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A Lie About My Father
Brief Description
John Burnside recalls the failed relationship with his father, in the first of his trilogy of exquisite memoirs - with a new introduction by Megan Nolan. A Lie About My Father is a beautifully written evocation of a lost and damaged world of childhood and the...
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A Lie About My Father
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Description
John Burnside recalls the failed relationship with his father, in the first of his trilogy of exquisite memoirs - with a new introduction by Megan Nolan.
A Lie About My Father is a beautifully written evocation of a lost and damaged world of childhood and the constants of his father's world β men defined by the drink they could take and the pain they could stand, men shaped by their guilt and machismo.
'A master of language' β Hilary Mantel
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 about forgiving but not forgetting, about examining the way men are made and how they fall apart, and 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' β Sunday Telegraph
A Lie About My Father was awarded the Saltire Scottish Book of the Year and the Scottish Arts Council Non-Fiction Book of the Year.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781529962888
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 07 August 2025
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Vintage
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 35.0mm
Width: 129.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 500g
Pages: 352
About the Author
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 lifetime's 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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