I really enjoyed Clare Chambers’ Small Pleasures, although there were a few things I didn’t love. I liked this book even better. Once again, Chambers sets her story around a female protagonist who is a little older, a working woman, and struggling with family and relationship issues. This book is set in the mid-1960’s though it also goes back in time about 20 years. Helen is an art therapy instructor at a residential hospital for the mentally ill. The hospital isn’t a barbaric institution; rather, it treats patients with a blend of conservative and less traditional approaches, involving both medications and therapies.

The hospital is contacted about an unusual case: neighbors reported an elderly woman having an altercation in her home with a younger man, her nephew William. The neighbors had no idea he was living there, and it turned out William had been a recluse in the house for over a decade. When found he was nearly naked and had a three foot long beard. In her afterword, Chambers explains that this part of the story is based on actual events.

Because William loves art, Helen begins working with him and quickly sees progress, so she begins investigating the threads of his life so she can figure out how to help him. One of the themes throughout this book is the slippery boundaries between medical professionals and their patients. The characters in this book mean well but their involvement also has potential for harm.

Helen has been having an affair with Gil, a doctor on the staff, who turns out to be married to a distant cousin of hers. She’s also getting to know her teenage niece, who is suffering from some mental health issues of her own. I liked the way this book addressed mental health without assuming everyone in the 60’s was uninformed or a charlatan. At the same time it’s clear there’s a muddy line between mental illness and typical human development or reaction to trauma. While I imagine this hospital may have been unusual in the 60s, Chambers has clearly done research on psychological developments of the time.

Chambers explores William’s story in reverse time, which is an interesting technique. As a narrator, he provides small clues to his situation while the reader learns a little more with each chapter. His story is a fascinating one and I didn’t want to put his chapters down. Helen is a bit more frustrating but sympathetic. Her infatuation with a charismatic doctor is understandable, as is her growing unease with the situation.

I like the way Chambers writes, and the way she focuses on struggling, complex characters. I enjoyed this book even more than Small Pleasures; it has some dark aspects but also themes of hope and recovery. I also loved the attention to nature and animals, as suggested by the title and cover. All in all, this book was just what I needed right now. If there were some situations that felt a little too easily resolved, I can live with that.

Note: I received an advanced review copy of this book from NetGalley and publisher Mariner Books. This book is published on November 12, 2024.

In 1960s England, Helen is an art therapist at a psychiatric hospital having an affair with one of the doctors. When he's called to deal with a situation, he takes Helen along and they find an elderly aunt suffering from dementia and her adult nephew who hasn't left the house in over 10 years. This was really good, with the story going between Helen's life in the present day, as she tries to help William (the nephew) in her art therapy sessions, and flipping occasionally back to William's past but working backwards to find out where his problems all began. I enjoyed it a lot. 4 stars.

This book has me wondering if I am manifesting content about English boys in boarding schools and all the stereotypes that come with it, so maybe that is why I am offering this 3-1/2 star review. This book has a sort of gothic feel—a middle aged man found living in a derelict mansion with an elderly aunt. He has not been seen publicly in decades and indeed many don't know how he came to exist with his five-foot-long beard and child's voice. There were a few interesting characters, particular a kind and intelligent mother of one of the character's childhood friends. It was FINE, but not a must-read.

This is a pretty gentle novel about Helen, a single young woman in the 1960s who works at a mental hospital as an art therapist. She's having an affair with an older married man. The other main character is an artistically gifted man who doesn't speak who comes to stay at the mental hospital. He has lived a very strange, sheltered life. Helen tries to find out about his past and help him, and in the process, she learns some things about herself.

One of the things I liked about this book is that it's pretty optimistic, and it ends up in a really positive place.

The novels that stick with me and make me think usually end up being some of my favorites, and Shy Creatures is no exception. The plot is certainly engaging, but the ensemble of the cast of characters is masterful. Every character was so well developed that I was able to identify with their situations, behavior, and their reactions to events. The characters were so relatable that I was compelled to evaluate what my own behavior and reactions would have been had I been in their shoes. How does fate and the behavior of others intersect to influence the course of our lives? How do others harm us while believing they are protecting us? How do we limit our own experiences as a result of fear? The protagonist has a limited and somewhat sad life, nevertheless the novel is able to convey that whatever life we choose, it can still have value and purpose. And if we are very lucky, sometimes we get a lift from an unexpected source. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys reading an intriguing plot filled with fascinating characters written in lovely prose. My sincere thanks to the author and Mariner Books for providing me with an ARC of this novel.

This was a highly emotional read! I think the week’s events certainly turned up the dial on this one for me, but in the end, it provided a catharsis that I think a lot of people are looking for right now. I haven’t read a ton of historical fiction set in the 30s-60s, but I will say that this does a really phenomenal job of showing the more problematic views toward women in this era without shoving critiques of them down the reader’s throat. This world is a complicated one, and it’s harder to move through it as a woman, a queer person, or anyone who feels imprisoned by the system or by individuals. But there are moments of joy to be found, and this book was a lovely reminder of that. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC.

I was immediately sucked into this story, and I couldn't put it down. Chambers prose is lovely in it's simplicity, and I really enjoyed her deftly drawn characters. I enjoyed how the story is really framed backwards, so readers find out slowly, piece by piece, how William came to be shut away from the world. Overall, this was a wonderful read, so well written and so captivating. I will definitely be looking for more from Clare Chambers. I'm also looking forward to sharing it with readers at my library! Every now and then a book comes along to fill the void of the nonstop request "I just want something good." This is definitely going to be my go-to "good book".

The beginning of this book is absolutely fabulous but it loses momentum and is a struggle to finish.

It’s the 1960s England and Helen is an art therapist at a psychiatric ward and having a years-long affair with a married doctor who is also her coworker. When both start working with a new patient, a man shielded from society for decades, Helen not only learns about the patient’s hidden past, she uncovers some truths about her own life and choices as well.

oh this book. It now holds a special place in my heart. Clare’s prose magnifies the story in a way that keeps you adhered to the pages. I love William’s innocence and the way his purity in his actions. He and I have the same limits when it comes to our social battery and I find that comforting. I’m so glad that he’s gotten a happy ending, even if the real William (Harry Tucker) didn’t. Also, everyone deserves a Mrs. Kenley in their lives. I think we should all aspire to be Marion Kenley to be honest.

I have received an ARC copy from NetGalley and Mariner Books in exchange for an honest review.

One of the most beautiful, emotionally engaging, completely absorbing books I've read all year. Clare Chambers is excellent at immersing the reader in a specific place and time with this story, as she roots us in 1960's Croydon back before it was swallowed up by London and still had significant pockets of rurality. But through the flashback chapters that give us more insight into one character's life, we get a fascinating picture of life in rural England from the early 1930's to 1964, with tastes of what WWII was like for rural English communities and the ways that the deprivation and trauma of war seeped into the collective consciousness. We also get some fascinating historical information about what the practice of psychiatry was like in midcentury England.

But aside from all the historical information and the excellent creation of space and time, these characters are just... so alive. They leap off the page. They live through dramas and traumas and make decisions that make the reader despair or rejoice, and through it all they just feel so real.

I can't wait for others to fall headlong into this book. What a gem. What a treat.

This was a wonderfully done novel and appreciated how good the characters worked with the story being told. I thought the time-period worked well together to bring a story to life. I thought Clare Chambers wrote this perfectly and was glad I got to read this.

Helen is an art therapist at a psychiatric hospital in the 1960's, a time when things were done differently than they are done in the present day. (I had never heard about insulin shock therapy and it floored me!) It was a different culture back then and Helen did not fit the mold of women in those days. She was a working women, she was unmarried and she had no children. This story covers Helen's present time while we also learn about her family and growing up. Intertwining with Helen's story the reader also gets the story of William Tapping. William Tapping is in his 30's and was cared for by his elderly aunts until the last one dies. William was hidden away by his aunts from outside, prying eyes since his adolescent years. Helen plays a large role in taking the reclusive William Tapping under her wing. While Helen is helping William, she faces her own problems and tries to help her brother's family through their problems. This book is wonderfully written and I could not put it down. Besides mental health and art therapy, the book contains extramarital infidelity, molestation of a teenager, murder and homosexuality, pedophilia.

Every now and then, I’ll read a work of historical fiction that so perfectly captures how different people were even a few generations ago that I’m reminded of L.P. Hartley’s line that “the past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.” Shy Creatures, by Clare Chambers, is very much one of those books. This book contains so much unacknowledged psychological subtext that I might need therapy after reading it. Ironically, a good half of this book takes place at a psychiatric hospital.

Helen Hansford lives a determinedly unexamined life as an art therapist at Westbury Park, in Croyden, one of the many small towns swallowed up by London, in 1964. She’s having an affair with a doctor at Westbury and visits her parents as infrequently as possible. After meeting Helen’s volatile mother, I don’t blame her for keeping her distance. The affair with Dr. Rudden is less understandable, but then Helen has learned not to ask when the doctor might leave his wife and doesn’t question his generosity in paying for her apartment. Our other protagonist also doesn’t ask many questions—mostly because Helen and Dr. Rudden can’t get William Tapping to say much of anything at all. We learn over the course of the novel that William has only left the house he shares with a dwindling supply of aunts at night and only to go into the garden since before World War II.

If this book had been set a couple of decades later, Helen might better understand how her relationship with her parents, sister-in-law, and niece have affected her psyche. William would still be on psychotropic medication but his carers would know a lot more about the effects of long-term isolation and trauma on a person who has hidden from the world for decades on end. It can be frustrating to read about these characters—especially Helen—as they make bad decisions that they believe are the right ones. So many characters are keeping their upper lips so stiff and not causing a fuss that it’s a wonder they can see where they’re walking.

And yet, Shy Creatures transforms into a touching story of healing as William’s past comes to light and as Helen realizes that she can do better for herself by severing ties with the people who are using her for their own benefit. I was surprised at how Chambers balances so many emotions and tones (grief and anger, the joy of making art, finding one’s way after being pushed by parental expectations) from chapter to chapter without giving me metaphorical whiplash. This isn’t a perfect book (someone really needs to slip Helen’s mother some mood stabilizers or something) but it is set in 1964; family therapy and SSRIs would’ve been anachronistic. That said, this book engrossed me and the ending is as much soothing as it is satisfying.

This unfolds beautifully, every turn of the page leaves you wanting to know more! I loved Helen and the care she showed for her patients and for the people in her life that are in need. It is a book about fulfilling your potential and not judging quickly but really getting to know the people around you and understanding how life experiences shapes your future. These characters are flawed (bc well they are human!) and it was fascinating to learn why

This book was an enjoyable read. I was really curious to know what happened to William and why he was kept locked away for decades.

I thought the reveal of why could have been a bit more played out, but overall a good read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5!!
Based loosely off of a true story of a recluse found in 1952 in Bristol, #shycreatures by Clare Chambers follows the story of a young woman (Helen) who works as an art therapist at a Psychiatric hospital in England in the 1969s when she meets William - a mute recluse found in an old Victorian home with a 5’ long beard living with an elderly aunt and who hasn’t been seen outside in over 20 years. As Helen discovers more about William and the past that has led him to his current situation, the more their lives become intertwined. William has an uncanny artistic ability and memory and has a love for animals and the outdoors. Questions the ideas of imprisonment and freedom and what that can mean for different people.
Well written prose, very English, slow paced, but beautifully rich characters. Time jumps from present to past, but it is easy to follow. The setting of psychiatry in 1960s England as a backdrop was interesting to me.

Thank you, @netgalley and #marinerbooks for the #ARC !

Croydon, England - 1964

Helen Hansford is an art therapist at Westbury Park psychiatric hospital. She is also in a love affair with one of the psychiatrists, the very attractive and popular Gil Rudden, who also happens to be married. Helen is very attuned to the patients that she works with, and strives to help bring out the best in them. While her love life must be kept hidden from all at the hospital, Helen is aware that the affair could end at any moment, especially if Gil's wife finds out. To make matters more precarious, his wife is one of Helen's cousins!

One spring day Gil includes Helen in a strange incident. Called by the authorities, Gil takes Helen to a decrepit old house where an elderly woman and her nephew have had an altercation. Clothing has been thrown from the second floor and draped over trees and bushes. Upon arrival they deal with the aunt, removing her to Westbury Park for care as she is obviously mentally distressed. But to their surprise they find the nephew, nearly naked and sporting a waist-length beard and long hair. He, too, goes to the hospital with his aunt. It's apparent from the start that he is mute, and very confused, not to mention that no one in the neighborhood knew that he lived there, and that he has apparently been hidden for decades.

Careful to approach the new arrival, Helen finds that his name is William Tapping, and although he doesn't speak, it's apparent that he can read, and especially that he is a very talented artist. Determined to get to the crux of William's disability, Helen begins including him in her classes, encouraging his love of animals in his artwork. But why was this thirty-seven year old man kept in the house for so many years? Helen wants to find out, but it may take time.

SHY CREATURES is an amazing story of how different lives evolve, some for the good, and some not so good. Helen's own secret to be kept from family and fellow workers imprisons her in its own way. William, while far from having led a normal life, is also far from being insane. His aunts who raised him probably meant well, but were completely wrong in their decision to keep him hidden. As lives begin to unravel, readers will learn about William's past, as well as how Helen will deal with her own problems.

Don't miss SHY CREATURES, it's beautifully written with incredible characters.

This book was compulsively readable. I haven't found a book that I quite literally did not want to put down in a very long time. It was beautifully written, which is what I expect from Claire Chambers, and the plot hooked me and kept me hooked. I felt all of the emotions at one point or another throughout this book and it left me feeling equal parts hopeful and devastated. What an absolute beauty of a book.

I often judge books by their covers, but in the case of Shy Creatures the badger on the cover was a good sign. Clare Chambers has written a book with an interesting plot, and believable characters, complete with lovely prose. It is based on a real event but Chambers has given the main character, William, a slightly nicer life. Set in the mid-1960s, Helen Hansford is an art therapist in a British psychiatric hospital. There she meets William Tapping who has been admitted after an altercation in a nearby crumbling mansion. He is mute, with waist-length hair and beard, and after he shows an interest in art, Helen digs into his past to find out he ended up this way. The author is an acute observer of the human condition, and with this book, she raises questions of love and protection vs. control and wants and needs vs. what is in a person's best interests. It's a novel about kindness that also raises lots of questions about relationships, identity, and independence. This novel was emotional without being overwrought, humorous at times, hopeful, and compassionate, with a moving ending.

Thank you to Mariner Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. It will be published on November 12, 2024.