An unsparing and slippery, but thrilling and memorable novel from the fringes of urban life by cult writer Keith Ridgway.

WINNER OF THE JAMES TAIT BLACK PRIZE FOR FICTION 2022
‘Remarkable' - Colm Tóibín, author of Brooklyn
'Like Finnegans Wake, only readable' - The Times

In A Shock, a clutch of more or less loosely connected characters appear, disappear and reappear. They are all of them on the fringes of London life, often clinging on – to sanity, solvency or a story – by their fingertips. With this deftly conjured high-wire act, Ridgway achieves a fine balance between drama and fidelity to his characters. The result is pin-sharp and breathtaking.

Book of the Year Selection in the Guardian, New York Times, Spectator, Hot Press and The White Review
Shortlisted for The Goldsmiths Prize

"Like Finnegans Wake, only readable." - The Times

"Ingeniously slippery . . . an expertly constructed house of mirrors " - New York Times Book Review

"A sultry, steamy shock of a novel . . . a provocative collection of nine interlinked stories, jostled together like neighbours on a London street or regulars in a pub, which is where most of his characters cross paths" - The Spectator

"Endlessly interesting" - The Observer

"A Shock is a meticulously crafted diorama" - Vanity Fair

"Readers are instantly involved in the action of Ridgway's worlds, the characters he writes with great compassion and clarity, and always with an awareness of the fuzziness of being alive" - Irish Times

"Flows over with invention and imagination" - The Irish Times

"In this playful yet deeply sincere novel, Ridgway squeezes into the gaps of realism and makes something beautifully new" - Guardian

"Like Lewis Carroll or Muriel Spark, the author is not content with the normal measly amount of dimensions: he goes in for bewitchment as a narrative art" - TANK Magazine

"A Shock is an experiment that pays off: deeply funny, in a morose sort of way, oblique but never frustrating; and with a realism in dialogue that lends its characters depth and reliability" - Business Post

"Superb . . . Elizabeth Strout meets Bret Easton Ellis" - Sunday Times Ireland on Hawthorn & Child

"A masterful polyphonous portrait of modern London" - Literary Review

"Often hilarious, sometimes scary, always fearlessly assured. Each chapter is an intimate snapshot, a peek through the window into the life of one of the loosely linked characters living in one area of London . . . these characters vibrate at a frequency that we can all hear, feel, taste and see . . . Ridgway provides a crystal clear shot of grief, loss and loneliness" - Irish Independent

"There is a canny empathy running through A Shock. This is a masterfully crafted, highly intriguing novel that delivers the shock of its title with the slow, steady build-up of anxiety and dread that often characterizes dreams" - Books Ireland

"A fascinating and marvellously accomplished piece of work from a great and hugely under-rated Irish author" - Hot Press

"Once this novel clicks into place, its blend of the heady and the visceral is immersive and compelling" - Kirkus

"This novel will leave the reader with lots to think about, laugh about, cry about" - Sunday Independent

"Sex, lies, and drugs shape the interlocking and recursive narratives in Irish writer Ridgway’s marvelous latest (after Hawthorn & Child), revolving around a set of neighbouring London houses" - Publishers Weekly

"A Shock is a provocative collection of nine interlinked stories, set in south London’s sultry streets. In writing about characters many would overlook, Ridgway reminds us that everyone has a story" - The i