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In literature, at least, most family sagas conform to a fairly simple pattern: rise and fall. Seldom, however, does this narrative arc take so concrete a shape as it does in Our Fathers. The hero of Andrew O'Hagan's first novel has spent the postwar era preaching the virtues of modern housing: "Most of the high-rises on the west coast of Scotland were made, or inspired, out of Hugh Bawn's zeal, and his tireless days as a housing boss. A priest of steel decking and concrete was Hugh." Yet the novel is narrated by this master builder's grandson, Jamie, who happens to make his living as an urban demolition expert. More than once he's helped to tear down the very edifices his grandfather erected--setting off both literal and Oedipal explosions in the process.
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Now, however, Hugh is on his deathbed, and Jamie has returned to Ayrshire to make peace with the old man. Not surprisingly, he also finds himself reckoning with the shadow of his father--a brutal drunk who managed to alienate three generations of the family in one go. As its title suggests, O'Hagan's novel is primarily a meditation on paternity, which in Scotland, anyway, seems to amount to the kiss of death:
In my father's anger there was something of the nation. Everything torn from the ground; his mind like a rotten field.... Our fathers were made for grief. They were broken-backed. They were sick at heart, weak in the bones. All they wanted was the peace of defeat. They couldn't live in this world. They couldn't stand who they were.To his credit, Jamie can hardly stand who he is, either: he senses that grief and weakness aren't merely national conditions but human ones. And as Andrew O'Hagan's mouthpiece, he attains some splendid rhetorical heights. Yet his voice gets muffled, and sometimes silenced entirely, by the author's multigenerational ambitions. There are too many Bawns in this novel, too many tales, and too many miserable transactions between father and son. O'Hagan's prose is perhaps worth the price of admission. Yet Our Fathers, like the Scots communities that Jamie so explosively reshapes, is itself a victim of excessive sprawl. --James Marcus
Andrew O’Hagan is the author of the novels Our Fathers, Personality, and, most recently, Be Near Me, longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. His work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New York Review of Books, the New Yorker, and The Guardian (U.K.). In 2003, O’Hagan was named one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists. He lives in London, England.
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- PublisherFaber & Faber
- Publication date1999
- ISBN 10 0571195024
- ISBN 13 9780571195022
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Rating
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Our Fathers
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Faber & Faber, United Kingdom, London
(1999)
ISBN 10: 0571195024
ISBN 13: 9780571195022
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Fair. The theme of this Scottish Catholic novel is the collision of the old Scotland of municipal socialism and the new. That collision is dramatized in the story of the narrator's grandfather, an ambitious but misguided social improver. A readable copy of the book which may include some defects such as highlighting and notes. Cover and pages may be creased and show discolouration. Seller Inventory # GOR012789795
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Our Fathers
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Book Description Condition: Very Good. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. Seller Inventory # 46588207-6
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Our Fathers [SIGNED COPY]
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. Signed by Andrew O'Hagan under his name on the title page. Gray cloth with spine titles in black, octavo. Fine copy in a fine dust jacket in a mylar protector. Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # 090396
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. VG in a like unclipped jkt. No markings. Guaranteed condition; propmt deptach. Seller Inventory # 005097
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Our Fathers
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Like New. Publisher: Faber & Faber, London, 1999. First Edition, First Printing. FINE hardcover book in FINE dust-jacket. PRISTINE. As New. Unread. NOT marked. NOT price-clipped. NOT remainder marked. NOT faded. NOT a book club edition. NOT an ex-library copy. All of our books with dust-jackets are shipped in fresh, archival-safe mylar protective sleeves. Seller Inventory # SKU1013990
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Our Fathers
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. light grey boards with black lettering on the spine. The dust jacket is covered with a clear plastic wrapper and is in a very good condition. The pages are bright and in a very good condition. The book is in a very good condition. Seller Inventory # 012151
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Our Fathers A Novel
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good+. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good+. First Edition. First English Edition. "Andrew O'Hagan's story is a poignant and powerful reclamation of the past and a clear-sighted look at our relationship with personal and public history." Ships same or next business day. Moderate edge wear. Bumps on top corners. Small bumps on spine ends and bottom corners. Tanning to edges of pages. Overall, pages are clean and tight. Dust jacket protected in archival cover. DJ has moderate edge and shelf wear. Small creases on corners and spine ends. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 282 pages. Seller Inventory # 74847
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Book Description hardcover. Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Seller Inventory # S_348978271
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. ALL ITEMS ARE DISPATCHED FROM THE UK WITHIN 48 HOURS ( BOOKS ORDERED OVER THE WEEKEND DISPATCHED ON MONDAY) ALL OVERSEAS ORDERS SENT BY TRACKABLE AIR MAIL. IF YOU ARE LOCATED OUTSIDE THE UK PLEASE ASK US FOR A POSTAGE QUOTE FOR MULTI VOLUME SETS BEFORE ORDERING. Seller Inventory # mon0000792104
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Our Fathers
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. Light bump to the spine head, otherwise as new and unread. Seller Inventory # 008760
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