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It's almost time for Fathers Day, the day that retail decides all dads are into cars, football, beer and the SAS. Here are some novel recommendations for dads who don't. #alternativefathersday 1/12
The transportative and brilliant Kitch by Anthony Joseph for example. The story of Lord Kitchener, Windrush, Calypso and post-war London, it is a book not just full of music, but full of the extremities of life. 2/12 https://www.waterstones.com/book/kitch/anthony-joseph/9781845234195
Sticking with music, the furiously compelling White Tears by Hari Kunzru examines our complex relationship with music and those who create it. An unconventional and unusual novel. 3/12 https://www.waterstones.com/book/white-tears/hari-kunzru/9780241977873
Unusual is one way to describe Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin, visionary, scary and unsettling are three more. One of the world’s most inventive writers at the top of her game 4/12 https://www.waterstones.com/book/little-eyes/samanta-schweblin/megan-mcdowell/97817860779294/11
Both Schweblin and Cristina Rivera Garza owe a debt to David Lynch (who doesn’t?) and The Taiga Syndrome is as deeply weird as Lynch, but this is very much her own territory. I read it one hit. 5/12 https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-taiga-syndrome/cristina-rivera-garza/suzanne-jill-levine/9781911508687
If you’re looking for something to appeal to those who binge on TV crime, try 1.Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchior. It’s an experimental Mexican noir that does things no TV show can. 6/12 https://www.waterstones.com/book/hurricane-season/fernanda-melchor/sophie-hughes/9781913097097
For something a little more conventional, don’t miss out on Jacob Ross. The Bone Readers introduces Michael 'Digger' Digson and the island of Camaho, and is a truly masterful crime novel. 7/12 https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-bone-readers/jacob-ross/9781845233358
There are a welter of political non fiction titles around, but novels can do something different. This Brutal House by Niven Govinden goes inside a struggle, and a movement, in a hugely affecting way. 8/12 https://www.waterstones.com/book/this-brutal-house/niven-govinden/9780349700694
Philadelphia Fire by John Edgar Wideman is a stone cold classic, and shows the effects of police brutality on a community. 9/12 https://www.waterstones.com/book/philadelphia-fire/john-edgar-wideman/9781786892034
If all of these sound a bit serious for your joker dad, be sure to give them Oreo by Fran Ross, the funniest book you’ll probably ever read: think Richard Pryor by way of Sarah Silverman. 10/12 https://www.waterstones.com/book/oreo/fran-ross/9781509888467
Similarly, Lissa Evans is one of the UK finest writers of serious funny books. Old Baggage would be my pick. 11/12 https://www.waterstones.com/book/old-baggage/lissa-evans/9781784161217
And finally. If all these fail and the dad in your life likes nuclear paranoia, ghosts of Kate Bush, agents of control, imaginary books, unwatched football matches and stupid drunken promises, may I suggest #theblindlight? 12/12 https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-blind-light/stuart-evers/9781529030976.
