From the bestselling author of Grief is the Thing with Feathers and Lanny, Shy is a novel about guilt, rage, imagination and boyhood. It is about being lost in the dark, and realising you are not alone.'Max Porter is one of my favourite writers in the world.' George Saunders'Beautiful and haunting.' Kevin Barry'The strangest, most beguiling and affecting of all his books.' Ian Rankin'A miracle of language.' Irish TimesThis is the story of a few strange hours in the life of a troubled teenage boy.You mustn't do that to yourself Shy. You mustn't hurt yourself like that.He is wandering into the night listening to the voices in his head: his teachers, his parents, the people he has hurt and the people who are trying to love him.Got your special meds, nutcase?He is escaping Last Chance, a home for'very disturbed young men', and walking into the haunted space between his night terrors, his past and the heavy question of his future.'An act of humanity and grace, heightened by its distinctive form and artistry.' Telegraph

Max Porter's first novel, Grief Is the Thing with Feathers, won the Sunday Times/Peter, Fraser + Dunlop Young Writer of the Year, the International Dylan Thomas Prize, the Europese Literatuurprijs and the BAMB Readers' Award, and was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and the Goldsmiths Prize. His second novel, Lanny, was a Sunday Times bestseller and was longlisted for the Booker Prize. His work has been translated into thirty languages. He has previously worked as a bookseller and editor and has also written The Death of Francis Bacon, the short film All of this Unreal Time and the pamphlet It's Going to Be a Bright New Day. Max lives in Bath with his family.