Alan's Reviews > Shy

6th book from my reading challenge with Ted.

#9 - Read a book set in England.

New Max Porter, and I guess I got on the bandwagon pretty early on, so I will be here for the foreseeable future. Completionist, because why not.

I didn’t like it as much as Porter’s other books (well, with the exception of The Death of Francis Bacon, which I still don’t get). It wasn’t exactly pleasant, as it dealt with the thorny issue of deeply tortured youth. It had the same style that I have come to enjoy, where thoughts merge with scene descriptions and here come flashbacks, but wait a minute! Dialogue out of nowhere. Nothing conventional, but the whole picture makes a lot of sense. If you read it out loud, it works even better. But like I said, it’s hard to do this and feel as satisfied when a teenage boy is causing mayhem, kicking and screaming, only to turn around and sob into his arms. You feel as hopeless and helpless as he does.

That being said, ready for the next one. Hopefully soon, as Porter doesn’t write tomes.