James Wood for Show Us the Father

‘A majestic double portrait, gorgeous, spirited, tragic, the pain of it leavened by laughter and music.’ ~ Helen Garner

Born in Durham in 1965, James Wood has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 2007. He was the chief literary critic at the Guardian from 1992 to 1995, and a senior editor at The New Republic from 1995 to 2007. His books include How Fiction Works, which has been translated into fifteen languages.

In this piercing, witty memoir, James Wood reflects on the story of his childhood in 1970s Durham and sets out to uncover the mystery of his father, asking how a loving family man could refuse his past.

James Wood grew up in a household shaped by evangelical fervour, social ambition and the peculiar faultlines of English class.

His mother, Sheila, was anxious, aspirational and determined to elevate her family, whatever the cost. His father, Dennis, was mild, generous and so selfless that his son sometimes wondered whether he possessed a self at all.

And yet Dennis had a secret. An atheist turned Anglican vicar, devoted husband and generous father, he had left his own family behind and never spoke of them.

The result is a tender portrait of a complicated household – and a richly observed story of faith, shame, ambition and the English post-war consciousness.