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 an extraordinary portrait of one man’s descent into mental illness.
3.5* Read
Imagine your life is a film directed by God. A rom-com, obviously, complete with happy-ever-after ending… Welcome to Pat’s world. It’s a world of silver-linings and true love, but also a world where God makes movies and Kenny G lurks in your attic. It maybe isn’t a surprise to learn that Pat has spent some time in a mental health facility. The problem is, Pat’s now home, and everything feels off. No one will talk to him about Nikki, his estranged wife; his beloved Philadelphia Eagles keep losing; he’s being pursued by the deeply odd Tiffany and his new therapist seems to recommend adultery as a form of therapy. In this enchanting novel, Matthew Quick takes us inside Pat’s mind, showing us the world from his distorted yet endearing perspective.
3.5* Read
Meet Don Tillman. Don is getting married. He just doesn’t know who to yet. But he has designed a very detailed questionnaire to help him find the perfect woman. One thing he already knows, though, is that it’s not Rosie. Absolutely, completely, definitely not.
4* Read!
Jack is five. He lives with his Ma. They live in a single, locked room. They don’t have the key. Jack and Ma are prisoners.
Room is inspired by the true story of Elisabeth Fritzl, an Austrian woman who endured emotional and sexual assault while imprisoned by her father in his basement for 24 years. She eventually bore him seven children who were imprisoned with her until rescue. In Donoghue’s story, Room is home to Jack, but a prison to his Ma, who has been held captive for 7 years.
4* Read!
Left penniless after the death of their father, independent Beatrice Eliott and her beautiful younger sister, Evangeline, brave wicked relatives, scandal, tyranny, and poverty to build a successful fashion establishment, The House of Eliott.
4* Read
Confessions of a Book Geek 