Pan is one of those books that made me feel like I was reading pages torn straight out of my own teenage diary. As someone who had my first panic attacks at fifteen, I was struck by how eerily accurate Michael Clune captures that raw, destabilizing experience. Nicholas’s panic spirals — from forgetting how to breathe in class to questioning whether a god might be trapped inside him — felt both surreal and painfully real.

Clune’s writing style mimics the wandering mind of a teenager, so the novel sometimes meanders through philosophy, music, mythology, and high school drama without always landing on a point. It takes some patience at first, but once you settle into the rhythm, it feels authentic — like being inside Nicholas’s head.

What I appreciated most is the way Pan interrogates how we make sense of mental illness. There’s a sharp tension between treating panic as purely psychiatric versus elevating it into something transcendent, even spiritual. Seeing a teenager wrestle with those questions, while also navigating friendships, social hierarchies, and the messy business of growing up, felt powerful and fresh.

That said, I sometimes wished for more depth in the secondary characters — Sarah, in particular, remained elusive — and by the final act, this lack of clarity took a little away from the story. Still, perhaps that’s fitting; teenagers rarely understand themselves fully, let alone each other.

At its heart, Pan is a cerebral, funny, and hauntingly relatable coming-of-age novel that blends philosophy with the awkward, anxious truths of adolescence. Fans of books like The Secret History (but less pretentious and more tender) will likely find a lot to admire here.

I’ve been very intrigued by the synopsis of this book and the cover really added to my high expectations. I haven’t seen many books about severe anxiety in boys and men so it was cool to see an interesting portrayal of that. The theme, so broadly found in fiction these days, of unraveling psychologically most commonly has female characters so it’s nice to have a peak into the male side of it. I think I felt a bit mislead by the blurb or, maybe more likely, I projected my expectations and imagined it would be a different book. What I was hoping for was unraveling leading to a lot more bizarre events or even lack of actual events and exploration of the mind sinking into anxiety. Meanwhile this book is a story of a boy trying to deal with sudden onset of panic attacks transforming into generalized anxiety disorder with a weird group of friends who get into some odd activities and rituals involving a lot of drugs. There are a few dives into art, literature and mythology but it felt rather surface level and like a fuel for the rituals rather than any deeper analysis. I felt like the first third of the book had the most interesting parts where the inner spiraling of Nick sometimes turned into stream of consciousness. I wished it continued to be a lot more in his head rather than switching the focus to the shenanigans of his new friend group. In short I just really wished it doubled down on bizarreness and went much deeper into the psychosis. I think it’s a book I’m likely to recommend to some people. Looking at the current landscape of American literature, it is a book that is standing out and doing something different and fresh, but it wasn’t exactly for me.

Thank you to Random House UK, Vintage and NetGalley for the eARC!

Sorry DNF. For some mad reason when I saw the book cover and title my mind immediately connected it to The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen. Needless to say that this book isn’t in any way connected to that type of story. I also assumed that the author was British. That is completely my fault and I will pay more attention in future. This book just wasn’t for me. Thank you for allowing me to preview it.

DNF at 61%
A miss for me I’m afraid. The beginning was great and I liked the idea of a 15 year old with panic attacks and mental illness as the main character. And even though this was well written and Nick’s thoughts and feelings fascinated me the first half, I sort of lost interest about halfway through, also in the other characters and their drugs taking. I guess this book will be better suited for younger readers.
Thank you Vintage UK and Netgalley for the ARC.

Pan by Michael Clune is a coming of age story with a difference. Highly original and thought provoking.

Unique, playful and compelling voice. Coming of age story as you haven't quite read before and high concept without being too cerebral.

Nicholas is a teenager who experiences the usual teen angst and experiences as well as experiences such as panic attacks, being Pan himself, and having Ty and Sarah in his life, with whom he shares his Panness.

I enjoyed the wit, the underlying themes and references, and Nicholas' descriptions of his panic (the lists were cool).
I liked the final 40 or so pages more than the previous parts because the humour and the themes started to work better in my opinion.

I totally see this being a classic amongst teens themselves.

As for me, no matter how much I appreciated the concept, the characterisation and the themes (also, the premise), this book did not fully meet my expectations, which were high. I am looking forward to Clune's next work. He is certainly onto something.

There is some truly beautiful language here. Poetic and moving and plain weird! But it feels more like a long poem rather than a novel. Not enough plot for me

Nicholas, a fifteen-year-old living in the Chicago suburbs, struggles with a sense of disconnection from both his family and his peers. After a panic attack in geometry class, he’s diagnosed with anxiety, but he suspects that his issues might not be entirely psychiatric. What if the Greek god Pan is trapped inside him, influencing his thoughts and emotions? As Nicholas grapples with this possibility, he embarks on a journey to understand the nature of his inner turmoil, searching for meaning in art, music, and literature. Alongside his friends, he questions the expectations of his suburban life and looks for ways to break free from his mental constraints.

In Pan, Clune delves deep into the complexities of the human mind, exploring the boundary between mental illness and the divine. The novel presents an unsettling mix of adolescence and philosophy, where the edges of consciousness blur, and the protagonist’s quest for meaning leads him into a psychological and metaphysical maelstrom. Themes of self-discovery, identity, and existential crisis are explored in a narrative that is as thought-provoking as it is surreal. Even the mundane moments of life, like attending math class or visiting a hardware store, become charged with existential significance.

Pan is an absolutely mind-bending exploration of the human psyche. Michael Clune’s writing is electric and immersive, drawing you deep into Nicholas's world as he struggles with his identity, mental health, and the very nature of existence. The way Clune intertwines philosophy with adolescence is brilliant, making the book feel both cerebral and emotionally raw. For anyone who has ever questioned their own thoughts or felt disconnected from the world around them, this book will resonate deeply. It’s a fascinating, metaphysical journey that challenges you to rethink the boundaries of reality and mental illness. I found myself both bewildered and captivated, and in many ways, the book gave me a glimpse into the chaotic beauty of navigating the mind.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.