Brainbomb: A Lurid Story Of Bi-Polar Illness (Paperback)

BrainBomb is a rollercoaster ride through the highs and lows of a form of mental illness - bipolar disorder - as experienced by a Scottish twentysomething, Neil Armstrong.

I've read blogs by author Mark Fleming, and he stresses the paradox of a condition widely considered 'abnormal' being as normal as any physical illness, from kidney disease to tooth decay. 1 in 4 will experience mental ill-health at some point. Here, then, is the irony of choosing one of humankind's most famous celebrities for his protagonist - a quiet, average Joe - the bipolar stranger sitting next to you on the bus, plugged into his iPod.

The story commences at Neil’s lowest point. He has a complete breakdown and is taken to a secure unit by ambulance. The chapters dip back into the lifestyle that contributed to his depression, then spring forward as his bipolar condition ebbs and flows.

The prose is overwritten at times, but there is no doubting Fleming’s sincerity as his semi-autobiography launches us into magic mushroom trips, riots at punk gigs, post-club sexual encounters; and occasionally, quiet family scenes.

Fleming allows events to unfold in a manner that reminded me of Kurt Vonnegut’s fantastical fiction. Events become triggers for flashbacks. Fleming refuses to dwell on the eccentric and often alarming behaviour triggered during bipolar episodes - he places his subject firmly within a wider context. Thus events outwith the illness are seen as equally traumatic, such as an incident of child abuse, or an alcohol-fuelled joy ride that has tragic consequences.

Bipolar disorder is commonest among young adults. Fleming describes all the latent influences that might have contributed to Armstrong's condition - dabbling in drugs, binge-drinking and promiscuity as he embraces
the punk and club scenes in Edinburgh.

Particularly effective are the scenes where Armstong, suffering insomnia, finds his vivid imagination 'time-travelling' into parallel existences. These tangents are particulalry riveting sequences. His fantasies about gang fights in post-war Glasgow, the Spanish Civil War’s ‘Red Terror’. On one occasion we are plunged into a medieval battle. An artillery strike is rivetingly described: “The man in front, a towering redhead, was cleft in two. For a second his legs remained, supporting a ragged ball of pelvic bone and innards, like some nightmarish tree”.

In another sequence Armstrong imagines being confronted by brownshirt thugs in 1930s Nuremberg. The outcome is shocking but underscores a point. While the mentally ill are scapegoated as 'society's nutters', a infinitely bloodier trail has been left in history by the 'sane' and the 'nomal'.

There is much humour in Fleming’s story, but within a page-turn the self-deprecation can twist into despair. This mirrors the unpredictable swings and roundabouts of bipolar illness.

Published by Chipmunka, who specialise in work by people with mental health issues, BrainBomb is hugely entertaining. Although it finishes on a positive note, the novel's relentless approach ensures you are left in no doubt about the illness's potentially devastating consequences.