Zig-Zag Boy: A Mother’s Love & a Journey Through Madness

Zig-Zag Boy is a powerful and moving book about love, mental health, and life, following Tanya as she navigates the tough frontiers of love and madness. It is a story of isolation, fear, and the search for answers.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 01 February 2024
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

‘Fiercely intelligent, humane, and necessary, Nathan Filer's The Shock of the Fall is at its heart a story about love – an astonishing new voice in contemporary fiction. Ali Millar, author of The Last Days, praises it as "impeccably researched, vividly written, and emotionally powerful."

Zach was nineteen when Tanya discovered him rerouting the wires of their landline, sure that the phone was bugged, that his friends were Mafia, that the helicopters swirling above were deployed by spies, that he couldn't trust anyone – her included. That moment upturned and unmoored everything. It would strand them both in a profound and terrifying isolation, the way that perhaps only a psychotic break – or loving someone who is experiencing one – can.

Zig-Zag Boy is a journey along the tough frontiers of love and madness. As Tanya fights for answers and understanding – coming up against broken healthcare systems in the UK and the US – she is forced to question whether there were warning signs she missed, whether Zach will be able to have a normal life, and what "normal" really means.

Nathan Filer's The Shock of the Fall is a powerful and thought-provoking exploration of love, mental health, and life. With its stunning writing, compelling characters, and important themes, it is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the complexities of the human experience.

Weight: 160g
Dimension: 128 x 197 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780008382872