The Sideways Life of Denny Voss

By Holly Kennedy

Book Overview

Longlisted for the 2025 Giller Prize.

Nominated for the 2026 Edgar Award--Best Paperback Original.

Finalist for the 2026 Audie Award.

In this poignant and funny novel, a man who is defined by his limitations sets out to fight a murder charge--and discovers unexpected truths about himself, his family, and the world at large.

On the surface, Denny Voss's life in rural Minnesota is a quiet one. At thirty years old, he lives at home with his elderly mother and his beloved blind and deaf Saint Bernard, George. He cleans up roadkill to help pay the bills. Though his prospects are limited by a developmental delay--the result of an accident at birth--Denny has always felt that he has "a good life."

So how did he wind up being charged with the murder of a mayoral candidate--after crashing a sled full of guns into a tree?

As Denny awaits trial, his court-appointed therapist walks him through the events of the past year. Denny's had other scuffles with the law, the first for kidnapping a neighbor's cantankerous goose. And then there was the time he accidentally assisted in a bank robbery. It seems like whenever Denny tries to do the right thing, chaos ensues.

Untangling the events around the murder reveals even more painful truths about his family's past. He's always been surrounded by people who love him, but now it's up to Denny to set his life on a new course.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1662525923
• ISBN13: 9781662525926
• Release Date: April 2025
• Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
• Length: 335 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Really enjoyed

Funny, easy read. Characters became very visual in my mind and the plot kept my interest. There is a surprise ending as well. The author took a serious subject but revealed that even though we have diffences we are truly so much the same.. I found Denny saying things that I often think in a similar situation but don't say. Denny has the freedom to say those things and not offend because of his disability but the fact that we thought the same thing makes us so much alike..