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.’
‘A terrific debut: engaging, funny and inventive’
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
‘Bittersweet and wonderfully etched’
‘Astonishingly sure-footed’
‘A terrific debut: engaging, funny and inventive’
‘A tragic and comic account of living with schizophrenia. A must for fans of Matthew Quick’s The Silver Linings Playbook’
‘A convincing portrayal of an articulate boy in the grip of a powerful illness, and an absorbing account of a grief undischarged’
‘Filer has an incisive eye for detail… authentic, funny and hauntingly sad’
‘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’
‘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’
‘Erudite, well-researched and full of compassion, shedding an important light on the human cost of serious mental illness.’