Not many adaptations of Henry IV, could work as well as this one turned out. With meticulous prose and an eye for translation, Bratton has brought this obscure, and pivotal play to the 21st century.

Thank you, NetGalley, Unnamed Press | The Unnamed Press, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Hal Lancaster is the heir of Henry, Duke of Lancaster and his life is complicated. His mother is dead, his father is dying or remarrying or both, none is leaving him alone and over the course of a year of drinking, partying and flirting, he will be tested over and over again by fmaily legacies, Catholic guilt and more.

Recasting of Henriad, Hal is the queer main character of this unique and brilliant retelling, where the author talks about legacy, history, familial and personal struggles and failures, growing up, facing the world and what it means to be alive. The weight and the importance of privilege and being part of a certain family, money, the reader follows Hal in drinking, sex, drugs, growing up and facing himself and others and what family and being alive means.
Witty, smart, very profound and impossible not to love, Hal is a magnificent main character and it was both brilliant and painful following him and his changing.

Henry Henry... Where to begin. I have to say, the cover really drew me in on this one, and I didn't really do my due diligence in researching the book before I started. I will say, the writing here is beautiful, which helps the reader navigate a VERY messy protagonist who really needs extensive professional help. This book could be quite triggering for a lot of people, but the basis in shakespearean tragedy is clear. This is a true love letter to the Henriad, so I think the goal of the author here was certainly met.

I'd recommend this book to fans of writers like Eliza Clark, Otessa Moshfegh, and other "that girl needs help" lit fit fans who want a queer take on this emerging sub-genre. I think this is one of those books that deserves a second read before I really give an update on my experience reading this novel. I will absolutely read more of Allen Bratton's work in the future.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and the Unnamed Press for this ARC copy in exchange for my review.

I was expecting a queer male counterpart to so many of the "messy girl" lit fic that I read, but in reality this was just depressing. The MC is a mess but has very good reasons to be, so instead of feeling messy in a good way, it was more of a "please get help" messy. I think Allen Bratton has a lot of potential and I didn't hate this, I just found it kind of a challenge to want to finish it. Lots of really beautiful writing though!

Special thanks to Netgalley and Unnamed Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

There were aspects of this book that I liked, but too many parts of it fell short. While it had a lot of potential, it ultimately fell flat to me. I found that the book oftentimes dragged and I didn't care about the characters. This book had everything to be right up my alley, and I honestly may re-read it in the future to see if I like it more.

thank you to netgally and the publisher for the e-arc!

i find that this novel had alot of potential. in my opinion, much was done well, much could have been done way better. and unfortunately, though i feel very conflicted, i did not finish my reading.

this queer retelling of shakespeare's henriad had a good start. though i had difficulties in the beginning to differentiate the characters, the prose was pretty and slightly somber. the aggressively religious environment of hal and his practices had some slight inconsistencies (credentials: i used to go to christian summer camps) but i find it's nothing too dramatic. i think allen bretton did a great job at portraying trauma and repression. the incestuous and sexual abuse is well-written as far i could tell. but then... it kinda dropped in the middle of the novel.

at the end of pretty paragraphs, i would find awkward and clunky sentences that didn't fit. at first the textos were a fright, and god, why would you use emoji in literary fiction? it has its place in YA and thrillers but god, i abhor it in literary fiction... i started noticing that for a novel confronting queerness, abuse and catholicism, the catholic elements were not enough. we should get more confessions, for exemple. the narration was already confusing (is it 3rd? or 1st? are we doing jane austen style?) but as i progress it became jarring. sometimes, it didn't feel like 20 something year-old hal speaking... at this point in my reading, it felt awkward and stunted

i feel everything just dropped and to be honest, it became a drag to read. i'm really sad that my first arc is rather a negative one but i do think allen bratton has alot of potential as an author. i'd say just allen bratton to keep it short, succinct and ofc always pointed (when it comes to themes). for me, it's a 2.5. very middle of the road and no more.

I think it’s going to take me some thought to unscramble my thoughts on Henry Henry. I was so excited to have access to an advance copy because it seemed like exactly the kind of book I enjoy and is very much in my wheelhouse.

Hal is a very unlikeabke main character, which creates a complex reading experience. Usually this is something I really enjoy, but I think it was incredibly difficult to empathise with someone in his position in life and so as a lead, he missed the mark a little bit. I wasn’t super invested in his relationship and it felt quite underdeveloped. All in all, I’m not sure what was A Plot and what was B Plot as the stakes were off and I wasn’t rooting for anyone and not super bothered about the outcomes.

On the positive side, this is really well written and reminds me of something Melissa Broder would write (a big compliment!). I think it’ll become a cult favourite before long.

Henry Henry is not a traditional story. There is no real plot, no character growth, no great conflict, and no resolution. It is, instead, a character study of Hal Lancaster, a twenty-three-year-old man who speaks with the weariness of a man three times his age and who is slowly and methodically destroying his life. He drinks, does cocaine, hates himself with such a weary loathing, and wanders through the world with a passive indifference. If this character does not sound interesting to you, you will not enjoy this book, because the entire thing is just … Hal.

The conceit of the book is that this is a “queer reimagining of Shakespeare’s Henriad,” mostly taking influence from Henry V. I’m saying this not because it will be a factor in my review, but because the author was attempting to say something that, in my opinion, they did not manage to convey. Henry, Hal’s father, is the focus of all of Hal’s attention. Pleasing his father, obeying his father, defying his father, enduring his father, and both resenting and accepting the fact that his father molested him when he was a child and that this toxic and damaging relationship continues even now.

Henry bemoans the fact that, as the Earl of Hereford, he has lived long enough to see the family title and estates decline. He sights and frets about how his sons will probably run through the remaining money after he’s dead and sell all the properties. He whines about how he’s going to die, waiting for Hal to come dance attendance on him so that he can bask in the attention, knowing that his son still loves him, and then — should they fall into sin with one another — he can then go to church like the good Catholic he is, confess his sins, and have it all washed away, so he can do it again and again.

Hal was a child when the abuse began and, as the eldest of six children and a people pleaser, he had no idea how to handle it. So he didn’t. And now, twenty years later, he still accepts the blame of it on his own shoulders. Hal feels he should have done something, but he didn’t, and now he thinks it’s too late, so he drinks and does drugs and is an asshole to people. Some of that changes when he finally gives Henry Percy a chance in his life.

Percy is the child Hal was measured against by his father. A boy with perfect grades, perfect looks, perfect manners, and a lot of money. Percy is good with people, charming, handsome, earnest, and kind. The two of them get along, when Hal finally gives him a good look. They share a dry humor, a sexual compatibility, a common background, and Hal even comes to think he might love Percy. So he lets him go, because loving Percy means dealing with being with Percy, welcoming him into his life. Replacing his father as his lover with someone else.

I like broken characters, I honestly do. Seeing someone shattered beneath a crushing weight, damaged by circumstance and trying to put themselves together, crawling their way out of the dark and learning to be who they are now, turning to face all the pain and suffering and telling it to fuck off … or accepting it, reshaping it, and welcoming it. Hal, however, as broken as he is, does none of this. Hal seems comfortable with his life. Comfortable doing nothing, comfortable feeling nothing, comfortable being nothing.

His ‘friends’ have lives and move beyond Hal. The only person who doesn’t is his father. So, in the end, it’s a book about nothing. There is no character arc, no growth, no change. It’s just giant character study of a person who I personally found boring. I do understand that Hal is only 23, that change is hard, and that because he is content and comfortable, he has no incentive to change … but there’s only so much time I can spend with someone sighing about how miserable they are when all they seem to want to do is keep being miserable.

The writing, especially in the first few pages, felt stiff, with so many sentences the same length, only rarely broken by a longer sentence. I didn’t enjoy it and struggled to make myself continue, but the next few chapters relaxed and, by the end, the book was readable. There were moments where the dry wit landed and some banter actually made me snort — but in the whole book, there were only four of those exchanges, and that isn’t enough to make up for how much I had to force myself to read the rest of it.

This is a solid pass on every level. However, if you’re a fan of this author’s work or just want to give the book a try, I do suggest reading a sample first. Hal’s voice and character do not change from chapter one to the last chapter, and what you see is going to be what you get. Should you pick this book up, I hope you enjoy it more than I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Unnamed Press for the opportunity to read “Henry Henry” in exchange for an honest review.

[please check the content warnings prior to reading this novel]

Henry Henry is a contemporary queer reimagining of Shakespeare’s The Henriad, and is presented through the lens of Hal: Son of Henry, Duke of Lancaster.

Like many others, I am not a Shakespeare expert, so I went into this relatively blind. Overall, though, I think it was a pretty solid debut.

Bratton was able to build a lot of complexity into Hal as a character. At first, Hal comes across as pretentious and unlikeable, to the point that I felt quite unmotivated to read about him in the initial chapters. However, once I got to know him, I came to understand that there is a lot of nuance to Hal; in the way that he understands and connects with his identity, the way he processes his familial trauma and his complex relationship with his father, and in the way he views his role with his loved ones. The more time I spent with Hal, the more interested I was to really understand him.

Bratton’s writing style also leans more towards lyrical, and whilst I really struggled with this at first (unusual for me, lyrical is normally my jam but something about it just wasn’t quite connecting), at around the 30% mark I found myself falling in love with the way Bratton used this style to create depth of connection between Hal and Harry Percy. This was actually my favourite part of the novel: there were so many beautifully written, well-formed, and powerful moments between Hal and Percy that I’ll take with me after reading.

My main criticism of Henry Henry, though, was the fact that some sections (especially the first 30%) were quite meandering, and some plot points felt much stronger than others. It almost felt as though there was lacking continuity in the decisiveness of the story and therefore in my enjoyment of it; I flipped between effectively inhaling parts and feeling rather bored in others.

Overall, I think Henry Henry was a compelling read. I do, however, wish Bratton had built upon what he achieved in the middle 50% to create something beautiful.

Recommended for: lovers of literary fiction, lyrical writing and prose, complex characters, toxic relationships, and contemporary retellings.

Actual rating 3.5 stars

This such a messy, complex read. As someone rather unfamiliar with Henriad, I went into this modern reimagining blindly, ready to take it where it's at. Hal Lancaster is an upperclass, gay, catholic, mess of a person who struggles deeply through life. Drugs, alcohol, sex, and his family all trouble him. This is a rough read with all the physical injuries and the unfiltered realities of life, including several incestuous scenes. It's a book that doesn't shy away from uncomfortableness.

I enjoyed the vivid language and especially Richard as a character representing queer history and the legacy of gay culture from the 1980s and 1990s, as well as the complicated relationship of Hal and Harry Percy. But I also had some issues with this book, mainly in inconsistent style and pacing. The jumps in time were hard to pick up at times as well. Also, someone take away the word "prick" from this author.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to delve into Allen Bratton's latest work, "Henry Henry," courtesy of NetGalley and the author.

Bratton's debut presents a refreshing spin on Shakespeare's Henriad plays, with Hal Lancaster taking center stage as a queer protagonist navigating the complexities of family, legacy, and self-discovery in contemporary London. Through Hal's eyes, we're immersed in a world of familial strife, personal turmoil, and the quest for love and acceptance.

What truly shines in "Henry Henry" is the dynamic between Hal and Percy, two characters who leap off the page with their charm, flaws, and undeniable chemistry. Despite Hal's exasperation with Percy's antics, there's an unmistakable bond that draws them together, adding layers of depth to their relationship.

Hal's voice is a force to be reckoned with—wild, unique, and utterly captivating. As he grapples with his heritage, Catholic guilt, and the pursuit of happiness, readers are taken on a rollercoaster ride of emotions, all expertly woven together by Bratton's skilled storytelling.

In the end, "Henry Henry" earns a solid four stars from me. Bratton's lush prose, rich character development, and modern reimagining of classic themes make for a compelling read that lingers in the mind long after the final page is turned. This is a debut not to be missed, and Allen Bratton emerges as a promising new voice in contemporary literature.

Thank you again for the ARC, in which I am leaving my honest review.

Henry Henry centers around Hal, son of Henry, Duke of Lancaster. It’s 2014 and Hal, although raised in a privileged life, is struggling in various ways. He’s addicted to drugs, lovelorn and seemingly broke.

We follow Hal through various interactions with friends, including one he’s in love with and with his father.

I found the writing and the structure of this story confusing. First, there are too many uses of the name He ray and Hal. The relationship between Hal and his father Henry has some important history, but it’s murky.

I was confused a lot during the reading of this book, unfortunately, and I didn’t seem to care.

Up front, I should say that I did not finish this novel. A novel updating Shakespearian characters is usually a win for me. However, here, I just didn’t find the protagonist likeable or sympathetic.

Shakespeare's The Henriad has always been intriguing to me and so when I heard about Henry Henry, I had to read it and it was quite different from what I expected. Written beautifully, Allen Bratton writes in a way that makes you feel you are in the same room as the characters; hearing what they're hearing, smell the rooms, taste what's being described, etc. Following Hal Lancaster, the troubled, semi-closeted son of the Duke of Lancaster who believes his sexuality is a sin due to his religious upbringing as he navigates a part of his life along with his relationship with Henry Percy. I think what I like about Henry Henry is that the characters are not really likeable, adding to the disdain and Hal's stagnant journey throughout the novel.

Overall, Henry Henry is an interesting retelling of Shakespeare that blends the Bard's characters and contemporary fiction well. I highly recommend Bratton's novel if you're a fan of Ottessa Moshfegh or want to read a book with unlikable characters.

Thank you, NetGalley and Unnamed Press for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A fascinating take on a familiar story that brings history to the present, transporting the story of Henry and Falstaff to the modern day. Good dialogue, fun use of characters, and a decent pace make this novel a fun read!

Thank you NetGalley and Unnamed Press for allowing me to read the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
The writing was absolutely beautiful. I felt like I was in the room with the characters and I could smell and taste everything that was being described.
Hal Lancaster, son of the Duke of Lancaster, he is a troubled character. Mainly, the root of all of his problems is that he is gay and he believes that to be a sin, based on his religious upbringing. He has a troubled relationship with his father, with his siblings. For him the world is grey and very little brings him happiness. That changes when he meets Percy, but even then he perceives his relationship with him to be a sin which puts a strain on it.
It was heartbreaking reading this book because the whole time, I just wanted to give Hal a hug. I'm not saying that he is the best main character out there but he is so desperately flawed that it makes him human.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

this one has me feeling all types of emotions, most of them not good - but i believe that was the point. to sum up my thoughts in one word, i'd say uncomfortable, and that mirrors what the main character felt like this entire book.

the main character, hal, is uncomfortable in his own skin as a gay catholic (and there is a lot of repressed catholic guilt which i actually found was explored well), around his father (who abused him as a child which resulted in a very complicated relationship into his adulthood), feeling any intimacy with men (especially a childhood friend that, throughout the book, he struggled to open up and let in), his siblings despite their constant attempts to make something out of their relationships with him, and at the end of the day, accepting who he is despite that all.

as a self-deprecating and self-medicating person, hal was a culmination of his trauma and at times it was difficult to be in his head as he does come off as an unlikeable character, but as a reader, for me, it was met with empathy. his truest self is never intentionally harmful nor does he seek out to be a vindictive person. he is simply the result of his upbringing and the environment he was raised in. he tried - really tried - and continues to try to be better than what everyone expects of him, of what he expects of himself, and that's commendable in itself, given what he's gone through.

i did enjoy the writing - the dry humor, the one liners, the lucidity to where it's almost painful, all of it was done well. overall, if you like anything queer, messy, and real, this one's for you!

Hal, the future Duke of Lancaster, lives in the shadow of his noble family and expectations for his future but all he wants to do is drink and do drugs and sink into oblivion. Not big on plot, Henry Henry is primarily a character study of Hal as he navigates the environment he exists in and comes to terms with his family and their past and himself. The novel explores a complicated father son relationship as well as a complex family history that hangs heavily over Hal.

I’m not sure I have adequate words to express my experience with this novel. I was absolutely riveted by Hal. The way Bratton portrays the depth of pain, self loathing, emptiness, unworthiness, and lack of feeling or care for anything is so convincingly crafted. Hal comes off as an entitled, spoiled brat throwing his life away. But as the novel progresses Bratton weaves elements into Hal’s character that create a highly nuanced portrait of a human navigating the complex systems and structures that we exist in. The weight of wealth, faith, and family pulls Hal down to the lowest depths; so far down that he is completely and utterly lost and unsure of how to live or survive and has given up on trying. Behind this wall of protection is a traumatized person responding in the only way he can to his experiences and the environment that surrounds him. In so many ways Hal is a deplorable, unlikeable character but the manner in which Bratton conveys the depths of his humanity is masterful. Despite the dark and heavy content there is an arc of redemption and hope. It is a minimal, understated shift and in a way this made it more realistic and impactful.

As someone who doesn’t gravitate to romance, the romance contained in these pages worked for me. Even when it felt like it might veer over the edge of being too cliche and cheesy for my taste, it never did. It always felt like it went just far enough to explore the issues Bratton brings forward in this novel including deep shame and homophobia and feeling worthy of/deserving of love. There is so much depth to this novel I can’t do it justice in a short Instagram review you’ll just need to read it yourself.

This book has been referred to as a queer contemporary take on Shakspeare’s Henriad which I am not familiar with. While I could envision a Shakespearean connection based on my limited exposure to his work, my lack of knowledge did not negatively impact my experience with this novel.

Please check and heed trigger warnings. There are graphic scenes of abuse that can be very difficult to read. I do think the inclusion furthers aspects of the story, especially how those experiencing abuse navigate the experience and grapple with the role they play in what has occurred and who to tell and when to share their stories. I imagine scenes in this novel could be very triggering for some so please take note and read with caution. I have seen other trigger warnings as well so check them if needed.

I am certain this will be one of my top reads this year, highly recommend it.

Thank you @unnamedpress @netgalley for the #gifted ARCs

Real Rating: 4.5* of five, rounded up respecting its ambition

<B>The Publisher Says: <I>Henry Henry</I> is a queer reimagining of Shakespeare's Henriad, transposing the legend of Henry V's wayward youth into 21st-century Britain in the years leading up to the Brexit referendum.</B>

<I>Henry Henry</I> follows Hal Lancaster—22, gay, Catholic—as he spends his first years out of Oxford floating between internships, drinking with his actor friends, struggling through awkward hook-ups, and occasionally going to confession to be absolved of his sins.

When a grouse shooting accident—funny in retrospect—makes a romance out of Hal's rivalry with fumblingly leftist family friend Harry Percy, Hal finds that he wants, for the first time, to be himself. But his father Henry is an Englishman: he will not let his son escape tradition. To save himself, Hal must reckon not only with grief and shame but with the wounds of his family's past.

<B>I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review</B>: So, the plot's not a big mystery...Shakespeare did the set-up half a millennium ago, if you haven't read it that's on you and your life choices...but brings the subtect of queerness into full textual focus.

This will make some homophobic numskulls very angry. Good.

I was sexually abused by my mother the way Hal was by his father. The many shamings and abuses, the cruel holdings-up to those gone by, of Hal as a person by his father; and maybe more importantly as a sexual being by the idiocy of religion; and the nastiness of steadily belittling him, all poured acid into my eyes. The playbook of controlling mechanisms are all right here: These awful things happened to me, too, Hal, and I really, really want to hug you while murderering your father. The ugly shadow, dirty smudgy tobacco-smoky brown-grey, that will always separate you from your deeply belovèd Percy who can, in the miraculous way of one truly and purely loved, make Hal clean again, can't be banished. Not with his abuser and the filthy miasma of their god suspended in Hal's breath and between the red blood cells in his veins.

What worked best, then, was the reality of a psychologically abused son in the grip of a sexually jealous and sociopathic parent who expresses their power by coercing the child into sexual servitude and then blaming the child for not being strong enough to live a normal life. What was not necessarily so easy was the mapping of the story onto Shakespeare's "Henriad." It's been a while since my Shakespeare days, but the whole point of the Henriad wasn't to map out Prince Hal's survivorhood, was it? It was meant to explain how, after his rebellious rageful youth, he snaps into focus when he hears the strumpet shriek of Power. Of course, if you don't know the outline of the Henriad, none of this matters because it will sail past you. Suffice to say that book-Hal is a nasty piece of work (though for a reason), and play-Hal is a nasty piece of work too (though for different ones). The father/son conflicts, the verbal cruelties each inflicts, are all in the plays. The thing that isn't in the plays is Hal's self-awarness, or so I recall. Play-Hal is nasty and abusive to kinder people than he deserves to have around him and then, when he attains Power, he changes; book-Hal is more reflective, more aware that he is in fact wrestling with demons that have warped him and could kill him if he does not get the upper hand.

What that meant to my reading of the story was that I half-hoped there would be some mercy for the lost and the left behind. What it actually meant was the book ended before I got a sense that the story was over and all the threads dangled.

Not my favorite kind of ending. Appropriate to the subject matter. Truthful and completely honest. Just...dissatisfying, a lot like the life it limns for Hal. He is not satisfied; he cannot be satisfied; he can only dimly conjure any awareness that satisfaction could exist but can in no way craft any kind of response to those around him that would result in anyone feeling satisfied. It is, as a novel, bitter and hateful and cruel; but it is beautifully said and spoken in clear, unhistrionic tones.

A very big ask, this read. Go in with your Shakespeare goggles on and come away shocked at what a new generation of response to him has uncovered. Go in unaware of the Henriad and the dangling ends might bother you more. Shakespeare took three plays (four, if we're stuffy about it) to resolve the Lancastrian dynasty's fate. Author Bratton tried to squeeze it into less than four hundred pages so no wonder he wasn't all the way successful.

Fully successful or not, the clarity and honesty about the pain that abuse and hateful religiosity of Hal's world make it a highly rewarding read.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I think it was beautifully written. I enjoyed how unlikeable the main character was and the struggles Hal went through with navigating his family and daily life gave a good insight. Even though there was little character development and there are a few trigger warnings, I would still recommend giving Henry Henry a read if it is your sort of book.