Philip Noble is 11. His dad has just perished in a car accident, and his uncle is acting a bit too friendly with Philip's newly widowed mom. To make matters worse, Philip's dad keeps making appearances (as a ghost), informing him of the truth about ghosts (they have all been murdered), and demanding that Philip avenge his death. However, the prescribed vengeance must be taken in "No Time," or his father's ghost will continue to suffer "the Terrors" and never find rest. We now owe another debt to Shakespeare, and one to Haig, for re-imagining a tragic masterpiece with such wit, force and – yes – originality. Kirkus Review (starred review) This is a very impressive novel; it’s being published as mainstream (and the Hamlet parallels throw it solidly into the literary-novel category rather than genre fantasy), but anyone with a passing familiarity with the plot of Hamlet could read it with great appreciation. Whatever you call it, it will be one of the major fantasy novels of 2007; it’s that good. Andrew Wheeler, senior editor at the Science Fiction Book Club What makes this work effective is that the narrative captures the anxiety of a timid boy, ridiculed by everyone, who must decide whether and how to kill his charismatic uncle. Hamlet never faced such difficulties. Recommended. Library Journal

The Dead Fathers Club - Matt Haig

And he smiled but in a sad way and he said Yes like a light bulb. It is hard tocontrol where I go but I am getting better. Phillip is encouraged by his deceased father to steal a mini-bus to supposedly prevent Alan from breaking into the pub and is shown several chemicals that could potentially kill his father's murderer. During this time Phillip is assigned to therapy sessions and begins a relationship with Leah, the daughter of a business partner in the garage Alan works at, which Brian does not approve of.PDF / EPUB File Name: The_Dead_Fathers_Club_-_Matt_Haig.pdf, The_Dead_Fathers_Club_-_Matt_Haig.epub Q. Unlike poor old Hamlet, Philip lives in an age when mental stability comes in little bottles. But the drugs really don’t work, do they? A. I’m not too precious. As someone who plays fast and loose with the Shakespearian canon, it would be a bit hypocritical of me if I stopped other people interpreting my own work in a different way to how I envisaged. And David Heyman, the film producer who has optioned The Dead Fathers Club, has a lot of great ideas of how he sees the film, so I’m happy to leave it in his capable hands. Les didnt look happy but Les never looks happy and that is why Dad always called him Les Miserable. And when I was looking at them Big Vic looked at me and normally when he looked at me he smiled or said something funny like Oi Philip its your round. But that day he looked away as soon as his eyes touched my eyes as if looking at my eyes could be dangerous or make him ill or as if my eyes had lasers in them that cut him in half. I moved my eyes and watched Mum and Uncle Alan and I wanted Uncle Alans hands to stop holding Mums hands and they did stop when Renuka went and talked to Mum. Renuka is Mums best friend who goes to Step class with her on Mondays and Thursdays where they step on boxes for an hour to make their bums smaller. Renuka had been with Mum lots this week and she had made 700 cups of tea and Uncle Alan looked cross now because when Renuka talks no one can fit words in because she doesnt have any spaces. I kept looking round the bar and Nan kept talking to me and that is when I saw him. That is when I saw Dads Ghost. Carla the Barmaidwas wearing her hoop earrings and her tired eyes. She was pouring a pint andshe smiled at me and she was going to say something but the beer spilt over thetop.

Reviews of The Dead Fathers Club by Matt Haig - BookBrowse

Hamlet parallels -- complete with similar plot twists -- are worked in so deftly that the reader never quite anticipates where the book will go next. Readers see the world, surprising and strange, through Philip's eyes. It's a tangled web of murder and lies, with a boy caught in the middle, trying to make sense of it all. The result is a confused yet perceptive narrator whose responses to the world he inhabits are darkly humorous and sometimes tragic. We now owe another debt to Shakespeare, and one to Haig, for re-imagining a tragic masterpiece with such wit, force, and-yes-originality." His voice sounded the same but different like he was standing far away but I couldhear him more clearly than ever. That doesnt make sense but that is how hesounded. During the course of his narrative, Philip Noble, commits a series of crimes that grow increasingly serious. Despite his criminal behavior, does he continue to move the sympathies of the reader? By what means does he do so? I was watching from the top of the stairs and they couldnt see me and I couldnthear them properly but I knew something was wrong from the way the policemanhad his hat on his chest.Dads Ghost looked at me with the most serious face I had ever seen like Norman Osborn in the first Spiderman when he has the nerve gas before he becomes the Green Goblin and he said By his phone were some keys. And I said What? He said By Mr Rosens phone there were some keys. They will be the keys to one of the mini buses. My face was now even more serious than Dads Ghosts face because I was very scared about what he was about to say and about what I was going to say and it was one of those times when you know the words before you say them but you say them anyway as if you are reading from a book and they went like this. He said You have to take the keys. I said Why? He said You have to drive the mini bus. I said I cant. A breathless see-saw between indecision and drama, between dark comedy and poignancy. Utterly compelling to its unpredictable climax, you won’t want to come up for air. Eve Magazine

The Dead Fathers Club: Reviews - Matt Haig The Dead Fathers Club: Reviews - Matt Haig

Leah confides to Philip that she hates God. By contrast, her father, Mr. Fairview, has turned enthusiastically toward religion after the death of his wife. What commentary does The Dead Fathers Club offer regarding religion, and how does religion influence events and relationships in the novel? We are already on our second full shipment of this terrific novel and we’re getting such great responses from the early readers. Very highly recommended. Rakestraw Readers Recommend – the Best in New Books And he was smiling and his big hands were holding his glass of whisky on his bigstomach. And he went over and touched my shoulder and he said Are you all rightPhilip? Carol Suzzane Noble– Mother of Phillip, Carol marries Alan and is unaware of the presence of Brian’s ghost. Phillip cares a lot for his mother, who is one of his only last sources of comfort.A. I think it is. He clearly can’t come to terms with the sudden absence of his father so he ends up over-compensating through the creation of a world that only he can see. Grief’s a bit like that, isn’t it? It’s like the ‘phantom limb’ amputees feel. Your mind takes a while to get used to a devastating new reality. Phillip eventually tries to murder Alan using the chemicals, but he is forced to abandon his first two attempts. In the third attempt, which involves setting fire to his uncle's car garage, Phillip accidentally causes the death of Leah's father. Phillip's conscience eventually leads him to attempt to confess the arson to Leah, who is depressed and slightly delusional at this point. When attempting to confess, Phillip sees the ghost of Leah's father, who attempts to pressure Phillip and make him feel guilty for his acts. Phillip then attempts to confess to Leah's brother Dane, who pulls a knife on Phillip but does not hurt him and instead tells Phillip not to tell Leah about the arson. His dad, who was killed in a car accident, appears as a bloodstained ghost at his own funeral and introduces Philip to the Dead Fathers Club. The club, whose members were all murdered, gathers outside the Castle and Falcon, the local pub that Philip’s family owns and lives above. Philip learns that the person responsible for his father’s death is his Uncle Alan. When Philip realizes that Uncle Alan has designs on his mom and the family pub, Philip decides that something must be done. But avenging his father’s death is a much bigger job than he anticipated, especially when he is caught up by the usual distractions of childhood—a pretty girl, wayward friends, school bullies, and his own self-doubt. A. I’ve got a children’s book, Shadow Forest, due out next year. It’s a fantasy book but in the Dahl rather than the Tolkien sense. I’m also working on another adult novel. During the course of his narrative, Philip Noble, commits a series of crimes, which grow increasingly serious. Despite his criminal behavior, does he continue to move the sympathies of the reader? By what means does he do so?