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Fathers in Fiction

May 27, 2022

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5m

To celebrate Father’s Day, it’s the turn of fictional dads to take the limelight. From classic novels to dystopia, crime and children’s favourites, there are fun and formidable father figures who stand out on the page and are etched in our memories. Here are a few of our favourites

The Silly Dad: Harry Wormwood, Matilda

Used-car salesman Harry Wormwood is not what you’d call a good role model. He relishes cheating his clients and making fun of his daughter Matilda when she eschews the Wormwood television obsession for books. A typical over-the-top Dahl creation, Harry Wormwood is more a figure of fun than authority, and he becomes increasingly ridiculous as Matilda is empowered through reading.

The Dedicated Dad: Odysseus, The Odyssey

If you thought cheering on the sidelines of a football match in the driving rain was the ultimate in parental dedication, you clearly need to dust off your edition of The Odyssey. Having fought in one of the most brutal military campaigns in ancient history, Odysseus spent ten painful years trying to get home to his wife and son. Following encounters with Scylla and Charybdis, a storm sent by Poseidon, and a battle with a Cyclops, he clocked up several thousand sea miles and a fantastic collection of after-dinner anecdotes.

The Fun Dad: Caractacus Potts, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

An eccentric inventor? An idyllic rural life? A magical flying car? Who wouldn’t want to spend their childhood under the erratic and endlessly exciting care of the lovable Caractacus Potts? As madcap as his inventions, single dad Caractacus is also besotted with his children and intent on giving them a carefree childhood.

The Devoted Dad: The Man, The Road

A man guides his son through the appalling landscape of post-apocalyptic America, and it is their incredible bond that keeps them alive and clinging to hope. The unconditional love of a father for his son makes this novel a particularly difficult read but is also powerful and redemptive. The man protects, educates and nurtures his son, one day at a time and that is the most precious of gifts a parent can give.

The Mysterious Dad: Koichi Tamura, Kafka on the Shore

To call Koichi Tamura a ‘hands-off’ dad would be an understatement. A renowned sculptor who leaves his son to pretty much handle his own life, Koichi delivers a devastating prophecy that Kafka will kill him, as well as sleep with his own mother. It’s hardly surprising that 14-year-old Kafka takes his chances out in the world when he runs away from home to escape the toxic atmosphere and the oppression of the evil prophecy.

The Gangster dad: Vito Corleone, The Godfather

No one’s going to mess with you in the playground if they know your dad is Vito Corleone. Loved by his family and friends, feared by pretty much everyone else, Vito is a man to be reckoned with.

Shop the Father's Day Edit

Roald Dahl Collection

Discover the fantastical worlds of The BFG, The Witches and Matilda in the second whizzpopping Folio Society set of much-loved Roald Dahl stories, featuring Quentin Blake’s iconic black-and-white illustrations and the classic texts.

The Odyssey

The greatest quest ever written is published as a stunning Folio edition that pairs Robert Fagles’s renowned translation with the illustrations of Grahame Baker-Smith.

The Road

Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Road is presented as a Folio collector’s edition, with artist Gérard DuBois’s beautiful and desolate illustrations and Michael Chabon’s New York Review of Books essay.

Kafka on the Shore

Newly introduced by Haruki Murakami, this outstanding Folio Society collector’s edition of Kafka on the Shore.

The Godfather

Mario Puzo’s brilliant and brutal story of Mafia feuds and retribution in post-war New York is published in a sensational new illustrated Folio Society edition, introduced by Jonathan Freedland.

Illustrations © Quentin Blake, from Matilda; © Grahame Baker-Smith from The Odyssey; © John Burningham from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang; © Gérard DuBois from The Road © Daniel Liévano from Kafka on the Shore; © Robert Carter from The Godfather.