The Fifth Window

by Maximilian Werner

The Fifth Window is the existential, coming-of-age story of Blu Steiner, an eighteen-year-old who, in spite of bizarre and comical obstacles to his survival, is trying to do something important with his life. Blu wants to believe that the world, however strange and troubled, is still a good and purposeful place. But Blu has several problems, including a dead end job as a cemetery grounds keeper, an unfaithful girlfriend who he still adores, drug and alcohol abuse, and a group of alluring and devious friends, one of whom involves him in the murder of a young girl, an event that threatens his fragile world view and serves as the ultimate validation for his belief that “it’s dumb luck that anything survives.”

233 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 25, 2025

About the author

Maximilian Werner is the author of the award-winning essay collection "Black River Dreams" and the upcoming novel "Crooked Creek." When he is not fly fishing on one of his favorite western waters, or elbow-deep in the garden dirt, he is at home writing or in the classroom teaching and trying to help humans live up to their potential as a species.