Shy is a novella by Max Porter, published in 2023.[1][2][3][4][5]

Shy
AuthorMax Porter
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
PublisherFaber and Faber
Publication date
2023
Pages128
ISBN9780571377305
Preceded byThe Death of Francis Bacon 

The book is named after its protagonist, a 16-year-old at a boarding school for troubled boys, in England in 1995.[6][7] The story takes place over the course of a few hours one night. "The book's true setting, however, is the sprawling, shifting terrain of Shy's mind."[8] According to Kevin Power, writing in The Guardian, "it is interested in questions of childhood and maturity, cruelty and compassion, art and despair".[9] Shy mixes prose and poetry. Stylistically, there is unusual typography.[7][10] Similar to Porter's other works, the writing itself is experimental, reflecting the subject's chaotic mind.[10][11]

References edit

  1. ^ Sacks, Sam (19 May 2023). "Fiction: 'Shy' by Max Porter". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Shy by Max Porter: This is a perfect book". The Irish Times. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  3. ^ "In Max Porter's new novel, a troubled, self-destructive young man heads out to the lake". TLS. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  4. ^ Kennard, Luke (18 March 2023). "Max Porter's Shy opens an extraordinary window into a troubled boy's mind". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  5. ^ Lowdon, Claire (7 November 2023). "Shy by Max Porter review: he's as weird as ever". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  6. ^ Waldman, Katy (6 May 2023). "Max Porter's Novel of Troubled and Enchanted Youth". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  7. ^ a b Barekat, Houman (7 April 2023). "Shy by Max Porter — a paean to misunderstood youth". Financial Times. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  8. ^ Hoby, Hermione (2 May 2023). "A Novel Depicts One Disordered Night in the Life of a Teenager". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  9. ^ Power, Kevin (5 April 2023). "Shy by Max Porter review – lyrical study of troubled youth". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  10. ^ a b Presser, Bram (7 April 2023). "Exciting and radical, this story of a troubled teen explodes on the page". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  11. ^ "A Bewildering World: On Max Porter's "Shy"". Los Angeles Review of Books. 27 May 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.