Exceptional.

As a father of a neurodivergent child I found this a more personally difficult read than many of Porter's books but that is a testament to the power and vividness of his writing.

We are plunged in to the mind of Shy in this short novel by Max Porter. Shy is difficult, sometimes destructive and is living in a home in the country for similar, challenging boys. We are in mid 1990's Britain. Over the course of the night we learn about his background, his pain inside, his inexpressible love of music that is one of his only safe places. The prose it's beautiful, as is the compassion, the empathy and the humour. It's an exhilarating read.

Max Porter is well known for his poetic and insightful book. His writing is tight to the point of brevity but that doesn't take anything away from the emotions he packs into such a short space of time. In Shy we follow the story of a young person looking to escape his life (at least for a little while), the titular 'Shy' has been sent to a home for troubled kids and we through his eyes we see everything leading up to and past this moment. In shining a light on the interior life of a young male teen Porter gives an important voice to those so easily overlooked or written off as 'bad kids'.

I read this in a day.

This book is absolutely fantastic. There is so much empathy here and so much depth in such a short book.

I actually wish it had been longer.

A book I want to give to so many people.

4 stars.

I like to think of Shy and Lanny meeting in a bog somewhere and becoming fast friends, sharp where the other is soft, hard where the other will bend. This sort of perfectly sums up the narrative too - while Lanny has a special place in my heart for it's lyricism and whimsy, Shy was more staccato, more abrupt. I think I'd have enjoyed more time with him to really bond - perhaps a fully fledged novel, rather than this slim volume.

In saying that, I enjoyed what I got here. It is utterly Max Porter in a way that is slippery and hard to pin down.

Actual rating 4.5/5 stars.

Shy is a young boy who is troubled but only seen as trouble. The contents of this novel stem from his own mind as he unveils the insults he has cussed and the injuries he has caused. His thoughts flow as freely as his fists and he is often left unaware of where they have landed until after the fact.

This measured in at just over 100 pages and every one of them was full of painful recollections that were brilliantly juxtaposed by the astronomical beauty of the writing style. Max Porter is one of the most innovative and unique writers I have ever had the pleasure of reading. The emotion exuding from this story ensured it an unforgettable one, as did the narrative style. The conclusion was a hopeful one, as the contents warranted, and left me with a painful lump in my throat that took some time to dispel.

Having read and enjoyed two of Porter's previous novels - Grief is the Thing with Feathers and Lanny - I'd venture that if you enjoyed those novels then you'll find something to enjoy here too. The writing style felt fitting for the subject matter and I raced through the pages, but there was an air of predictability about it all. Porter has clearly found a style that works for him, but after three novels that felt remarkably similar to one another (to this reader anyway) I'd love to see him do something totally different with his next novel.

'The night is huge and it hurts.'

Another short novel brim full of ideas, associations and glorious prose from the wonderful Max Porter. Here we experience one night in the life of Shy, a troubled teen in a correctional home who wanders out one night and explores the nearby woods and countryside. The text is fractured - different voices and fonts keep the reader on edge (which is why this is best experienced as an actual physical book, the pdf/ebook thing just isn't the same). Over the course of the night we learn more of Shy's background and get to see a little of why he is who he is.

It's a powerful, troubling and moving portrait of a young mind and the world around him. And it's a triumph.

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this title.)

This short yet powerful novel narrates a few hours in the life of Shy, who has decided to escape from his life at Last Chance, a home for ‘very disturbed young men’. Carrying a backpack full of stones, Shy is making his way towards a lake, his only companion a Walkman full of the music he loves. As he walks he is bombarded by events from his past: thoughts, memories, frustrations and overheard snatches of conversation crowd into his mind - some positive, some pleasurable, many painful. Written in prose which at times thrums with the beats of Shy’s Walkman and beg to be read aloud, Porter draws us into the world of this troubled boy, a boy who is trying the best he can to make sense of the world he finds himself in. Porter asks us to out ourselves in Shy’s place, however difficult that may be and however comfortable it may make us. This novel isn’t going to be for everyone but I found it to be precise, moving and artfully held together, in a way that reminded me of Grief Is The Thing With Feathers, my favourite of Porter’s work.

4.5 stars.

Shy – Max Porter, author of Grief is the thing with feathers and Lanny,’s new novella is the 1990’s set story of a teen in the Last Chance boarding school. It’s a rag-taggle, jumbled mix of thoughts, pop and culture references (that many of us of a certain age will remember all too well from our own youth), experiences, and confusion, condensed into the short, constructed style readers of the author’s previous work will recognise. Reading on Kindle takes away some of the lay-out choices the author makes, but the power of the words and the apparent free-wheeling nature of the narrative (as far as there is one), remains.
It's neither an easy read nor one looking to provide solutions and the relatively light narrative compared to your average mainstream fiction piece might not appeal to many, but it is, I think, more ‘accessible’ than some of the author’s previous work. It comes across as a deceptive stream of consciousness writing from Shy’s perspective: the thoughts and themes as conflicted and conflicting as the boy himself and the thought that has gone into the apparent casualness of the freewheeling drug/ drink/ mental condition of the thoughts, fears and themes the protagonist goes through over these few hours (and 128 pages) of the boy’s life.

Another beautifully written, deeply empathetic, extremely moving book from Max Porter. Just as powerful and unforgettable as Grief Is the Thing with Feathers and Lanny.

Conversations, monologues, music and empathy. I’m not surprised I loved this.

As always a short read that’s packed to the brim. If you liked Lanny you’ll like.

I really don’t want to say much about this book and let people discover it’s magic. Although I tend to be left speechless after reading Porter’s writing anyhow.

For fans of Lanny!

Max Porter's latest slim book explores another frantic teenage mind, this time in the 1990s. Shy is a protagonist many could relate to: "bad" at school, but not wanting to be bad, constantly in turmoil, misunderstood and misunderstanding of how things "should" be. This was such an engaging story packed into a tiny book. I did find a few elements hard to follow but it is likely due to the ebook format- on paper, I am sure it is well spaced out.

The most engaging part of this novel is the conflict between Shy's inner and outer lives. The dichotomy feels real. Shy is a character the reader will not forget easily and, despite all his faults, we are rooting for him the whole time.

Max Porter is one of the UK's most interesting writers and. I always eagerly anticipate what he will write next. Shy is a skilfully written novella, which packs a huge amount into its few pages. It captures the 90s teenage years of protagonist Shy, who has been sent to a boarding school for 'disturbed' young people as a last resort. It's a visceral and at times difficult read, taking the reader inside Shy's complex and turmoiled mind and prompting questions about masculinity and trauma. While this book didn't resonate as strongly as Porter's earlier novels, it's themes have stayed with me long after reading.

This is a short book that really makes an impact on you as a reader! You're taken into the mind of Shy , a troubled teenager, over the space of one evening and how his scrambled thoughts are plotting his escape from a residential home he's been placed at after some bad behaviour.

Through these thoughts we see how his life has played out for him - his background, parents, teachers, friends - and how his thought process knows what he does is wrong but there seems no stopping it. He's looking for a release and escape from the goings on in his head, but that just makes trouble for him as he lashes out while trying to make sense of it all.

The author is well known for his brilliant use of language and that comes to the fore again in this story. The frantic, often stark, language really gives you a window into the soul of this young man and his battles with himself are brilliantly portrayed so you have nothing but empathy.

Shy is an immersive, visceral story of a few hours in the life of a troubled teenage boy at the end of the twentieth century. Shy struggles with his emotions and understanding his own motivation and actions, leading him to a series of bad decisions and ultimately to being placed in the Last Chance home for troubled teens. His encounters with adults, his peers, music and wildlife during the course of the novel force him to confront his actions and make decisions about his future. What does he want to do? Who does he want to be?

I also borrowed the audiobook from the library and thought that it was excellently produced, really helping the sense of immersion into Shy's mind.

Highly recommended.

5★
“Adults tease him better, almost a form of kindness. The boys just rip and rip at each other, endless patterns of attack and response, like flirting’s grim twin.”

Shy is one of the teens at the Last Chance School, where staff and teachers are no doubt trying their best with a difficult cohort of students. A news report describes it.

“[The camera pans across the lawn.]
‘An ordinary bunch of teenagers kicking a ball about or some of the most disturbed and violent young offenders in the country? Here at the unconventional Last Chance school, it’s reiterated time and time again: they can be both.’”

It’s one of those books, like Lanny, that is better to read as hard copy or in a PDF format, so you can see the line breaks, the italics, the font size, and the changing spacing. When people shout at him, they REALLY SHOUT in a large typeface that runs across two open pages.

Following Shy’s mental wanderings is something that I just let happen, rather than try to figure out details. He thinks of what’s happening right now and then goes back to a phrase from a past conversation that pops into his head.

I think it’s an excellent rendition of what it feels like living with Shy’s night terrors and the bullying that he tries to escape by listening to heavy music with his earphones on, drowning out the unwanted noise. When he retaliates, it’s by destroying anything within range.

The boys talk to therapists and gradually learn a bit about each other.

“They each carry a private inner register of who is genuinely not OK, who is liable to go psycho, who is hard, who is a pussy, who is actually alright, and friendship seeps into the gaps of these false registers in unexpected ways, just as hatred does, just as terrible loneliness does.”

Shy finds talking really hard.

“He threw his chair back and stormed out of a session with Jenny.
He got as far as the foot of the big staircase and he turned around, back along the corridor, and stormed in again.
Stop pretending you know me! You only know what I tell you.
OK, Shy, said Jenny.
It’s not OK, said Shy.”

We meet him in the middle of the night with a backpack full of flints, headed out across the paddocks around this big heritage-listed building in the country. As he’s walking, old conversations pop into his head along with his own thoughts.

“The other teaching staff and I feel you’re taking up more than your fair share of space at the moment. A lot of our attention. Just dial things down a bit, please.”

The turmoil of his thoughts and his genuine remorse about some (not all) of the things he’s done are touching. I have so much time for the adults who try to help these troubled and troublesome kids navigate adolescence.

Substance abuse doesn’t come into it, and it’s just as well. Shy’s dreams, nightmares, and memories of fights and bullying are more than enough. Music is his escape. In his mind, he describes what he’s hearing, and I’ll share a little.

“He can hear it, precisely, in his head, the way an Amen break washes like a wave, slots inside itself again and again, fits inside his heart, his favourite thing when it drops down to half speed, slouching, swagger, weapons close to its chest, and then it jumps up, exploding crisp and juicy, [much more]
. . .
Obviously he never says any of this to Shaun, or Benny, he just says Hardcore. Nice. Yeah. F**king love this tune.”

I loved this. It’s a short read, and I just let it wash over me. I admit to having a soft spot for boys who are struggling to grow up, whether it's due to mental problems, or poverty and abusive childhoods. Shy joins my group with countless others, including recent additions Lanny, Young Mungo and Shuggie Bain.

I’d love to see inside Max Porter’s mind! Thanks to NetGalley and Faber and Faber for the copy for review from which I’ve quoted.

This book made me cry buckets and was a wonderful reading experience. I made me think of the troubled boys and girls I met while volunteering.
Max Porter delivers a book that is emotionally charged, poignant, and also a cry for help because boys like Shy are usually left on their own.
A book i hope will be read by a lot of people.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

I have read two books by Max Porter and to be honest, they were not my cup of tea. I failed to make connections with Grief is the Thing with Feathers and The Death of Francis Bacon and both, especially the first one, are written so beautifully that the fault lies with me. Regarding shy, the thoughts of a troubled young man named Shy have touched me deeply, This is a brilliant book that I will reread again soon.

In Shy, I understood what was going on more than in previous Porter novels I’d read (especially The Death of Francis Bacon which was impenetrable) and for that I was grateful. It let me read the slim volume, on a troubled teenager repeating in his head what others have said about him, easily in a couple of sittings, but it also meant some of the magic of experimentalism was lost somehow. Porter is one of the closest contemporary writers, alongside people like Ali Smith and Eimear McBride, to the modernist avant garde writers I researched at university and I find that very exciting to read.