Excerpt from Lanny by Max Porter, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

He raises one eyebrow at me then looks at the plums. I almost pity the poor plums sitting there in the bowl with no defences against our joint scrutiny.

I start the game:

Once upon a time there was a man called Abel Stain.

And Lanny replies without missing a beat, The Fable of Abel Stain.

Is that your line or are you just chipping in with it?

Sorry, he says. That's what we can call it. It's a good title.

Right you are.

Me: This is The Fable of Abel Stain. Once upon a time there was a man called Abel Stain.

Lanny: He had three daughters and they were all really pretty.

Me: But horrible. Two of them were horrible, one of them was nice.

Lanny: The nice one was called Barbara.

I cackle.

Sorry, sorry, Lanny. Took me by surprise that's all. I did not expect her to be called Barbara. Hang on I'm getting a beer.

I go to the larder and open a bottle of stout. I come back and Lanny has got his hair all swept over his face and he's puffing on his pencil like it's a Gauloise in a holder and he says,

Halloo, my name's Barbara and I am much nicer than my 'orrible sisters.

I guffawspit beer all over the nice outlines of plums I've drawn.

Excerpt from Lanny. Copyright (c) 2019 by Max Porter. Reprinted with the permission of Graywolf Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota.