The Shock of the Fall - Nathan Filer

So .... I am well ahead of myself in my 52 week challenge. I have now finished another of my books and I've done two in 1 week!! We all love an over achiever!!!

After this book I am going to have to take a quick break to try and catch up with my dissertation reading which is by far not as fun! But seens as I am ahead of myself I can take the time to catch up with myself in other areas!

The Shock of the Fall - Nathan Filer

So I started this book with a lot of expectations as it has been given many amazing reviews from everywhere!! However as I started to read it, its really not as amazing as it is said to be.

So The Shock of the Fall is about a boy/man who is documenting his life so far. He had a n older brother and he recounts what they used to do however his brother dies at a young age and this sends the other brother on a downward spiral into insanity. Which is when Matthew then begins to write his story, he writes from a day centre that he attends and from home. He tells the reader all about what his brother was like and what they did and how it felt to realise that you were different from the other kids at school and what happens when he realises.

Fair enough I have to admit that the book isn't a bad book!! The way that Filer writes the book is reminiscent of many books that I have read for my English Lit degree such as ... Slaughter House Five, Flaubert's Parrot and Miss Lonelyhearts in the way that Filer creates the idea of madness through chaos. This is an overdone thing in literature however Filer did manage to pull this off and the jumping from each story to the next and from past to present does make the book feel like you are in Matthews head.

The actual story does pull at the heartstrings a little bit, as I am renowned for being emotional, however the way the story is told does not evoke emotions. The way the book is written does not initially make you feel emotional or feel sorry for the people in the book as Filer is very distant from what he is saying. This in turn makes Matthew very distant from what he is writing and what he is thinking, so we don't really get a sense of emotion! And I have to admit that the story is a good story! I would say that to make this book better would be double it in size and go into more depth. Now I know this is probably not what the writer wanted when he was writing the book as being short, shallow and chaotic gives it a certain feel. BUT I personally think that if this was made longer and more in depth it could have been a really good, emotional novel looking at the effect that mental instability has on a life from a young age through the 19 years of age and the battle that happens.

Unfortunately the book does not do this ... however I would recommend the book to other people and with it only having just over 300 pages I would say its a quick and easy read for Summer (it did only take me about 3 hours to read the whole book!)

Next I'm onto a Dexter novel - Dexter is Delicious - Jeff Lindsay.

This one might take me a while longer as I say I need to get on with a bit more dissertation reading.

Thanks for reading!
See you soon..
Leanne :)