A LIE ABOUT MY FATHER

John Burnside recalls the failed relationship with his father in the first of his trilogy of exquisite memoirsWith a new introduction by Megan Nolan A master of language Hilary MantelHe 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 a beautifully written evocation of a lost and damaged world of childhood and the constants of his father s world men defined by the drink they could take and the pain they could stand men shaped by their guilt and machismo A Lie About My Father 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 Sunday TelegraphSaltire Scottish Book of the Year and the Scottish Arts Council Non Fiction Book of the Year