Shy

From the bestselling author of Grief is the Thing with Feathers and Lanny, Shy is a novel about guilt, rage, imagination and boyhood. It is about being lost in the dark, and realising you are not alone.


'Max Porter is one of my favourite writers in the world.' George Saunders

'Beautiful and haunting.' Kevin Barry

'The strangest, most beguiling and affecting of all his books.' Ian Rankin

'A miracle of language.' Irish Times


This is the story of a few strange hours in the life of a troubled teenage boy.

You mustn't do that to yourself Shy. You mustn't hurt yourself like that.


He is wandering into the night listening to the voices in his head: his teachers, his parents, the people he has hurt and the people who are trying to love him.

Got your special meds, nutcase?


He is escaping Last Chance, a home for 'very disturbed young men', and walking into the haunted space between his night terrors, his past and the heavy question of his future.

'An act of humanity and grace, heightened by its distinctive form and artistry.' Telegraph