The Shock of the Fall

The Shock of the Fall – Nathan Filer

(HarperCollins, £12.99)

This book is quite simply stunning and was a worthy winner of the 2013 Costa Book Prize. Nathan Filer, in addition to being a successful author, is also a mental health nurse and it is his experience of, and insight into, the private world of schizophrenia that makes this book so engaging.

The story follows the main character’s descent into the depths of mental illness after the death of his brother. The reader is witness to his spiraling decline, and how the severity of his illness touches his family. It is hardhitting and funny at times and reveals the world of mental health in a detail that has not been achieved in fiction for a long time.

Alison Boler, PA, ITV