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The Fathers

By John Niven
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Brief Description
'A blockbusting explosion of toxic masculinity' Spectator In a busy maternity ward, first-time father Dan meets Jada, a dad welcoming his fifth - no, sixth? - child into the world. But Dan and Jada come from very different places: both called Glasgow. Dan is a successful... Read More
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Acid-drop sharp and laced with compassion, this wry look at modern fatherhood from the author of Kill Your Friends finds the lives of two very different dads brought together by unexpected tragedy

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'A blockbusting explosion of toxic masculinity' Spectator

In a busy maternity ward, first-time father Dan meets Jada, a dad welcoming his fifth - no, sixth? - child into the world. But 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. When a tragedy occurs, Dan and Jada's worlds are brought closer than either could ever have imagined - close enough that it could mean destruction for both of them...

'Outrageous' MARINA HYDE

"A class satire with grit... Very funny... A comic melodrama that's never dull" ― Guardian

"Without losing any of the propulsive, sweary energy or outrageous comedy of his early work, Niven has added real, lingering depth to his fiction. It's this new richness of heart that makes The Fathers such a blockbusting explosion of toxic masculinity. A week after finishing it, I still feel my ears ringing as I wait for the smoke to clear" ― Spectator

"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 through [with] smart, funny, laser-focussed prose" ― Herald

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

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781837261123

Publisher: Canongate Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 04 June 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Canongate Books

Edition: Main

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 21.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 253g

Pages: 368

Collections

Fiction General Fiction John Niven Literary Fiction

About the Author

John Niven is the author of twelve books 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.

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