A moving, unforgettable memoir of two lost men: a father and his child.
He had his final heart attack in the Silver Band Club in Corby, somewhere between the bar and the cigarette machine. A foundling; a fantasist; a morose, threatening drinker who was quick with his hands, he hadn't seen his son for years.
John Burnside's extraordinary story of this failed relationship is a beautifully written evocation of a lost and damaged world of childhood and the constants of his father's world: men defined by the drink they could take and the pain they could stand, men shaped by their guilt and machismo.
A Lie About My Father is about forgiving but not forgetting, about examining the way men are made and how they fall apart, about understanding that in order to have a good son you must have a good father.
'Memoir this good illuminates something larger than itself. It is an exercise in understanding, compassion and forgiveness' Sunday Telegraph
Saltire Scottish Book of the Year and the Scottish Arts Council Non-Fiction Book of the Year.
Arvustused
Compelling and profoundly moving... This exquisitely written memoir is, literally, a journey into a heart of darkness - a darkness here lit up by beauty and truth * Independent * An exceptional book... A brilliant feat of sympathy and imagination * Financial Times * Burnside's prose is a delight...Memoir this good illuminates something larger than itself. It is an exercise in understanding compassion and forgiveness -- Melanie McGrath * Sunday Telegraph * [ An] exquisitely written memoir -- Paul Bailey * Sunday Times * Destined to become a classic of Scots childhood... A beautiful read, but also a brutal one * Scotland on Sunday * Superbly written; poetic in the best sense, summoning up a world of terror and beauty * Literary Review * This account of a failed father-son relationship is written with extraordinary beauty and insight... His is a profound meditation on the life of the spirit, and the shadows we all carry in our hearts -- Bel Mooney * The Times * Marvellously written scenes...few people write more hauntingly... His prose has a poet's delicacy and fine-honed precision -- Tim Jeal * Daily Telegraph * Anyone who has read Gosse, Ackerley or Tobias Wolff will know that big books can be made about small-time fathers. It's a tribute to Burnside that he maps this same territory and prompts these comparisons while creating a story that is uniquely his -- Blake Morrison * Guardian * This is a haunting read that will linger long after you close the pages of this book -- Michelle Stanistreet * Daily Express *
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Winner of Sundial Scottish Arts Council Book Award: Non-Fiction 2007.A breathtakingly beautiful memoir of childhood, A Lie About My Father was the Saltire Scottish Book of the Year and the Scottish Arts Council Non-Fiction Book of the Year.
John Burnside was among the most acclaimed writers of his generation. His novels, short stories, poetry and memoirs won numerous awards, including the Geoffrey Faber Memorial, Saltire Scottish Book of the Year and, in 2023, he received the David Cohen Prize for a lifetimes achievement in literature. In 2011 Black Cat Bone won both the Forward and the T.S. Eliot Prizes for poetry. He died in 2024.
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