Ann S. Epstein writes novels, short stories, memoir, essays, and poems. Please use the links or site menu to go to the HOME PAGE; learn about her NOVELS, SHORT STORIES, MEMOIR, ESSAYS, and POEMS; find interesting facts in BEHIND THE STORY; read REFLECTIONS on writing; check NEWS for updates on publications and related events; see REVIEWS; learn about her END-OF-LIFE DOULA credentials and services; and CONTACT US to send webmail.
Shakespeare’s King Lear, who prefers flattery to love, rewards his scheming daughters Regan and Goneril and disowns the faithful Cordelia. Lear goes mad; suicide and deaths ensue. Not one of The Bard’s comedies. For the story of another bad dad, read The Great Stork Derby, based on an actual contest in which a husband pressures his wife to have babies for cash and, fifty years later, learns the true meaning of fatherhood. Read more about the book in NOVELS.
My Goodreads and Amazon review of Aviary by Deirdre McNamer (Rating 3) – Caged Characters. When Aviary by Deirdre McNamer was published, about a developer’s scheme to take over a retirement residence in pre-COVID Montana, I was already well into well into my novel-in-progress about a similar venture at an old age home, albeit set in 1960s Michigan. Hence, I read this book with curiosity about how the subject was treated, and dismay that another writer had beaten me to it. I was relieved to discover that while McNamer and I both tell our stories from multiple viewpoints, including seniors and other community members, our tales are otherwise quite different. Aviary is in many ways a mystery: Who is behind a fire in the building? Why have the manager and an elderly tenant disappeared? Is a troubled teenager connected to these events? I found the loose ends and far-fetched plot elements unsatisfying. Aviary is also meant to explore how the elderly come to terms with life’s disappointments and losses as they weigh how, or even whether, to go on living. However, among McNamer’s quirky and stereotypical characters, I was invested in the fate of only one, Cassie McMackin, whose portrait is itself sketchy. Ultimately, the varied cast is an aviary of caged birds, desperate to be freed by the author. As a fiction writer (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I don’t limit myself to likable protagonists. But they should be complex enough to make readers reflect on their motivations and assess the “fitness” of their actions. In the end, McNamer prizes the mysteries of plot rather than those of character.
In Alison Bechdel’s award-winning graphic memoir Fun Home, she describes her emotionally abusive dad as “an alchemist of appearance, a savant of surface, a Daedalus of decor” given his knack for home restoration and leading a double life as a gay man fixated on in teenage boys. No wonder the book is subtitled “A Family Tragicomic.” For the story of another bad dad, read The Great Stork Derby, based on an actual contest in which a husband pressures his wife to have babies for cash and, fifty years later, learns the true meaning of fatherhood. Read more about the book in NOVELS.
Culla Holme, the father in Cormac McCarthy’s novel Outer Dark, impregnates his sister Rinthy. After she gives birth, he leaves the infant in the woods to die, lying to Rinthy that the baby died of natural causes and was buried. Then Culla skips town. Bad dad. Bad bro. Bad guy. For the story of another bad dad, read The Great Stork Derby, based on an actual contest in which a husband pressures his wife to have babies for cash and, fifty years later, learns the true meaning of fatherhood. Read more about the book in NOVELS.
In Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, Humbert Humbert can’t be anything but a terrible stepfather with a name that suggests humbug and fake humility. Although books about pedophiles are now common, Nabokov’s 1955 novel broke new ground by exposing how Humbert justified his vile acts by blaming his twelve-year-old victim for seducing him. For the story of another bad dad, read The Great Stork Derby, based on an actual contest in which a husband pressures his wife to have babies for cash and, fifty years later, learns the true meaning of fatherhood. Read more about the book in NOVELS.
Ivan the Terrible, who ruled Russia from 1533 to 1584, beat his pregnant daughter-in-law for wearing revealing clothes. She miscarried. When her husband (also named Ivan) protested, the czar beat his heir on the head with a scepter. His son died a few days later, while Ivan the Terrible prayed at his bedside for a miracle. For the story of another bad dad, read The Great Stork Derby, based on an actual contest in which a husband pressures his wife to have babies for cash and, fifty years later, learns the true meaning of fatherhood. Read more about the book in NOVELS.
In 1533, Thomas Boleyn, father of Anne Boleyn, coerced his daughter to marry King Henry VIII to improve his own standing in court. Three years later, having failed to produce a male heir, Anne was beheaded for high treason. Thomas, despite his influence, did nothing to save her. For the story of another bad dad, read The Great Stork Derby, based on an actual contest in which a husband pressures his wife to have babies for cash and, fifty years later, learns the true meaning of fatherhood. Read more about the book in NOVELS.
Reams have been written about horrendous mothers, but what about terrible fathers? In conjunction with the publication of my novel The Great Stork Derby, based on an actual contest in which a husband pressures his wife to have babies for cash and, fifty years later, must learn the true meaning of fatherhood, I’m collecting “bad dad” stories about real and fictional characters who fall short of the ideal. From ancient times (the Old Testament; Greek mythology) to the present (true crime podcasts; graphic novels and memoirs), there’s no shortage of cringe-worthy candidates. No doubt you have your own favorites drawn from personal experience, lurid news accounts, and imaginary demons. Enjoy my series of bad dad posts, and read The Great Stork Derby. Read more about the book in NOVELS.
My Goodreads and Amazon review of Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi (Rating 3) – Neither Acrid Nor Sweet Enough. I was frankly disappointed by Avni Doshi’s acclaimed novel Burnt Sugar. Her portrait of an artistic daughter’s abuse by her mother, now suffering from dementia, echoes too many others to offer a fresh perspective. As a visual artist, I hoped Doshi would describe the creative process of her protagonist, Antara, and render her drawings vividly enough for me to picture them. She does neither. As a writer (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I looked for finely observed details about the setting, fully developed characters, and revelatory interactions. While Doshi’s cultural commentary is intriguing, especially on the differences between the narrator’s Indian-born upbringing and her husband’s American-born Indian background, much of this rich territory goes unexplored. Nor did her images of Pune today, and the ashram where Antara and her mother lived during Antara’s childhood, provide the depth I wanted. The main drawback was that I wasn’t invested in the characters; ergo Antara’s secret and postpartum meltdown did not elicit much reaction. Burnt Sugar is neither acrid nor sweet enough to deliver a shiver of surprise nor the satisfaction of inevitability.
“In many ways, writing is the act of saying ‘I,’ of imposing oneself upon other people, of saying listen to me, see it my way, change your mind. It’s an aggressive, even a hostile act . . . setting words on paper is the tactic of a secret bully” (Joan Didion, “Why I Write,” New York Times Book Review, 12/05/76). Didion’s incisive writing filled me with admiration. Yet her skill at voicing opinions antithetical to mine, most notably in her early pro-conservative years, also aroused my aggravation. Didion’s scathing arguments didn’t win me over, but I resented her for being such a good adversary.
