (but also funny) first novel’

The Times

‘Filer has an incisive eye for detail… authentic, funny and hauntingly sad’

The Sunday Times

‘Utterly convincing… Filer has created a character of real value’

Evening Standard

‘A convincing portrayal of an articulate boy in the grip of a powerful illness, and an absorbing account of a grief undischarged’

Sunday Herald

‘I have never read a more powerful book about mental health’

Joanna Cannon