The Porpoise

Paperback Published on: 05/03/2026
Price: £10.99
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Bookseller Reviews

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The Porpoise
Inventive and imaginative...
Multi layered with multiple time periods from modern times to the Shakespearean era to ancient times, Mark Haddon has created a vortex for readers to fall ... READ MORE
Emine at Bromley
The Porpoise
Striking and unsettling, yet entirely compelling
Inspired by the play ‘Pericles, Prince of Tyre’, thought to have been co-written by George Wilkins and William Shakespeare, Mark Haddon’s latest novel jump... READ MORE
Ella at Lewes
The Porpoise
A real adventure story
This is a very different story to the author’s previous work. It is a complex plot informed by Shakespeare’s Pericles and Greek mythology. It passes thro... READ MORE
Linda@{Livingston]

Synopsis

Shakespeare’s Pericles is transformed by Mark Haddon into a vivid, breathtaking adventure that zooms between antiquity and the present day.

A motherless girl grows up in isolated luxury, hidden from the world by her wealthy father. She believes their life together is normal – but as time passes, she has a growing sense that something between them is very wrong.

She cannot escape, so she seeks solace in her books. Her favourite tales are those that conjure ancient worlds – of angry gods and heroic mortals, one of whom will some day come to her rescue.

Soon, she will forget where the page ends and her mind begins.

‘Just downright brilliant... a transcendent, transporting experience’ Observer

‘A full-throttle blast of storytelling mastery’ Max Porter

SHAKESPEARE RETOLD: Time travel. Zombies. Power-hungry media moguls. This is Shakespeare as you’ve never seen him before: nine iconic plays transformed by the best novelists of our time, with covers by Michael Craig-Martin.

Publisher information

  • Publisher: Vintage Publishing
  • ISBN: 9781529979701
  • Number of pages: 336
  • Dimensions: 196 x 128 x 23 mm
  • Weight: 232g
  • Languages: English

Customer Reviews

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The Porpoise
Multi-strand novel about Pericles amongst others – not great
This novel is about various inter-linked characters in different timelines. Philippe, in our era, has a daughter, Angelica, born in tragic circumstances. M... READ MORE
Minette
The Porpoise
Disappointed
Nowhere near as good as his previous material. At one point I almost gave up but struggled on to the end in the vain hope that it would get better. Glad ... READ MORE
Roger  Harris
The Porpoise
Disappointing - not in the same class as The Curious Incident of The Dog In the Night
Quite a muddled storyline and not at all as satisfying as The Curious Incident. Characters were unengaging. Not a satisfying read.
Daisy Swinson
The Porpoise
A confusing epic
I have to admit a certain amount of shame with The Porpoise - I was granted the ARC back in February 2019 and I started it that May just ahead of its initi... READ MORE
KindigBlog
The Porpoise
A wild ride, if you can go with it...
Having not read the juggernaut that was Mark Haddon's 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time', I came to this novel completely unaware of his s... READ MORE
Keely
The Porpoise
Strap up for the ride!
The author is of course famous for his first adult novel “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” was of course hugely (and in my view completel... READ MORE
Graham Fulcher
The Porpoise
The Porpoise
Enjoyed it enough to start reading Pericles and shall probably read it again after finishing
Austen  Lynch
The Porpoise
Odd
I received this book from Net Galley via my Book Club. It is not my usual genre, but I am happy to read any for my Book Club. Unfortunately, I did not enj... READ MORE
Joan Moir
The Porpoise
a wonderful read
The Porpoise is the fourth novel by award-winning British author, Mark Haddon and is a retelling of the Greek legend of Apollonius. Newborn Angelica is the... READ MORE
Marianne Vincent