Shy Creatures
A Novel
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4.1 • 34 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
"A beautiful story of unfolding secrets and unforeseen consequences, filled with moments that are somehow restrained and astute and gorgeously written all at the same time."—Holly Gramazio, bestselling author of The Husbands
“Infinitely moving, quirky, acutely observed and beautifully written...Confirms Clare Chambers as one of our most talented writers."--The Guardian
An alluring literary mystery full of secrets and lies, when an art teacher at a psychiatric hospital in 1960s England finds her life turned upside down by the arrival of a mysterious patient who has spent decades living in complete isolation with his elderly aunts in a decrepit Victorian house. Perfect for fans of Ann Patchett, Barbara Kingsolver, and Tessa Hadley.
In all failed relationships there is a tipping point. It goes unnoticed at the time but can later be identified as the beginning of the decline. For Helen it was the weekend that the Hidden Man came to Westbury Park…
The London suburb of Croydon,1964: Helen Hansford is unmarried and in her thirties. Something of a disappointment to her middle-class parents, she’s an art therapist at the Westbury Park psychiatric hospital, where she has been having a rebellious love affair with her colleague Gil, a dashing but married doctor.
One spring afternoon they receive a call about a disturbance at a derelict, vine-covered Victorian house a few miles up the road. There the police find a mute, thirty-seven-year-old man called William Tapping, his hair and beard down to his waist. It appears he lives in the old house with his elderly, frail aunt, who expires as soon as she’s admitted to the hospital. No one knows why William has been shut away for decades, unseen by neighbors, with only his two now-deceased aunts for company. Westbury Park becomes his refuge.
When it emerges that William is not only sane but a talented artist, Helen comes to see him as something of a personal project. But as she tries to solve the puzzle of the Hidden Man’s past, Helen’s own carefully constructed life of secrets begins to unravel...
A gorgeously written and life-affirming novel about life’s delicate layers of experience and connection, Shy Creatures reveals all the different ways we can be confined...and liberated.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This thoughtful, moving novel is a small gem. At a suburban London psychiatric hospital in 1964, art therapist Helen Hansford is presented with a mystifying new patient. Found in a decaying home with an elderly woman, William is a man in his thirties with hair past his waist who is unable to speak. Drawn to his wide-eyed naivete, Helen discovers that he also possesses a hidden artistic talent. Alongside Helen’s work with William (and her deteriorating affair with married psychiatrist Gil), author Clare Chambers tells William’s story, moving backward to uncover why he was hidden away from the world. In its way, Shy Creatures is almost a suspense novel—we very much want to know both William’s backstory and what’s going to happen to Helen—though Chambers is remarkably empathetic to her characters. (Even Gil, who’d be a heartless cad in most stories, has his good qualities.) The result is a novel that creates a sensitive and fascinating world.
Customer Reviews
A Truly Lovely, Enjoyable Story
I tend to gravitate toward books that win awards, telling myself that award-winning “literature” is good for my brain. I'm 78. I want to keep my cognition growing and healthy. But I’ve been disappointed lately in many of the award winners I’ve read (though I did enjoy Orbital). So I decided to go with a good historical novel. I certainly picked the right one for me. The characters are mostly flawed like most of us, but they are believable and have regrets and consciences. Most are well-meaning. I really had a hard time putting it down. The writing was beautiful. Glad I read it. I really got into the characters—told my grandson he looked “dashing” in his new sweater the other day. He gave me a sly glance, like wondering if I was drinking or something . . . I was just in my book.