21st Century Literature discussion
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The Shock of the Fall
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The Shock of the Fall - General Discussion (Feb 2019)
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I would have to say that I was more impressed by this book than enjoyed the book. The narrator's problems with reality where very well handled, and I did like the note on which it ended. Overall, I am glad that I read this book. And honestly, I'm not sure what else to say about it.
Mod
One thing I liked about this book is that it had a relatively upbeat ending. But I wondered if that was realistic -- schizophrenia is a hard disease to deal with. What was Matt's chances? So I did a little research and found this on mentalhelp.net:
Ten years after initial diagnosis, approximately fifty percent of people diagnosed with schizophrenia are either noted to be completely recovered or improved to the point of being able to function independently. Twenty five percent are improved, but require a strong support network, and an additional fifteen percent remain unimproved and are typically hospitalized. Unfortunately, ten percent of the affected population sees no way out of their pain except through death and ends up committing suicide. Long-term statistics for thirty years after diagnosis are similar to the ten year mark, except that there are even more people who improve to become independent. However, there is also an increase in the number of suicides to fifteen percent. Over time, women appear to have a better chance at sustaining recovery from symptoms than do men.
That's not too bad odds. I can see Matt making it. I think, regardless of the outcome, he's going to try, and try hard.
This makes me feel better about the ending.
Mod
On the same day I started reading this book, I saw a video made by a “special need” (ADHD) child whose insecurity eventually led him to turn to homeschooling. I was blown away. It’s so amazing to me that the Internet (and VR technologies ... he shows up as kermit 🐸) allows the public to listen to them giving an account of their struggles, even as they opt out of the terrifying “normies” world.Still under the influence of that video, I was initially very happy with this book, I felt like the author did an amazing job disclosing the subjective experience of a disabled person.
But I felt very conflicted by the time I got to the end, which got much worse when I found out the author is a mental health nurse. I wonder if he had any conflicting feelings about speaking in the voice of a mentally disabled person. I found this remark (in the novel) interesting:
Last time I went in the office to borrow the Nursing Dictionary, I counted three mugs, a mouse mat, a bunch of pens, two Post-it note booklets and the wall clock – all sporting the brands of different medicines. It’s like being in prison and having to look at adverts for fucking locks.
I don’t mean to impose the Nurse Ratched stereotype on every patient/ psych ward staff relation. But, in my experience, when I listen to people talking about their own struggles with mental health crisis, they often resent having other people’s professional diagnosis or labels imposed onto them, as though that’s the only valid point of view, as though what THEY have to say is nonsensical, crazy, scientifically and clinically proven to be invalid, QED.
When a mental health nurse writes a novel with the POV of a schizophrenic person, filled with irrational nonsense (that also coincides with a contrite plot twist and a happy ending,) who eventually comes around to see that the authorities were right and saviors all along, I can’t help but to feel that the battle was lost. The authority won (and won the Costa Award, using the quirks and tics of the people they “fix” and “speak for.”)
This reminds me of colonial masters wearing black face while badly imitating the language of the natives, exaggerating orgies and cannibalism and head hunting as some kind of “artistic representation” of “the others.”
I don’t think Filer sets out to mock “the others,” and I think this novel touches on the crisis of mental health institutions losing fundings (which is a pretty honest thing for a mental health nurse to write about.) But still, the decision to speak as a schizophrenic patient in crisis mode made me very uncomfortable.
Mod
I don’t think Filer sets out to mock “the others,” and I think this novel touches on the crisis of mental health institutions losing fundings (which is a pretty honest thing for a mental health nurse to write about.) But still, the decision to speak as a schizophrenic patient in crisis mode made me very uncomfortable.
It sounds like you have given the book a lot of thought. I think the author was more interested in provoking thought than in making readers comfortable. Another book you might find interesting is The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind: My Tale of Madness and Recovery by Barbara K. Lipska. It's nonfiction, a memoir by a neuroscientist who developed brain tumors that caused her thought processes to start breaking down. Eventually she was cured, and returned to being her usual self.
If you have read the book, or started reading it, feel free to comment on what you have read and your reaction to it.
What I liked about this book is the voice of the narrator. He tells you up-front that he is an unreliable narrator, but it is not because he wants to deceive you. He tries painfully hard to be honest. He tells you about his life as he sees it. He recognizes that the picture does not always make sense, but he assures us he is doing his best.