Father's Day: A Novel - Hardcover

Van Booy, Simon

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062408941 ISBN 13: 9780062408945

Publisher: Harper, 2016

Synopsis

When devastating news shatters the life of six-year-old Harvey, she finds herself in the care of a veteran social worker, Wanda, and alone in the world save for one relative she has never met—a disabled felon, haunted by a violent past he can't escape.

Moving between past and present, Father’s Day weaves together the story of Harvey’s childhood on Long Island and her life as a young woman in Paris. Written in raw, spare prose that personifies the characters, this novel is the journey of two people searching for a future in the ruin of their past.

Father's Day is a meditation on the quiet, sublime power of compassion, and the beauty of simple, everyday things--a breakthrough work from one of our most gifted chroniclers of the human heart.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

“A strong voice full of poetic, timeless grace.”—San Francisco Examiner

When devastating news shatters the life of six-year-old Harvey, she finds herself in the care of a veteran social worker, Wanda, and alone in the world save for one relative she has never met—a disabled felon, haunted by a violent act he can’t escape.

Moving between past and present, Father’s Day weaves together the story of Harvey’s childhood on Long Island and her life as a young woman in Paris.

Written in raw, spare prose that personifies the characters, this remarkable novel is the journey of two people searching for a future in the ruin of their past.

Father’s Day is a meditation on the quiet, sublime power of compassion and the beauty of simple, everyday things—a breakthrough work from one of our most gifted chroniclers of the human heart.

Praise for Father’s Day and Simon Van Booy

“Father’s Day is the moving account of a unique relationship between a parent and child thrust together under the worst of circumstances.”—Elizabeth Crane, author of The History of Great Things

“Deftly portrays his characters’ raw emotions.”—Wall Street Journal

“The uncanny beauty of Van Booy’s prose and his ability to knife straight to the depths of a character’s heart fill a reader with wonder.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“This is a truly special writer who does things with abstract language that are so evocative and original your breath literally catches in your chest.”—Andre Dubus III

“Van Booy tells his stories without affectation, but ever so effectively as a stylist and a devout humanist.”—Portland Press Herald

About the Author:

Simon Van Booy is the author of two novels and two collections of short stories, including The Secret Lives of People in Love and Love Begins in Winter, which won the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award. He is the editor of three philosophy books and has written for The New York Times, The Guardian, NPR, and the BBC. His work has been translated into fourteen languages. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and daughter.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0062408941
• ISBN 13: 9780062408945
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304