New release: Henry Henry
By Allen Batton (April 2024)
The stuffy streets of London provide our backdrop as we follow Hal Lancaster, son of the Duke of Lancaster, through a blur of sex, drugs, and overspending, as he tries to cope with his resentment towards the role into which he was born.
We are with Hal for one tumultuous year as he navigates his way (drunkenly) through his grief, trauma and obligations. He has no goals, no ambition, but stacks of credit cards and a serious alcohol problem. He bumps into an old schoolmate, Henry Percy, whom he despises. But, following a shooting accident, the pair begin a relationship.
This is a modern, queer, re-imagining of Shakespeare’s Henriad. References are baked into the text itself. As such, there are many characters called Henry…or Harry…or Hal for short. It can be quite confusing but Bratton gives each character a voice distinct enough to set them apart. Henry, in particular, is a vivid portrayal of a relentless crusader, using religion as his moral crux but ultimately repenting for unforgivable sins. Hal’s voice is also unique; it is unapologetically raw, fuelled by self-loathing, and polished with dry humour. He is the epitome of the young and resentful 1%. There are moments when we see the disparity between Henry and Hal, and moments when we see them mirror one another, proving the inescapable loyalty of the family bond. It would be impossible to talk about these two characters without mentioning the disturbing abuse that father inflicts upon son. This could have done with a trigger warning, as I will admit, it caught me off guard with how explicit it is. We are plunged into a suffocating string of abuse. Some have criticised the lack of consequence of this, however I believe it makes it more realistic. Bratton gives a deep complexity to Hal and Henry’s relationship; a feeling of loyalty towards the abuser, and the utter confliction and inner turmoil caused by it, makes for a suffocating read.
Set in pre-referendum Britain, Henry Henry grapples with various political moments. Bratton makes astute observations of the class divide through characters’ smug comments, political statements, and attitudes towards money.
In terms of story, this book is character driven, rather than action-driven, which can make it feel somewhat stagnant at points. We begin the story with Hal, who is, in a word, a mess. He is constantly intoxicated with a mix of drugs and alcohol, and he is, like most graduates, slightly lost. He is grappling with his responsibility as the heir of the Lancaster estate; is this what he really wants? Is there more to life? We hope that by the end of the book Hal will have answered these questions, ‘found himself’, got clean, and found some sort of peace. These things happen only mildly, leaving the reader somewhat underwhelmed. Perhaps it was intentional; how much can we expect such a severely damaged character to change in the space of a year? Because of this, the story meanders a lot in the middle with no obvious direction (I suppose that's life though, right?)
Overall, Henry Henry is a vibrant, and telling read. Bratton’s writing is brilliant; it is dense in places, but reads well. I was amused, disturbed, and left wanting more.
Thank you Penguin Vintage for this ARC.
Henry Henry is out in April 2024.