Customer Reviews

The Dead Father (Audible Modern Vanguard)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I hate experimental fiction. Don DeLillo and his ilk, they bore me; it's just a lot of fake cleverness. But this book, while you can't deny the avantness of its garde, is...well...the first page brings up the question of just what exactly is lodged in the supine, mile-tall Dead Father's teeth. "Mackerel salad. At least we think it is mackerel salad. In the sagas, it is mackerel salad." Wildly fantastic, caustically funny ( the sex scenes will make you fall out of your chair), prosodically innovative ( I believe Barthelme has invented his own verb tense) and yet, easy to follow and, really, with an old-fashioned plot. It is a parable about the overthrow of old tyrannies -- and in spite of all the literary smartaleckitude it is tender and genuinely moving. You have never read anybody like Barthelme, and if you can find this book anywhere (out of PRINT! how DARE they? ) treasure it. Nothing like it has ever been written or will be again. Sixty-eight stars (if they would allow it.)

Barthelme's best novel. As with all of his novel's there is not so much a plot as wonderful word play, black, absurdist humor, and a terrific sense of irony. This is the outrageous story of a small group of people toting their dead ruler--The Dead Father--to his burial ground. Both a pathetic and frightening character, The Dead Father only vaguely suspects what is happening to him, continuing to believe that he is being taken somewhere to be restored to life. This is the kind of novel you could get away with writing in the mid-20th century, a time of great experimentataion in literature. Unfortunately, those days appear to be over.

In relation to SNOW WHITE, this work contains more substance and is a greater literary effort than its predecessor. At the open we have 22 people, some Biblical while some are clearly not even representative, literally dragging God, not quite dead, through various roads, countryside, and towns in order to reach the plot in which He will be buried. Of course, it does not matter is He is dead when they reach their destination. The novel is one of Barthelme's more powerful tales and, as always, full of humor. One cannot read this without thinking that the Monty Python crew was somewhat influenced by this work, philosophically as well as from a creative standpoint. The one surprising footnote to this work is that it is a rather easy read, a linear narrative with definitive characters. Yet, as will all of Barthelme, is if never boring for even a page.

To call 'The Dead Father' a novel is a bit of stretch. It's more of a musing, a strange dream. What there is of a story here lacks focus. It's interesting for a bit, but grows tiresome. Perhaps the book's best part is a book within the book called 'The Manual for Sons', in which a number if differing father types are presented for satirical scrutiny: it's not a pretty picture; but it is entertaining.

The praise this novel receives is most likely attributed to its 'differentness', and given the time it was published, in the mid '70s, when there were plenty of calls for the death of the novel and such, and the continued march of post-modern games masquerading as novels, it's not surprising that the 'lit-heads' of the time were fascinated by this one. So if you like that sort of thing, this is for you. Otherwise try out Barthelme's short fiction first; it's far more rewarding - his true metier.

"The Dead Father" is a novel by Barthelme who is far more famous for his short stories. But fans of his short stories won't be surprised by anything in The Dead Father. All his trademarks are there: Long pages of odd dialogue, humorous lists, deadpan humor, metafiction, etc.

If you are new to Barthelme, I'd recommend "60 Stories" first (his short fiction is better), but "The Dead Father" is certainly the best of his 4 novels.

This is far and away Barthelme's most trenchant and acidic work. The gargantuan Dead Father is being dragged to his burial ground by some dispassionate former worshippers. Along the way they navigate the country of the Wends, who father themselves, and read the hilarious and savage A Manual for Sons. There has never been anything like this book. Barthelme nearly matches Voltaire for satiric violence and wit.

Though i must say i prefer his short stories, Don B has nothing short of a fab read here.

There was a point in the book where I realized in my head I had equated the DF to Bernie from 'Weekend at Bernie's'. If this isn't enjoyable, then I don't know what is.

It's been said that the perfect preface to the book is Plath's "Daddy" and I would have to agree.

I have mixed feelings about Barthelme, and this book mixes them up even more. Very funny scenes and sentences but it's impossible to follow what's happening, and when it's over (I just finished reading it last night) I forget almost completely what happened in it. (This guy is carrying his dead father around and they're talking to each other while encountering various adventures.

I preferred Paradise, which is very funny and sad. Guy who can't deal with all the women in his life who are always telling him what's wrong with him. Remember that one!

Barthelme makes humor and complexity look simple in this perfect little book. One wonders what it might have been like to be a creative writing student of his. His use of Post Modern conventions is genuinely unique and he wields a story of just enough depth to keep the reader guessing where it might take him next, but always comfortable in the passenger seat of Barthelme's vehicle. The book takes the reader on a journey wherein a god is disposed of, simply that. But the humorous way it transpires captivates and complicates things. The word play is delicious. The style is clever, but not too much so for its own good. The book is a veritable delight.

The Dead Father is a novel full of clever, astute observations on the nature of fatherhood. Here's the BUT: sadly, its potential is never fully realized. The characters are not fully developed, remaining shallow throughout the novel (the lecherous Dead Father is cowed into submission despite his considerable powers; Edmund is a drunk; Emma is interested in men to the exclusion of just about all else; Julie and Thomas and capable organizers, but paw at each other every five minutes.) The pages of dialogue between Emma and Julie (Barthelme doesn't provide surnames; perhaps that would detract from the 2-dimensional personalities that he created.) don't seem to have any purpose other than conveying the women's cattiness. Barthelme would have been better off ommiting the meaningless dialogue and expanding upon the context and the reasons for the trek. The Dead Father is NOT, in fact, God. Barthelme doesn't explain what he is (because clearly, he's not a human either). Nor does he explain what the people mean when they say that he is only partly dead, or why they want to burry him if he's not fully dead, or why they drag him along by a chain when he is capable of walking. Despite The Dead Father's weaknesses, it is one of the most interesting books I've read in some time. Although it is far too entertaining to be didactic, the underlying message is a condemnation of the growing problem of bad fathers. At one point in their journey, the group encounters the Wends. Wends procreate in such a way that they don't really understand the concept of fathers (they inseminate their own mothers and are therefore their own fathers). The Dead Father remarks that "those who are the fathers of themselves miss something. Fathers, to be precise." That same observation also applies to the growing epidemic of fatherless children in America. It is a pity that this book is no longer in print; perhaps we need it more than ever.