The Shock of the Fall (by Nathan Filer)

(Amazon UK link)

I often pick up interesting-looking books at church book sales, and they then sit on my to-be-read shelf for months, sometimes years. That was the case with ‘The Shock of the Fall’, a book I bought in March 2021, and have only just read. I had never heard of Nathan Filer, and while the front cover looks intriguing, glittery and inspiring, it appealed less when I realised it wasn’t anything to do with the ‘fall’ of mankind as documented in Genesis.

However, I’m determined to read through my unread books in the next year or two and have them arranged alphabetically by author. So I finally got to it - and while the blurb on the back made it sound as if it could be quite heavy-going, it turned out to be very readable.

Matthew (Matt) is the narrator, a young man suffering from a serious psychiatric disorder. It’s made fairly clear what that is early in the book although it’s not spelled out until near the end. He’s typing up his memories, some of them at the Day Centre he goes to for his medication and for some therapeutic classes. Then he’s given a typewriter and the font changes, as he types at home.

The memories are somewhat disjointed, and interspersed with the ‘current’ time in Matt’s life, but I didn’t have much trouble working out which part of his life was being written about. It’s cleverly done, giving the impression of someone who doesn’t always remember everything, and is easily distracted.

The main theme of the book, which we learn about in the first chapter, is the death of Matt’s brother Simon. Simon was a few years older than Matt, but seemed younger because he had Down Syndrome. However he was bright and  verbal, and a good playmate to Matt even if he sometimes walked a bit strangely. Typical of people with this syndrome, Simon was very caring too. Matt misses him, and his parents are still grieving ten years later, his mother on medication for depression.

We don’t learn exactly what happened to Simon until almost the end of the book, but it’s clear that Matt was involved in some way, and feels a sense of responsibility, sometimes guilt. But he also keeps imagining he sees and hears Simon. There’s a bit of school science thrown into the mix, as Matt learns about the way atoms function, and how everyone is really part of everyone - and everything - else. Whether that’s how he perceives his late brother, or whether he’s imagining him as a child might, or whether he’s truly believing he’s there is not made clear, though he believes he has the condition for which he’s treated.

It’s a well-written story, about loss, and childhood puzzlement, and about the difficulties of being a psychiatric patient when one’s IQ and general intelligence is normal. There are bleak descriptions of the tedium of a psychiatric ward in a hospital, and of the day centre visits, which I’m sure are well researched and authentic.

I don’t think it’s a book I’ll read again, but I’m glad I read it - it’s not my usual genre, and not even one from the local reading group although it could lead to some interesting discussions. Not suitable for children or younger teens due to the subject matter and quite a bit of ‘strong’ language, but I’d recommend this, in a low-key way, to older teens or adults interested in learning a bit more about mental illness, with a bit of tension as we try to figure out what exactly might have happened to Simon - and what the significance was of the small girl mentioned in the first paragraph.

Review copyright 2023 Sue's Book Reviews