Dad And me by Sarah Brydon Brown
A family's flaws can teach you life's greatest lessons.
This book is difficult to review. It is a truism to say that every reader brings an individual, idiosyncratic persona to every book, but that is the problem here
It would be very easy to consider it as a variety of the "self - help" genre - learn from my solutions to my dysfunctional family and upbringing.
Equally, it is a "coming of age" story, though it is difficult at times to decide whether it's the writer's story or her father's.
In either case, it's not easy to see how the revelations Bryden - Brown receives can be relevant to people with a completely different story - no matter how functional or dysfunctional they are.
On the other hand, this reads comfortably as light fiction, though again that may reflect on this reader.
Is this because the reviewer is old enough to remember "Dr. Strangelove - and how I learned to love the bomb" It's a bit like that.
Read it for yourself and make up your own mind.
REVIEWER: KATHRYN EDWARDS
Other readers may have an entirely different reaction.
23 January 2008
