This is the story of Daniel, a young boy growing up in rural England. When his father loses his job as headmaster of the school, the family move to a farm, and to a life in the country for which they are ill-prepared. Daniel is intelligent, he questions authority and thinks deeply and ultimately is fairly misunderstood by his family. He craves love and, at points, attention.

Overall, this was a good read. The writing is very readable and there are some beautiful lines that had me re-reading paragraphs to fully take them in. It’s a slow burn for sure, although I found the pace did pick up and I read through almost all of the second half in one sitting.

This is one of those reads where not much happens. The trivialities of daily life are explored but ultimately this is about the inner thoughts and feelings of Daniel, and the relationships he forms with the people around him. It’s meditative and, being honest, at times the precocity of the main character makes him hard to like. However, I did enjoy that Amherst really tackled the confusion that comes with being young and finding out who you are and what you believe in.

Overall, I liked this one. It wasn’t entirely what I expected but if you enjoy those slower, more character based reads this might be one to try. I’d definitely read more of Amherst’s work (this is his debut), as the writing was really the stand out here for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆ (4/5)
Poetic, philosophical, and emotionally raw. Michael Amherst’s novel reflects deeply on masculinity, desire, and trauma through an experimental structure that challenges the reader in rewarding ways. This isn’t an easy read—but it’s a brave, thought-provoking one for those who like literature that pushes boundaries.

I was completely underwhelmed by this bland coming-of-age tale, in which the protagonist doesn’t ever come of age or even to any sort of understanding or self-knowledge. It’s a familiar story which draws on familiar tropes, without anything new or insightful to say, and with a plot that seems to have been covered many times before. Daniel, usually referred to as “the boy”, is an outsider who struggles with the world, an unusually sensitive boy who finds life difficult and friendships impossible. When a new boy Philip joins his school, Daniel hopes he will becomes a friend, but matters go predictably awry. Of course. The plain unornamented prose reflects Daniels’s naïve and ingenuous inner world, but doesn’t make for interesting reading. There’s lots of telling rather than showing, with a vague sort of gay sub-text which is never fully explored, and overall it was a novel that failed to engage me.

In The Boyhood of Cain (forthcoming February 2025), Amherst offers a luminous and quietly shattering debut that traces the inner life of a young boy on the cusp of adolescence. Set in the English countryside, the novel follows Daniel—a tender, observant child—as he navigates the rigid corridors of his prep school, the emotional estrangement of his family, and the unspoken complexities of his emerging queer identity.

Drawing tonal parallels with Shuggie Bain and Dead Poets Society, and echoing the introspective candour of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, Amherst’s novel distinguishes itself through its stillness and depth. Daniel’s world is rendered with a striking blend of lyricism and restraint. He is a boy full of big questions—about friendship, desire, worth—and the narrative makes space for those questions without ever reducing him to a symbol or subject of pity.

The prose is delicate, precise, and emotionally resonant. Amherst captures the strange solitude of early adolescence with rare authenticity. The novel is unafraid to dwell in discomfort: the ache of isolation, the pain of not being seen or heard, the slow realisation that the world does not always know how to love those who move through it differently.

There is something quietly radical in how much tenderness this novel affords its protagonist. The Boyhood of Cain is a deeply moving meditation on identity, longing, and resilience. A remarkable debut, and one that marks Amherst as an essential new voice in contemporary fiction.

This is pretty much the polar opposite of the book I read before it in as much as the writing is spare and precise and conveys everything you need. I felt for the boy all in all, a square peg in a family and wider network of round holes. I found the ending sort of fizzled out a wee bit though.

Elusive portrait of a precocious Peter Pan
—
The schooldays tale is a classic in British fiction, and in Amherst’s debut, he takes the tropes of public school—I think the school feels more like a grammar, but I could be wrong—and turns them on their head, placing them in the background of his near anonymous protagonist, “the boy” in much of the book, named as Daniel at rare times. In foregrounding the boy as a precocious but un-self-aware cipher, Amherst’s ambition appears to be to illuminate the hazy, inchoate mental life of early teenagers, where the world still revolves around them, where their wills are applied to the world, not vice versa.

To me, sadly, the prose felt mannered and static, glossing over the emotional turns in the boy’s story. Things happened around the boy or to him, but his lack of active participation in making things happen reduced to nothing any empathy that I might have felt for a character on the precipice of change. I believe that names have power and I think the book’s allusive title is a pointer to what Amherst intended, and unfortunately directing me to the myth of Cain led me to expect more from the book than was ultimately delivered.

Three stars for the competence in writing.

Another one on my TBR which got promoted to higher up after reading a very positive review. I really enjoyed this story of a boy, the son of a headmaster, who, when his father leaves his job, moves to a village, somewhere much more rural, to live. The story deals with Daniel (although, oddly, he is often referred to as 'the boy' and his name is only apparent when others speak of him, or to him) and his coming-of-age at his prep school, his lack of being accepted, and the way he challenges adults' thoughts. It is clearly set at a different time to now - it feels early 1980s, I think, as some of things that happen (for example, the art teacher's behaviour) would not go unchallenged in 2025!

Overall, this is great writing - simple, but impactful, with some lovely prose. What is holding me back from 5*? Two things: firstly, the way there is anonymity in places, and the references to 'the boy' which jars for me. And secondly, timing - it is never 100% clear what is happening and when, and whether the boy moved to a different school or not.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A debut novel and I don't think I was the intended audience. I found it difficult to engage with Daniel, he thought he was so much better than everyone else because his father was the head of a private school. But when the family's fortunes change, then Daniel starts to treat his father with disdain. His relationships with the other boys are difficult - there is a lot of introspection and Daniel struggles to see his own shortcomings. I suppose this is a coming of age - you see Daniel's innocence, his anxiety and his wanting to fit in but he isn't likeable. I'm sorry but even though I can admire the writing, this wasn't for me.

With thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

This book is being hailed as one of the great depictions of adolescence, but if it is, it's failed to do anything much for me. The protagonist is Danny, 12 years old and at the time of the story he and his sister are moving schools as their father, headmaster of their previous school, has been asked to leave. This also means they are losing the schoolmaster's house that came with the job. Being the son of the headmaster has always made Danny feel special, although inexplicably the other schoolchildren never seemed to think he was. In his new school he tries to convey this specialness to his new schoolmates, with a similar lack of success, until he feels vindicated when the art master singles him and his friend out for extra art classes. Meanwhile, his parents' lives are imploding - his mother has some quite severe mental health issues which sound a lot like bipolar disorder, leading to days spent crying in bed and culminating in a suicide attempt while his father drowns his sorrows and takes refuge in drink.

The author is adept at capturing the way that children fail to understand the nuances of the complicated adult world around them, and how they try to make sense of it. In that sense I can see why this book has been compared to other depictions of the cusp between childhood and adolescence. However, I don't know whether it is because I'm too old to remember the agonies of adolescence - I don't think I am - but this book just didn't resonate with me. Danny is a painfully inept child, but not in a way that made me feel empathy with him or that made me want to protect him, or be angry on his behalf. Rather, he was the slightly weird child that I would have tried to avoid because he was too much like hard work, because he just didn't learn from his mistakes. Yes, his parents both have their own problems, but his sister seems to have managed in spite of this to become a person who has friends and can negotiate the social life of a teenager. Danny is crippled with anxiety and because of this he tries too hard, and invariably gets it obscurely wrong. At the same time he is quite self-important - a far from winning combination of character traits, and there is little sense that he is learning, maturing, developing any self-perspicacity, gaining an understanding of the complexity of human relationships and motivations. He is an introspective child which is fine, but I thought also a weak character. Is this due to his parents' alcoholism and mental health issues? Is he too young at 12 to have started to develop his own sense of self? Maybe, but this is not conveyed in the arc of this narrative. And the ending doesn't hold out much promise that Danny will grow into a fine man. It was all a bit meh.

I think this book is likely to be one of those marmite books of the year. It’s very well written and had me turning the pages because of that, however the main character, Daniel, is really not a very likeable boy. Whilst quite a lot happens in the book, it moves at a pace and little is ever really dwelled upon, although perhaps this is a reflection of the main character and his self-importance and ego. 3.5 stars for me rounded up to 4.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for a review.

Thank you to Faber and Netgalley for allowing me to read this debut book from Michael Amherst. At only 208 pages, this is short but perfectly formed.

This is a brilliantly executed coming of age story set in 90's England. We meet "the boy" of the story, Daniel, in the months leading up to leaving primary school and moving to big school. Unfortunately he's not a popular boy, he's awkward, never says the right or the acceptable thing and is always putting his foot in it. He's a mummy's boy and he feels shame constantly. He just wants to fit in with his other classmates, but he's coming to the realisation that maybe he is the problem.

He's at an age where people and school can be cruel. And certain adults in his life take advantage and don't have his best interests at heart. Also, when he finds out some home truths about his parents, it is heartbreaking. He's realising they are real people with their own lives and they may not be the people he has imagined.

I started off this book thinking Daniel was an unlikeable boy, but by the end I was rooting for him and just wanted him to like himself, and to have acceptance. To be his own person and ignore what the outside world said. But I suppose that is pretty difficult when you're twelve.

Their is a sadness and a melancholy to this book and I loved that. A brilliant new story teller I'll be looking out for in future.

What I loved most about The Boyhood of Cain was its breathtaking depiction of Tresco. The novel captures the aching beauty of this place with such vivid, lyrical prose that I felt transported. Having spent my childhood summers on this island myself, I adored seeing it through Daniel’s eyes—his wonder, his attachment, and the way the landscape shapes his experiences.

Daniel’s story is heartbreaking. As a child burdened with far more than his fair share of hardships, his desperate longing for love moved me beyond words. There’s a moment—no spoilers—when a teacher he deeply admires tells him something that will shape him forever, and you can feel the weight of that realization settle on him. This novel pulled at the deepest parts of my soul. Though Daniel is a precocious child, you can’t help but want to protect him as he shoulders more and more of the world’s cruelties.

This is the most powerful novel I’ve read in years about childhood—raw, unflinching, and achingly real.

I truly loved this book but just wanted more. I wanted to observe Daniel growing into his adult self after an unsettling adolescence, I wanted to learn more about his parents who were complex characters, not fully explored. Perhaps I just don't like endings, but I almost always feel that books end abruptly which leaves me with a sense of dissatisfaction.

I really did adore observing the world from Daniel's point of view, the confusion he feels and the endless observation and curiosity which made him such an interesting character. The sense of love and hate he feels for his parents, and his yearning to be seen as gifted. His strong sense of justice and the casual cruelty so many neurodivergent children experience.

What I read I loved, I just wanted so much more.

This felt like part of a coming of age novel which stopped too soon. As Danny was growing up, you really felt like you were watching the world, and trying to make sense of it, through a child's eyes. Danny has lots of questions which are perfectly reasonable to innocently ask and also extremely difficult for a parent to answer honestly - his father's drinking, mother's depression and attempt to take her own life, the landlord's attraction to Danny and the art teacher's affection for his student. Sadly, all of these issues are real problems - for both adult and child. It was interesting how the adults skirt around Danny's questions, trying to find answers which are palatable, but not quite a lie.

As a character, Danny is quite self-aware in a naive, childish way. The book seemed to follow several years of Danny's life, but I didn't get much sense that he was growing up, other than the problems he faces later in the book start to become more sexually charged, presumably as he approaches puberty.

I can't say that I loved the book. I did not really warm to Danny, though I do think his 'growing up' felt quite realistically portrayed.

I wanted to love this, but the more time goes by after finishing it, the less I do.
There were absolutely positives (after all, I did finish it in about 2 days), so let’s highlight those first. The descriptive writing here is beautifully immersive, plunging you into the characters’ world from the off. Life in the English countryside is captured in a way that feels very real, both in its beauty and in its constraints. And, this being a character study, you do get a very clear and nuanced picture of our protagonist, Danny.
Unfortunately, Danny can be frustrating beyond what is typical for a young boy – I struggled with the sections where he comes off as entitled rather than precocious, as contrary rather than misunderstood. In other sections, he is understandable, even endearing, but I was never quite sure where the reader is supposed to stand. And because we’re so close to Danny, secondary characters struggle to take off and feel as fully portrayed as he is. His sister, for example, is often there, but rarely leaves a mark.
Also, being a character-driven book, I was expecting the plot to take a backseat, particularly as it’s a fairly short read. However, at least two major incidents occur that feel like they should have had a larger impact and more space to breathe and unravel on the page. Perhaps it was meant to be commentary on how children often fail to note the full effect of big events until later in life, but because we don’t see those effects, it just feels like the narrative itself is glazing over them.
I do think there’s a specific subset of readers who would enjoy this – those who prefer character to take complete precedence over plot, or those who are more interested in the themes of religion and the countryside – but I’m afraid that was not me!

A character lead book without clear character progression. I was constantly expecting something to happen and not a lot did.

This was quite an odd book and difficult to review. It gave a good account of the coming of age of a boy who was desperate to be older and taller, have a deeper voice, and most of all be accepted by his peers. Through the book he seems to come to an understanding of why he is unpopular only to do something awkward again or question everything particularly around religion, and upset everyone around him. The feeling of being an outsider is magnified by rarely been called by his name (Daniel) but referred to as the boy. Family dynamics are also difficult with his father a failed teacher and farmer and an alcoholic and his mother mentally ill.
I felt unsure of Mr Miller's motives in his dealings with Daniel, or really his place in the book
Overall it was a sad book with little hope, but the writing style kept me reading until the end.
Thank you to netgalley and Faber and Faber for an advance copy of this book..
3.5 rounded up to 4

This book was not what I was expecting at all. I thought it was going to be a coming of age book from the perspective of a young lad about to enter puberty.

Danny is at a school where his father is the headmaster. He has a mother and a sister. His father is dismissed from his job and the family have to move from their home within the school grounds.

Danny is always striving to be perfect and the best at all things apart from sport. Danny befriends a new boy Philip and they have a budding friendship.

Danny comes across as a very young boy with no idea of real life or feelings. He knows he is different to others but not how and is always striving to make people like him.

For me the book didn’t actually go anywhere, or explain anything and to this end I found it rather dull

The cover is beautiful but I found 'The Boyhood of Cain' an unsettling read in many ways. Is Danny observant, intuitive, wise beyond his years, who cares so much for his depressed mother while containing rage for his seemingly indifferent father? Or is he precocious, self-absorbed and frustrated by the lack of recognition and attention to him? The undertones and allusions throughout veer to sexual confusion and betrayal, disappointment. Certain events captured and seen through the eyes of a child are emotive and inspire regret that children are often not credited with percipience. Others make one glad Daniel’s mother offers him sensible life advice!

This is a story about a boy - or The Boy - in that uncomfortable place between childhood and adulthood where he wants to be special and accepted as well as discovering where he stands on life's great issues. Such as, is John Constable a great artist?

The son of a headmaster receives some privileges, but this also leads to him being unpopular. He deserves to be treated better, he thinks. Then his father loses his job at the school and the boy's homelife deteriorates, both his parents have psychological issues and he searches for acceptance and his place in the world elsewhere. He is drawn to a boy at his school who is special (talented in art) and also popular as well as being physically maturing. All things that The Boy wants for himself.

The complex story is told from The Boy's perspective in the third person: a rather unusual style, which does work. The book covers the thought processes that many children of that age do, in an inferred manner with lots of reported speech, something that fits with the theme. Set in an unnamed small English town or village, the rural and parochial neighbours serve to add pathos.

I considered the title and concluded that like the Biblical Cain, The Boy tries but never really becomes the chosen one. A well written coming of age tale, rather plotless and disjointed, but with plenty to think about.

3.5 stars rounded up