'Exceptionally moving without being sentimental - we're very much hoping there will be more from this writer... astonishingly sure-footed...' Rose Tremain 'A gripping, exhilarating read... passages that have a sort of simple poetry' GUARDIAN 'Authentic, funny and hauntingly sad' SUNDAY TIMES 'The simple prose is spot-on as the plain, honest voice of a teenager...smart eye for human foibles...a poignant, moving story that well deserves its Costa win' INDEPENDENT 'A stunning novel. Ambitious and exquisitely realised, it's by turns shocking, harrowing and heartrending. The writing is so accomplished it's hard to believe it's a debut - it's clearly the work of a major new talent' S J Watson 'Nathan Filer is following in the footsteps of Mark Haddon's genre-setting The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time. Both funny and painful... you're going to love it' DAILY MAIL 'Bittersweet and wonderfully etched...perceptive and moving' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Utterly convincing... great craft' EVENING STANDARD 'A deeply moving (but also funny) first novel' Kate Saunders THE TIMES 'I found it dark, touching, sweet and funny and beautifully written...one of the best books about mental illness.' Jo Brand 'Poignant, funny and harrowing' DAILY EXPRESS 'A compelling story of grief, madness and loss. Filer has an ear for the dark comedy of life, and Matthew is a charismatic lead character who draws you in even as his world falls apart' OBSERVER MAGAZINE 'A tragic and comic account of living with schizophrenia. A must for fans of Matthew Quick's The Silver Linings Playbook' GQ 'A stunning debut - sad, poignant, real and very very readable. For a first time novelist, Filer has an impressive grasp of complex narrative, and a character we can all care about' Stella Duffy, author of The Room of Lost Thing 'A terrific debut: engaging, funny and inventive' Joe Dunthorne, author of Submarine

WINNER OF THE COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2013 '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.'