Mr Toppit

Charles Elton (author)

Penguin, UK: 2009; 342pp

ISBN: 9780141038001

Genres: realistic fiction

Issues: family, identity, perception

Luke Hayman is haunted by a story; a series of stories, rather. His father, a somewhat anemic and unrecognized man, wrote The Hayseed Chronicles, five fantasy novels set in the 'darkwood' near his own house. And that's the problem – fantasy and reality have become so enmeshed in the minds of his readers that reality itself begins to warp.

From Luke Hayman's point of view, he's a fairly average boy living in a somewhat eccentric family of rather difficult personalities. After his father's death, when, thanks to Laurie Clow,an accidental American colliding with fate, Luke finds everything in his life being warped by the almost religious fervor of Hayseed fans and their increasingly bizarre theories as the identity of Mr Toppit. Unfortunately for Luke, Arthur Hayman used his son's name for his hero; so when the Chronicles achieve cult status, Luke Hayman finds his identity – and his family – being destroyed by the almost gravitational pull of what is, in fact, a fantasy.

Luke's sister, Rachel, is rapidly losing her grip on reality; their somewhat enigmatic mother finds herself dominated by her husband's legacy as she never was by his life; it seems that everything and everyone touched by The Hayseed Chronicles is darkened, twisted and distorted by the contact. In a tale that references the experiences of Christopher Robin Milne, who endured a lifetime of being associated with A.A. Milne's famous character, Elton explores the complexities of 'fame through inheritance', as well as the quixotic events that can tip a book (or series) from 'popular' to 'iconic'.

At the time of publishing, in an effort to convince readers that The Hayseed Chronicles were real novels and this was the tale of a real boy, Penguin 'seeded' (pardon the pun) the internet with references to the books. A darkly satirical novel, Mr Toppit challenges the reader to consider the increasingly unclear line between fiction and reality in a world where reality is a TV show and fictional characters have profiles on Facebook. Interesting. Thought-provoking. Discomforting.

Mr Toppit is definitely not a book for those who prefer neat conclusions and clear resolutions. Read it anyway.

Warning: death by suicide of a central character