Strangers on the Shore

by Michael Smith

In 'Strangers on the Shore', Michael Smith, known for 'The Giro Playboy', navigates the eerie psychic terrain of Hastings, staying ahead of developers, while exploring fatherhood and the poignant loss of youthful dreams in this remarkable piece of autofiction.

Genres: Fiction

416 pages, Paperback

Published September 29, 2026

About the author

Librarian Note: There are more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Vitória]

The author has been labeled as “the acid house Montaigne” — bro, you wish. The whole thing just reads completely disconnected and at no point did I have any idea where he was going with this, choosing instead just to string together a bunch of preposterous observations that try so hard to be clever and to prove he's better than the working class folks around him... spoiler alert: he's not.

[Grace]

I was conflicted with this book. It’s a collection of essays really- which is an enjoyable and bingeable pace - at times Michael comes across as dreamy, and artistic and tortured, with touching moments and at other times he comes across as a terrible snob - looking down his nose at ‘cul de sac people’ these moments made me dislike him and there were a lot of them because he lives in Hastings - even though I could relate, it made me feel uncomfortable.

Would have benefited from a good edit if I’m honest - but if you enjoy the ramblings of a man’s mind life crisis - this is the book for you - and he shares some great cultural insights along the way.

[Nick Cubs]

I’ve read some amazing books this year, but nothing matches this. If you enjoyed The Giro Playboy or Unreal City, this won’t disappoint. An auto fiction / memoir that tells of Smith’s move to the south coast. Funny, wise, moving. The writing is immaculate. Oh and I’ve learnt a bit about quantum physics, too.