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.’
‘Ambitious and exquisitely realised, it’s by turns shocking, harrowing and heartrending’
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
Short Film
‘Astonishingly sure-footed’
‘Filer has an incisive eye for detail… authentic, funny and hauntingly sad’
‘A tragic and comic account of living with schizophrenia. A must for fans of Matthew Quick’s The Silver Linings Playbook’
‘Bittersweet and wonderfully etched’
‘Utterly convincing… Filer has created a character of real value’
‘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’
‘A convincing portrayal of an articulate boy in the grip of a powerful illness, and an absorbing account of a grief undischarged’
‘Ambitious and exquisitely realised, it’s by turns shocking, harrowing and heartrending’
‘Erudite, well-researched and full of compassion, shedding an important light on the human cost of serious mental illness.’