Tag: psychology

Book Review: The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer

M.T.Wilson @ The Last Book on the Left4 Comments

The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer

Genre: General Fiction, Contemporary Fiction

Publishing Info: May 2013 by HarperCollins (kindle edition)

Pages: 320

Star Rating: 5/5

Back Cover Summary:

‘I’ll tell you what happened because it will be a good way to introduce 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.’

There are books you can’t stop reading, which keep you up all night.

There are books which let us into the hidden parts of life and make them vividly real.

There are books which, because of the sheer skill with which every word is chosen, linger in your mind for days.

The Shock of the Fall is all of these books.

The Shock of the Fall is an extraordinary portrait of one man’s descent into mental illness. It is a brave and groundbreaking novel from one of the most exciting new voices in fiction.

The Shock of the Fall wasn’t what I expected. It was more. It was a rollercoaster of emotions and sometimes I felt like I was drowning in the words but I couldn’t stop reading. The words, so simple, but drew me in so much and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget this book.

I read the kindle edition, and I think it would be better to read it in paperback. It was fine reading it on kindle, but I think the experience of it would be better in physical copy. There are images and different fonts used, which I think would be easier to see in paperback.

There isn’t exactly a plot, so to say. It’s mostly the narrator, Matthew, talking about his past and life. He is mentally ill, diagnosed with schizophrenia in the book. It was a real delve into the character’s mind, of how his thought processes work and how he conveys things in his writing (the narrator is writing their story). I really felt like I was seeing things through his eyes. I was in his mind, feeling his thoughts and feelings.

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Book Review: Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

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Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

Genre: Science Fiction

Publishing Info: January 2002 by Gollancz (first published 1958)

Pages: 224

Star Rating: 4/5

Back Cover Summary:

Charlie Gordon, IQ 68, is a floor sweeper, and the gentle butt of everyone’s jokes, until an experiment in the enhancement of human intelligence turns him into a genius. But then Algernon, the mouse whose triumphal experimental transformation preceded his, fades and dies, and Charlie has to face the possibility that his salvation was only temporary.

Having enjoyed novels such as Brave New World, 1984 and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? I want to read more classic science-fiction. Gollancz’s SF Masterworks collection has an eclectic mix of classic sci-fi books, of which Flowers for Algernon is the most recent I have delved into.

The book is written in an epistolary form using the progress reports that Charlie has to write before and after the experiment to increase his intelligence. I found this book very insightful and very much had a connection to the main character and their story as I was reading it. A problem I had with Brave New World and 1984 was I didn’t care all that much about the characters. That wasn’t really a problem as such for those books, as a certain narrative distance seems appropriate for them. It was refreshing to read a classic sci-fi novel in which I connected so much to the protagonist, as I hadn’t experience that with the others I have read so far.

I found it really interesting and sad how Charlie is treated by others, both because of his lack of intelligence and how he is treated as an experiment. One of the psychologists even has the view that Charlie wasn’t even human before the experiment. I haven’t known anybody with ‘low IQ’ (as the book puts it) or learning difficulties so I don’t know if the portrayal of Charlie is realistic.

The last thirty-or-so pages was utterly heart breaking and that was when I realised how into the book I had got, and how invested in the story I was.

I think this is a very important novel. It’s one of those science-fiction stories that are very thought-provoking, and make you think about the way you see the world and the society we live in.

Book Review: Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

M.T.Wilson @ The Last Book on the LeftLeave a comment

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Publishing Info: May 2008 by Margaret K. McElderry Books (first published 2007)

Pages: 667

Star Rating: 4/5

Back Cover Summary:

Sometimes you don’t wake up. But if you happen to, you know things will never be the same.

Three lives, three different paths to the same destination: Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital for those who have attempted the ultimate act — suicide.

Vanessa is beautiful and smart, but her secrets keep her answering the call of the blade.

Tony, after suffering a painful childhood, can only find peace through pills.

And Conner, outwardly, has the perfect life. But dig a little deeper and find a boy who is in constant battle with his parents, his life, himself.

In one instant each of these young people decided enough was enough. They grabbed the blade, the bottle, the gun — and tried to end it all. Now they have a second chance, and just maybe, with each other’s help, they can find their way to a better life — but only if they’re strong and can fight the demons that brought them here in the first place.

Although I have read plenty of poetry and plenty of novels, I had yet to read a novel in verse until Impulse by Ellen Hopkins. The book looks dauntingly thick, but is actually an incredibly quick read since there aren’t all that many words on each page. It explores how three teenagers came to be at Aspen Springs psychiatric hospital and doesn’t shy away from dealing with complex issues.

The book uses three different narrators – Vanessa, Tony and Conner – with headings to show which is which. It switches between the perspectives about every three poems. Surprisingly, I was mostly able to keep track, but there were times where I forgot which point of view it was, got confused, and had to flick back and check.

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