185:. In 2004 Filer completed his degree in mental health nursing, and in 2007 moved into academia as a research assistant — where he looked into treatments for depression. This experience has resulted in Filer having met many patients and their family, saying this aided his book and his work in nursing. After having worked on the novel for seven years, Filer decided in 2009 to study a creative writing MA and make the novel a priority. The book was eventually published on 9 May 2013, after it was subject to an 11-way auction and sold to
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In the present, Matt is being treated at the Hope Road Day Centre mental hospital. He was committed there by his parents, Richard and Susan, after his grandmother found him attempting to make a giant ant farm in his flat, which a hallucination of Simon told him to do. Matt finds his experience at the
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praises Filer's skillful interweaving of time frames and his "impressive feat of storytelling". It criticizes that the techniques of suspense used works against the story itself, it "reinforces the distinction between the narrator's point of view and the readers". Additionally, the lack of ambiguity
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The novel starts with Matt reciting recollections from his childhood, where he blatantly states that he is not a nice person and has not dealt with pain since scraping his knee at the age of nine. This episode happened when he and his brother Simon went camping with their parents at Ocean Grove
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noted that readers who are psychiatrists hoping to find themselves portrayed within the work would be disappointed, as they are "mentioned less than a handful of times throughout". However, they praise Filer's "very talented storytelling" and "fine description of psychiatry".
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145:, dealing with the death of his older brother. It explores the central themes of loss, guilt, and mental illness. It takes place over three timelines: the present where Matt is writing; the past where Simon is alive; and the decade since Simon died.
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After Simon's parents and the ward doctor, Edward
Clement, discuss the progress Matt has made at the ward, he is discharged. The novel ends with Matt awaiting his release, stating that the story does not have an end, as he is still living it.
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and the Costa First Novel Award in 2013, with chairman of the judges Rose
Tremain saying it was "exceptionally moving without being sentimental" and "astonishingly sure-footed" for a first novel. Additionally, the novel was awarded the
210:– which eventually makes him remember what happened to Simon by writing about the night he died. It is revealed that Simon's death was the result of a harmless prank gone wrong, where Simon accidentally fell off of a short cliff.
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when he was training to be a mental health nurse in 2002. The idea of the central character of
Matthew arrived in his head as he was walking home after a shift on an acute
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Holiday Park in Dorset. After scraping his knee, Simon carries Matt back to where they are staying. Shortly after, Simon, who has
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praises the novel as bittersweet and wonderfully etched, noting that it is "an unsettling read but a perceptive and moving one".
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ward repetitive, and often complains about the rigid schedule. One of Matt's therapists asks him to perform a
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Nanny Noo — Matthew's grandmother, and one of the main characters of the novel, who often helps him out.
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Simon Homes — Matthew's older brother with Down syndrome, who died when
Matthew was nine.
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as "a gripping and exhilarating read", the narrator's voice being "dazzlingly rendered".
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Nathan Filer, who grew up in
Bristol, first had the idea for his first novel,
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In 2014 the novel was awarded
Specsavers Popular Fiction Book of the Year by
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Jacob
Greening — Matthew's best and only friend, as well as former flatmate.
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Matthew Homes — main protagonist and narrator of the novel, diagnosed with
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here makes the book "fundamentally out of sympathy with its narrator".
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559:"A haunting and powerful take on guilt, death and mental illness"
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Bestseller and has been translated into over 30 languages.
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The novel was first published in the UK on 9 May 2013, by
632:"National Book Awards 2014 - Overall winner announced"
391:"Costa winner Nathan Filer: 'This is huge, isn't it?'"
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and several other medical conditions, is found dead.
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445:"The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer – review"
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232:Richard Homes — Matthew and Simon's father.
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607:"Filer and McBride among SoA award winners"
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732:Novels about diseases and disorders
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336:Bosman, Julie (10 February 2014).
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530:The British Journal of Psychiatry
526:"Review of The Shock of the Fall"
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654:"Writers' Guild Awards 2014/15"
605:Campbell, Lisa (30 June 2014).
310:Writers' Guild of Great Britain
524:Mehta, Naomi (November 2014).
443:Feay, Suzi (18 January 2014).
306:Specsavers National Book Award
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263:British Journal of Psychiatry
312:award for Best First Novel.
586:. BBC News. 28 January 2014
474:"This is not a ghost story"
16:2013 novel by Nathan Filer'
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634:. The Reading Agency. 2014
543:10.1192/bjp.bp.114.150821
503:. London: HarperCollins.
254:The novel was praised by
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315:The novel also made the
150:HarperCollins Publishers
77:HarperCollins Publishers
495:Filer, Nathan (2013).
478:London Review of Books
418:Akhtar, Sarah (2014).
294:Costa Book of the Year
272:London Review of Books
189:for a six-figure sum.
179:The Shock of the Fall,
20:The Shock of the Fall
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727:Novels set in England
499:The Shock of the Fall
317:Desmond Elliott Prize
130:The Shock of the Fall
59:Psychological fiction
301:of £10,000 in 2014.
158:Where the Moon Isn't
737:HarperCollins books
712:2013 British novels
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722:Novels about death
362:"Who is this guy?"
341:The New York Times
319:longlist in 2014.
292:The novel won the
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133:is British author
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660:. 19 January 2015
427:Newbooks Magazine
299:Betty Trask Prize
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139:debut novel
706:Categories
536:(5): 413.
323:References
218:Characters
173:Background
245:Reception
100:Paperback
96:Hardcover
73:Publisher
65:Published
690:15 April
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484:(4): 33.
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429:: 62–63.
400:22 April
371:15 April
346:15 April
208:genogram
193:Synopsis
163:It is a
47:Language
250:Reviews
226:at 17.
143:Bristol
94:Print (
50:English
507:
288:Awards
37:Author
423:(PDF)
107:Pages
55:Genre
692:2019
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
