And When Did You Last See Your Father?

Description

And when did you last see your father? Was it when they burnt the coffin? Put the lid on it? When he exhaled his last breath? When he last sat up and said something? When he last recognized me? When he last smiled? Blake Morrison's memoir is a candid, profoundly moving reflection on his relationship with his father, Arthur. Following Arthur's cancer diagnosis, Blake witnesses the slow erosion of the man he once knew. As his father's battle with the disease unfurls, Blake reflects on growing up with Arthur in Yorkshire and their relationship in the years since he left home. From Arthur's penchant for saving money - and the lengths he'd go to do so - to his wayward behavior on family holidays, Blake's fearless account resists an unwavering celebration of his father, showing him to be outlandish and recalcitrant, as well as capturing his humorous and caring qualities. The result is a rich, nuanced portrait of their relationship, capturing the accommodations and resentments that lie cloistered within familial love. And When Did You Last See Your Father? is a classic of the confessional memoir genre; a raw and shimmering interrogation of father-son relationships, masculinity, selfhood and pride.

BLAKE MORRISON was born in Skipton, Yorkshire. He is the author of a novel - As If - two memoirs, two collections of poetry, critical studies, and a children's book. And When Did You Last See Your Father? won the Waterstones/Esquire/Volvo Awar for Non-Fiction and the J.R. Ackerley Prize for Autobiography. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and is Professor of Creative and Life Writing at Goldsmiths College. He lives in London.

A painful, funny, frightening, moving, marvellous book ... everybody should read it -- Nick Hornby Tender, honest, angry, loyal, this extraordinary book balances the life, illness and death of a forceful father with the feelings of his independent son * The Times * This luminous tribute to a beloved dad made me laugh until I cried and cry till my nostrils were raw. A masterpiece - one of those books that you treasure forever -- Val Hennessy A marvellous piece of family literature. He says much about death and dying and more about life and living. Sometimes harrowing, sometimes funny, above all, unforgettably humane * Sydney Morning Herald * A splendid book ... it leaps with life * Irish Times * More than any novel could be, And when did you last see your father? is the once-only, all-or-nothing book of a poet: the life held up so close to one's face that one can smell it, touch it, marvel at the power of words to unlock and unravel, then pour helter-skelter over our heads this magical brainstorm of memories * Spectator * Joy and pain are both imminent and distant as the book rocks back and forth between life and death and, while it lasts, it is visceral and real * Observer * Wonderful, eternally moving... I don't think anyone has ever written better about the relationship between fathers and sons -- Tony Parsons * Mail on Sunday *