The Fathers - by John J Niven (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

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 . . .

Review Quotes

"So many books are described as hilarious and so very few are. But Niven knows his comedy, and he treads where others fear to go . . . When the writing's this good, and this urgent, I'll take the swagger, too. Indeed, and I can barely believe it myself, these are some of the passages of The Fathers I enjoyed most of all" iNews

"An acid-drop sharp exploration of modern fatherhood" iPaper

"Niven is on fine form, inventive and excruciatingly funny, but beneath his darkly comic prose lurks a hitherto unseen tenderness" Mail on Sunday

"A witty account of parenthood and masculinity" Independent

"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

"The Fathers continues to examine tough subjects that aren't often explored from a male perspective, like fertility and grief" Sunday Post

"Parenting, class and male mental health are tackled with dark humour"-- "Grazia"

"A hilarious and harrowing piece of brilliance"--LUCY MANGAN

"[Niven's] best novel yet"--SARAH PINBOROUGH

"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

"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

"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

About the Author

John Niven is the author of eleven novels, including Kill Your Friends, The Second Coming and Straight White Male. He has written a memoir, O Brother, and as a screenwriter his credits include The Trip, Kill Your Friends and How to Build a Girl.

@estellecostanza