The Death of Francis Bacon by Max Porter, narrated by Max Porter (3*)

I didn't enjoy this as much as Porter's other books, but then I suspect not many people will. Having said that it is a highly experimental work , even by Porter's standards. One which only covers 74 A6 pages, and the seven chapter title pages are in fact only picture medium and size labels. But again it is all about the voice - this time the author himself narrates this and he does it very well - in my opinion like a great actor can deliver with momentum, with speeds changes, employing tone and voice pitch, slow and soft, fierce and firm, brutal and blunt , without apparently taking a breath. As I read it and listened to it, it struck me I didn't know much about Francis Bacon's art and life, much less how and where he died. The book left me remembering the live, one man stage show that Simon Callow did of Dickens - a performance that required not only inordinate memory but total commitment to the part, the giving of 100% of the actor's life for that hour or so to be someone else, without the breathing space afforded by fellow actors playing their part. Here we do have the intermittent voice of the clinic's Sister and quotes from others like John Berger, but they are a tiny part. The rest is Porter's impressions of the final chaotic workings of a mind of the artist, its a homage in many ways as Porter transforms these scenes into the 7 text pictures and tries to catch the the torment of Bacon's artwork and the inevitable chaos of what was for most of his life an illicit love live, full of characters and full of violence. The range of topics that Porter has tackled in his 4 novels is broad. This is a great author in the making.

Lanny by Max Porter , narrated by Annie Aldington, Clare Corbett, David Timson and Jot Davies (5*)

This is the 3rd Max Porter book I have read. I am becoming addicted. He is the most exciting novelist I have read in recent times. I adore his writing and this one is the best so far, a gripping read. I love the way he uses words - 'Palette-knife smears of bad weather rush past the windows'; ' There is a moment like a cello note, then. Warm and wooden and full of other things. Nobody speaks but we are all listening' 'I'm more accustomed to the sound of the village now. I know a hedgehog making its way along the planted borders, I know the postman's early footsteps on the gravel. I know the alien hum of Mrs Larton's late-night tumble-drying.This isn't that. This is a human body moving. There is someone in my house.' The way the eavesdropped conversations of villagers, the sound bite of gossip and mundane minutiae of life are 'heard' on the wind, on the page they move like fluttering words - they are brought to life by excellent multi-voice narration. It really pays the hear Porter's novels read aloud, like listening to a Guillermo del Toro producing Pan's Labyrinth. This book will take you from realism, into the magical unreal, from folk tale into drama and twisting it walks backwards through them all.

Max Porter has a new book due out in Feb 2027 entitled Burn and Rave, I , for one, will be eagerly waiting for it.

Shy by Max Porter (4*) , narrated by Joe Gaminara (5*)

This is the second [author:Max Porter|13807841] book I have read. And I must highly recommend him as a writer, especially for people who love words, rhythm and rhyme. His plots are thin, sparse, but his language is rich, lush and exorbitant. Reading him is like lying in your favourite bubble bath, soaking it all in. In this book we have Shy a very troubled youth, now having his last chance at the 'Last Chance' school an unconventional rehab institution for delinquent, disturbed and violent offenders.

I would advice listening to the audio narrated brilliantly by Joe Gaminara alongside the textual copy. His narration captures the multi-voice way Porter writes, bringing the author's architectural style of producing words on the page to the narration. Gaminara brings the building bricks of the text - its spacing, loft and right justifications, italics etc - to life. So much added value.

Porter is incredibly innovative in in writing style - unique? You really hear the hip-hop, bass and drums that Shy likes, you experience the chaos of his mind, how he tries to handle his own frustrations, his ignorance, his questioning, his interactions with other, the noise, noise noise of his existence. This is a powerful book. Not easy subject matter. But you will know you have read it.