Set during a sticky summer in south London, this “provocative” novel consists of nine interlinked stories, jostled together like “regulars in a pub”, said Susie Mesure in The Spectator.
What unites the characters is their powerlessness: Harry, the landlord of The Arms, can’t choose the beers he sells, while Gary, a shift worker at B&Q, can’t earn enough to buy the camera he longs for.
A master at manipulating emotions, Ridgway will have you smiling wryly at London life one moment, and wincing at police brutality the next. “There is little plot but plenty of action, and the odd dose of surrealism.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Ridgway’s prose is “mesmerisingly” sharp, said Louie Conway in Vanity Fair, and his meticulously crafted novel is by turns bleak, hilarious, chilling and hopeful.
His descriptive writing is “pinpoint”, agreed John Self in The Times, but it’s the people – a slightly messed-up but “deeply loveable” bunch – who really hold the book together. With their constant reappearances and a final story which loops back to the opening one, A Shock is “like Finnegans Wake, only readable”.
Picador 288pp £16.99; The Week Bookshop £13.99
The Week Bookshop
To order this title or any other book in print, visit theweekbookshop.co.uk, or speak to a bookseller on 020-3176 3835. Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9am-5.30pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.
-
A long weekend in FontainebleauThe Week Recommends Less than an hour from Paris, this historic town is perfect for a short break
-
Political cartoons for December 16Cartoons Tuesday’s editorial cartoons include calibrating fonts, Christmas classics, and more
-
Cryptocurrency and the future of politicsIn The Spotlight From electoral campaigns to government investments, crypto is everywhere and looks like it’s here to stay
-
6 lovely barn homesFeature Featuring a New Jersey homestead on 63 acres and California property with a silo watchtower
-
Film reviews: ‘Marty Supreme’ and ‘Is This Thing On?’Feature A born grifter chases his table tennis dreams and a dad turns to stand-up to fight off heartbreak
-
Heavenly spectacle in the wilds of CanadaThe Week Recommends ‘Mind-bending’ outpost for spotting animals – and the northern lights
-
It Was Just an Accident: a ‘striking’ attack on the Iranian regimeThe Week Recommends Jafar Panahi’s furious Palme d’Or-winning revenge thriller was made in secret
-
Singin’ in the Rain: fun Christmas show is ‘pure bottled sunshine’The Week Recommends Raz Shaw’s take on the classic musical is ‘gloriously cheering’
-
Holbein: ‘a superb and groundbreaking biography’The Week Recommends Elizabeth Goldring’s ‘definitive account’ brings the German artist ‘vividly to life’
-
The Sound of Music: a ‘richly entertaining’ festive treatThe Week Recommends Nikolai Foster’s captivating and beautifully designed revival ‘ripples with feeling’
-
‘Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right’ by Laura K. Field and ‘The Dream Factory: London’s First Playhouse and the Making of William Shakespeare’ by Daniel SwiftFeature An insider’s POV on the GOP and the untold story of Shakespeare’s first theater
