The Fathers
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Canongate Books
Published:17th Jul '25
Should be back in stock very soon
FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF O BROTHER
In a busy maternity ward, first-time father Dan meets Jada, a dad welcoming his fifth - no, sixth? - child into the world. Dan and Jada come from very different places: both called Glasgow. Dan is a successful TV writer with a townhouse in the West End and a shiny Tesla ready to drive his wife and baby home. Jada is a hustling, small-time criminal who is already planning how to separate Dan from some of the luxuries Jada has never been able to enjoy in his tiny flat in a Brutalist sixties council block.
Both men find that the birth of their sons has fired their ambitions. Dan plans to walk away from his saccharine TV success and finally knuckle down to writing that novel he always felt he had in him. While, for Jada, it's the opportunity for one last get-rich-quick scheme - ripping off a local airport. When a tragedy occurs, their worlds are brought closer than either could ever have imagined - close enough that it could mean destruction for both of them . . .
Bitingly funny, inkwell black and surprisingly tender -- ADAM KAY, author of THIS IS GOING TO HURT
Like the bastard son of Irvine Welsh and Martin Amis, Niven manages to appal, amuse, terrify and make your heart ache in the same paragraph -- JOJO MOYES
A witty account of parenthood and masculinity * * Independent * *
Niven is on fine form, inventive and excruciatingly funny, but beneath his darkly comic prose lurks a hitherto unseen tenderness * * Mail on Sunday * *
The novel is laugh out loud funny at points but its serious intentions are many. Inequality, criminality, substance abuse, class, social and economic horizons and even housing are themes which linger under the surface, alongside the numbing, dizzying forces unleashed by grief. Niven broaches all these things nimbly though.[with] smart, funny, laser-focussed prose * * Herald * *
A hilarious and harrowing piece of brilliance -- LUCY MANGAN
The Fathers continues to examine tough subjects that aren't often explored from a male perspective, like fertility and grief * * Sunday Post * *
An acid-drop sharp exploration of modern fatherhood * * iPaper * *
Just when you think Niven couldn't possibly be more outrageous, he floors you with tenderness. And then makes you howl with laughter. He is the most reliable treat -- MARINA HYDE
Refreshing and memorable. In the midst of our hard, bleak world, Niven manages to find humour and tenderness, gleefully driving his bulldozer down the middle of the road -- CHARLIE HIGSON
ISBN: 9781837260515
Dimensions: 220mm x 141mm x 31mm
Weight: 473g
368 pages
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