A few weeks ago, I shared my list of recommended books about mothers and motherhood. This week, to commemorate Father’s Day, I’ve created a similar list of great reads about fathers.
Like my Moms’ list, Dads come in all shapes and sizes and bring all sorts of drama and emotional nuance to these stories. In some instances, Dads were a minor character or a deceased one that still left a major influence on an adult child, sometimes many years later (Shoeless Joe), while others are the main character of the novel trying to make their way in the world while providing a good life for their children (The Shipping News). I’ve also included one memoir, a positive reflection on a father’s love of sports that was passed on to his daughter (The Best Seat in the House).
In almost every book, the father character brings intrigue and conflict. You can’t ignore the impact a father has on their child—for good, bad or indifferent.
By the way, most of these are also films, so if you don’t feel like reading, you can always watch the story unfold on the screen.
Without further delay, here are my best book recommendations with strong father figure characters. You may have your own list, of course. What books have you read that featured a strong father figure character?
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Told from the point of view of six-year-old Scout Finch, readers not only learn about life in the South during the Great Depression, but about Scout’s relationship with her father, Atticus, a widower and a lawyer who wants justice to be served and to bring up his children right.
Bee Season by Myla Goldberg
As Eliza attempts to win the national spelling bee, her father becomes obsessed with her success. As she gets deeper and deeper into her “training” under her father’s tutelage, the family’s connections begin to unravel. Readers see how controlling her father becomes, which impacts all his familial relationships.
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Not everyone appreciates the name they’re given at birth. Gogol is haunted by his name, given to him by his father who named him after an author he had always admired but who came with a lot of baggage. The unease that Gogol feels about his name fuels many of the conflicts in his life, especially those with his father.
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Set in 1964, this is a coming-of-age story about 14-year-old Lily who runs away from home with the family housekeeper in search for the truth about her mother. I included this book on this list for the impact Lily’s father had on her life and the final showdown she has with him in an attempt to claim her independence.
Disgrace by J. M. Coetze
After being accused of sexual misconduct by a student, English professor David Lurie leaves the university “disgraced” and moves to South Africa where his daughter Lucy lives. There he attempts to mend the broken pieces of their relationship.
Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult
Life isn’t always the way we believe it to be. Delia’s life is turned upside down when she learns that she was kidnapped by her father when she was four, an incident she has little memory of. As events unfold, Delia is forced to confront some hard truths about her father (and mother), though she stays loyal to him in the end.
Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella
The movie Field of Dreams is based on this novel by W.P. Kinsella. Farmer Ray Kinsella heeds the call to build a baseball field in the middle of his Iowa cornfield. As he follows a trail of clues, he ponders his life without his long deceased father who had longed to be a baseball player. Each step takes him closer to his ultimate reward—reuniting briefly with his father.
The Shipping News by L Annie Prouix
When Quoyle loses both his parents to suicide and his wife leaves him for a younger lover, he moves with his children to Newfoundland to a house that was in his family for generations. What struck me most about this story was Quoyle’s dedication to his children and his willingness to uproot their lives and start over in an part of the world to protect them from the pain and grief he has suffered through.
The Hundred Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais
One of my favorite books and a pretty decent film. After their restaurant in India is destroyed by fire, killing their mother, an Indian family moves to London, then to Paris where young son Hassain begins to find his way in the culinary world against his father’s wishes who wants him to remain true to his Indian roots. Despite his gruff manner, Hassain’s father truly loves his family, and readers see determined he is to keep the family together as they struggle to adapt to life in a new country.
The Best Seat in the House by Christine Brennan
If you read USA Today, you no doubt have read some of Brennan’s stories. She’s covered sports for several decades at a time when few women covered the sports beat. In this memoir, Brennan pays homage to her father, an avid baseball and football fan who followed the Detroit Tigers, Toledo Mud Hens (the Tigers minor league team) and Notre Dame. It’s a fun read to learn how father and daughter can bond over sports. These are all great reads, by the way, no matter what time of year. And you don’t have to be a father yourself to enjoy them.
The Regal Writer 