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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
Reading this book feels like constantly bracing for impact. Hal Lancaster is the son of a duke who is constantly making self-destructive choices while he skirts his responsibilities. It’s like he’s driving a car at full speed, running red lights. Soon enough, we find out what he’s running from. A really stunning debut novel.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Henry Henry by Allen Bratton.
In this queer retelling of Shakespeare's Henriad set in 2014 during the lead up to the Brexit referendum, the reader follows the life of Hal Lancaster, as he attempts to pick his way through a very troubled life. From his abusive relationship with his father, to his drug use, and his conflicting relationship between his faith and his sexuality, Hal will attempt to process a difficult life and learn to start anew.
This was a very messy, dramatic and depressing piece of fiction. From the beginning it can be extremely difficult to feel for Hal due to his brash behaviour and unlikable personality, however as Bratton peels the layers from the complicated character, I soon found myself forming a sense of sympathy towards him despite not always appreciating his actions.
During reading, I distinctly noticed the similarities of this work to that of Ottessa Moshfegh - any fans of Moshfegh will love this book! You will find a cast of truly despicable characters, bold storytelling and dark scenes. Unfortunately I did not get along with the Moshfegh novel I last read, finding it a bit too grim for my liking, but with Bratton's work there is a real display of stunning prose. Bratton executes scenes beautifully, from the high society shooting parties, even to Hal's drug-fueled thoughts, and this is what made this a page turner for me.
Thank you to @vintagebooks for the copy!
In this queer retelling of Shakespeare's Henriad set in 2014 during the lead up to the Brexit referendum, the reader follows the life of Hal Lancaster, as he attempts to pick his way through a very troubled life. From his abusive relationship with his father, to his drug use, and his conflicting relationship between his faith and his sexuality, Hal will attempt to process a difficult life and learn to start anew.
This was a very messy, dramatic and depressing piece of fiction. From the beginning it can be extremely difficult to feel for Hal due to his brash behaviour and unlikable personality, however as Bratton peels the layers from the complicated character, I soon found myself forming a sense of sympathy towards him despite not always appreciating his actions.
During reading, I distinctly noticed the similarities of this work to that of Ottessa Moshfegh - any fans of Moshfegh will love this book! You will find a cast of truly despicable characters, bold storytelling and dark scenes. Unfortunately I did not get along with the Moshfegh novel I last read, finding it a bit too grim for my liking, but with Bratton's work there is a real display of stunning prose. Bratton executes scenes beautifully, from the high society shooting parties, even to Hal's drug-fueled thoughts, and this is what made this a page turner for me.
Thank you to @vintagebooks for the copy!
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Absolutely devastating.
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
funny
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm conflicted with this novel. It was laught out loud funny when it started only to peter out quite quickly into boring rich person whining. And then the suprise content warning interaction happened...
It still managed to retain it's funny qualities (in the way that Angela's Ashes was funny), mixed in with slice of life tedium and honest understated trauma. Very oh well, stuff upper lip and carry on.
The MC is stuck in a holding pattern of floating through life with the help of drugs and sex. Situations that seemed funny & bizarre took on a sinister edge when seen in light of his trauma and I really appreciated the deftness with which the author was able to employ humor and tragedy. There are ridiculous scenarios but they are underpinned with sly wit & sparse details that indicate the MC's true internal feelings (hands shaking etc). I really enjoyed the way that depersonalization as a trauma response was tackled.
The ending was a bit of a let down for me. It is VERY understated and I went over it twice so make sure I'd gotten what was happening. The MC acts rather than just reacting in asking his father for something other than money and reconnects with his family. The understatedness of the ending was the point because change & growth is small & often there isn't a whole lot you can do & you don't magically get your life turned around, but I would have liked a little bit more.
Overall a very psychologically intriguing book and one I'll keep thinking about but I'm not sure I would reread it
It still managed to retain it's funny qualities (in the way that Angela's Ashes was funny), mixed in with slice of life tedium and honest understated trauma. Very oh well, stuff upper lip and carry on.
The MC is stuck in a holding pattern of floating through life with the help of drugs and sex. Situations that seemed funny & bizarre took on a sinister edge when seen in light of his trauma and I really appreciated the deftness with which the author was able to employ humor and tragedy. There are ridiculous scenarios but they are underpinned with sly wit & sparse details that indicate the MC's true internal feelings (hands shaking etc). I really enjoyed the way that depersonalization as a trauma response was tackled.
The ending was a bit of a let down for me. It is VERY understated and I went over it twice so make sure I'd gotten what was happening. The MC acts rather than just reacting in asking his father for something other than money and reconnects with his family. The understatedness of the ending was the point because change & growth is small & often there isn't a whole lot you can do & you don't magically get your life turned around, but I would have liked a little bit more.
Overall a very psychologically intriguing book and one I'll keep thinking about but I'm not sure I would reread it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was— something. Every page I read left me with a feeling of dread deep in my chest. Just a lingering off-kilter emotion that haunted my conversations for the rest of the day. I couldn’t stop talking about this book. I kept going “god this book I’m reading is weird” often to my family who had heard me mumble the same statement five times during our dinner. But… god this book was weird.
I enjoyed it. I consumed the book slowly, as if detailing each page and trying to piece together the feelings that were playing out.
And yet, I am not certain I understand its meaning. The book left me feeling unsatisfied, and the ending was just something I was ready to get through so that I could say it was over. Which I found odd since I had so thoroughly read the other pages before. Yet, I found myself wanting more from the ending. Something more tangible. Something that showed some aspect of change here. Hal, our main character, doesn’t really do anything during the end. Large plot points happen around him. Sure he makes some decisions but never really the major ones. For example: he happens to be gay, ie: not a choice. He gets shot on accident. His boyfriend defends him and argues with his dad about Hal’s abuse: not something Hal did. Yes he did then try to stop the argument but that was purely as a reaction. Hal’s actions are—from what I can remember—all reactionary. He never takes agency in his own story.
There is an argument to be made that this is the point the author is making. That Hal is trapped in this cycle of generational abuse, one that he can’t escape. However, that would have been better showed if Hal actually tried to get out of the cycle. Most of what he did during the book is avoid reality and then complain about reality when he had to face it.
Yes, the relationships were complicated. Yes, this was a tangled web of things and emotions. But in the end, I was not satisfied by how the novel handled itself by the ending. The writing style was beautiful, though long winded at times and slightly off topic. The imagery and metaphors were subtle. But even with its positives, the large negative still stands: it was not satisfying, and I seemed to have missed the point.
This book may be for other people, but if you read it, don’t talk to me about it? I still feel this looming sense of doom in my chest when I think about the book.
I enjoyed it. I consumed the book slowly, as if detailing each page and trying to piece together the feelings that were playing out.
And yet, I am not certain I understand its meaning. The book left me feeling unsatisfied, and the ending was just something I was ready to get through so that I could say it was over. Which I found odd since I had so thoroughly read the other pages before. Yet, I found myself wanting more from the ending. Something more tangible. Something that showed some aspect of change here. Hal, our main character, doesn’t really do anything during the end. Large plot points happen around him. Sure he makes some decisions but never really the major ones. For example:
There is an argument to be made that this is the point the author is making. That Hal is trapped in this cycle of generational abuse, one that he can’t escape. However, that would have been better showed if Hal actually tried to get out of the cycle. Most of what he did during the book is avoid reality and then complain about reality when he had to face it.
Yes, the relationships were complicated. Yes, this was a tangled web of things and emotions. But in the end, I was not satisfied by how the novel handled itself by the ending. The writing style was beautiful, though long winded at times and slightly off topic. The imagery and metaphors were subtle. But even with its positives, the large negative still stands: it was not satisfying, and I seemed to have missed the point.
This book may be for other people, but if you read it, don’t talk to me about it? I still feel this looming sense of doom in my chest when I think about the book.
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character