Happy early Father's Day. I didn't bother doing a Mother's Day post this year, because aren't all books about mothers, in the end? But books about dads are harder to come by, so here is a round-up of some dad books (Note: these are books about fatherhood, but not necessarily for fathers}.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee -- Duh. But Harper Lee has really been on my mind and in the news a lot lately, so it might be time for a revisit of this one, featuring small-town lawyer/civil rights advocate dad Atticus Finch.
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman -- Featuring two dads, equally terrible: weirdly Lyra's relationship with her actual father is much better when she believes he's her uncle, and by the time she figures it out, he's abandoned her to go destroy his own (metaphorical) father, God, who is not so great either. Daddy/patriarchal issues run amok all over this series. Also, moms don't fare so well either.
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel -- Recent Tony-award winner for Best Musical and a really terrific/depressing graphic memoir about Bechdel's relationship with her father, a closeted-gay man married to a woman, who may or may not have committed suicide.
Hard Times by Charles Dickens -- A Victorian novel in which a dad tells his kids what to do and basically ruins everything, their lives and his, and then regrets it bitterly. A real big-time bummer in the dad department.
The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx -- The story focuses on Quoyle's evolving identity as he moves to his ancestral home in Newfoundland, but I found his relationship with his two daughters to be the highlight of the book, especially because their names are Bunny and Sunshine.
Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner -- In which weird, incestuous patriarchal issues abound!
I'm noticing that these are mostlybooks about terrible fathers, which is odd because my dad is really wonderful. If you can think of any books about good dads, feel free to suggest them in the comments section.
