Lanny by Max Porter

First 5 star review of the year

Max Porter's new novel Lanny  is a novel you'll never forget you read. Porter may have begun to define his unique poetic style in the brilliant Grief is the Thing with Feathers (2016) but with Lanny he takes us to the next level and beyond with pure literary virtuosity.

The book tells the story of a missing boy in a small commuter village on the outskirts of London; a well worn literary trope given a new lease of life by Porter. The boy is wistful and at times a loner until his creative mother encourages him to spend time with a local artist whilst his father takes the train into town daily reflecting on the advent of middle aged ennui. Neither parent is prepared for the shock of what follows.

Stylistically the novel is a tour de force. Porter writes each chapter from a different perspective  which provides the reader with tension, pace and adrenalin as the story unfolds. But its the narration from Dead Papa Toothwort that is most memorable. Made from snippets of overheard phrases Dead Papa Toothwort is the voice of the town, the ethereal personality of the earth itself whose appearance can shape-shift and take the form of whom or whatever he likes.

Dead Papa Toothwort is a device which Porter uses boldly to lift Lanny from novel to fable adding myth and folklore to the contemporary setting. Like an ancient text Dead Papa Toothworth's laments can be hard to read as they twist and swirl across and around the page making Lanny an experience as much as a read.

Lanny is classic, there is no doubt. Read in one go for maximum impact. 5

Lanny by Max Porter published Faber and Faber 224 pages