A Man Made Entirely Out Of Bats

If Patrick Lenton is in possession of a superpower (the proliferation of such gifts - alongside sad, pantomimed villainy, fan fic, and an occasionally jarring and inexplicable heavy smattering of profanities - in this collection suggest he would welcome one) it could be said to be minute persistence.

While it would hardly earn him a place amongst the ranks of the Fantastic Four, it would find company among the powers he bestows upon his characters: a man who turns into a cat at full moons, a girl with one withered arm she’s unable to move, the hairless Mr Aerodynamic, the spermless Infertility Man…

The effect of this power, of Lenton’s minute persistence, is to take an absurd or novel kernel, oftentimes a pun, that seems exhausted by its mere conception – a man made out of bats (as opposed to Batman), an insomni-yak, a neighbourr-herd - and to stretch it across a page or two to a point of poignancy, puerility or both.

While his voice on occasion overrides that of character or narrator, stifling the variety of the collection (When The Helicopters Come and Sheila Discovers Magnetism are impressive exceptions), Lenton’s curt and comedic creativity make for a fast, funny read. He should proudly don a seaweed cape.

In stores 1 Mar