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Ten-year-old Jonah lives in a world of his own.
He likes colours and feathers and the feel of fresh air on his skin.
He dislikes sudden loud noises and any change to his daily routine.
Jonah has never spoken, yet somehow he communicates better than all of the adults in his life.
Funny, heartbreaking and uplifting, Shtum is a novel about three generations of a family, about autism and about learning how to get along.
Ben Jewell has hit breaking point. His ten-year-old son, Jonah, has never spoken. So when Ben and Jonah are forced to move in with Ben's elderly father, three generations of men - one who can't talk; two who won't - are thrown together. As Ben battles single fatherhood, a string of well-meaning social workers and his own demons, he learns some difficult home truths. Jonah, blissful in his innocence, becomes the prism through which all the complicated strands of personal identity, family history and misunderstanding are finally untangled.
Perfect for fans of David Nicholls, The Shock of the Fall and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
Selected for the BBC Radio 2 Book Club
"A darker, sadder version of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, but just as moving"
- The Observer
