A crow visited him in this shifting mind place and told him something. But when he woke, he couldn’t remember the message it had brought. He could see the bird in his mind’s eye, flapping to the ground, the brilliant white collar on the bottomless-black body. The thick strong bill, the expressionless eyes and the animated movements of its head.
What it had told him was important, but gone.
From the dusty streets of childhood, through adolescent bedrooms, to the roar and chaos of battlefields, the characters in this striking debut short story collection navigate the complexities of being boys and men in a difficult world.
Beyond a Boy explores the immemorial themes of love, regret, war, adventure, grief and hope with courage and vulnerability, shining a different, piercing light on portrayals of boyhood and manhood.
ISBN: 978-0-6398626-3-7
Publication date: November 2026
About the Author
PAUL MORRIS writes short stories and travel articles and may, or may not, have some other secret projects on the go. His memoir, Back to Angola, about returning to the battlefields on a bicycle, was a critically acclaimed South African bestseller. His other occupations have included cocktail barman, builder’s mate, traveller, human resources manager and psychotherapist. He is happiest in the mountains or on the sea. His nomadic tendencies are mostly tamed but his love of the African continent is not. Paul lives in his hometown, Cape Town, with his wife, Jen, and his dog, Biggles. Beyond a Boy, published by Karavan Press, is his first collection of short stories.
