MEDIA
REVIEWS
Listen
to the NPR radio review HERE.
Haig cleverly reinvents this 400-year-old
tragedy as a 21st-century morality tale
inhabited by schoolchildren, barmaids and
mechanics, and it's fun to look for the
parallels between the two works. . . The
story's greatest strength, however, is Philip's
perspective as narrator. Haig effectively
runs Philip's words and thoughts together
with an economy of punctuation, spliced
with details
that a child would notice,
to create the voice of an anxious child.
. . The Dead Father's Club
has much to recommend it, especially in
how it shows the adult world through the
eyes of an innocent. . . . It's still the
dark tale of Hamlet, perhaps more disturbing
because it is related by an adolescent.
It's ingenious.
Susan Kelly, USA Today
Philip
is a breathless storyteller who seldom stops
for punctuation but whose honesty and innocence,
which shine from every sentence, are utterly
captivating and heartbreakingly poignant.
The result is an absolutely irresistible
read. Booklist
(starred review)
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)
The
plucky hero impressively navigates the gloomy,
pungent waters of retribution, death and
guilt, and Haig gives an enviable job of
leavening a sad premise through the words
and actions of a charming, resilient young
man. Publishers
Weekly (starred review)
Totally
engrossing.
Stephen Daldry, director of Billy Elliot
and The Hours, (The Observer)
Matt Haig's extraordinary second novel pushes
and pulls at Shakespeare's play, pokes and
prods at it in such a way that only half
the fun is to be found in spotting the parallels.
The story is so surprising and strange that
it vaults into a realm all of its own .
. . most of all it allows Haig to indulge
his innocently acute eye for detail and
his delightfully weird imagination. One's
heart goes out to a boy torn between a selfish
ghost ("If you ever loved me . . .
") and a foolish mother, and one naturally
fears for him, knowing the fate of the first
Hamlet. But Haig borrows from Shakespeare
in the same spirit that Shakespeare borrowed
from his own sources. One is never sure
where the story is going next, and that's
what makes the book such sad fun. Gerard
Woodward, The Guardian
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
Haig's update of Hamlet is
clever, and Philip's narration nicely captures
a studied, Haddonesque naïveté.
Thom Geier,
Entertainment Weekly
.
. . Haig does an excellent job of evoking
his troubled, fumbling protagonist, and
his second novel manages to be both darkly
comic and a painful, touching account of
bereavement. James
Stuart, The Guardian
The Dead Fathers Club is poignant, funny,
innocent, touching has an underdog and enough
nasty undertones to please the most cynical
mind - all of it written from a child's
perspective. . . This novel is both funny,
surreal and at times full of very black
humour: a fine piece of work by a talented
and clearly imaginative young writer. *
* * * Nick
Ryan, Sunday Express
The
Shakespearean roots of Haig's book don't
force the plot into preordained directions.
No characters are wasted; Leah, the Ophelia
to Phillip's Hamlet, emerges as a mysterious
but moving force. One of the joys (for those
familiar with Hamlet) is figuring out at
what points Haig's work diverges. Phillip
is an unreliable narrator, but it isn't
until close to the ending that you begin
to wonder just how unreliable. Maybe Uncle
Alan isn't such a bad guy ... Haig does
a great job of assuming the voice of an
11-year-old. The advantage of writing through
a child's eyes is that the events play themselves
out in a less self-conscious way than, say,
an account of adult grief. Through Phillip,
and the struggles Phillip has with his father's
ghost, we see the cruelty of death, the
desire to make sense out of an nonsensical
event. "The Dead Fathers Club"
is full of funny moments, but the ending
reveals the dark heart of Hamlet's story.
Reyhan Harmanci,
San Francisco Chronicle
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
Humorous
and original. This is one of those crossover
books like The Curious Incident Of The Dog
In The Night-Time which will appeal to adults
and children alike.
Carla McKay, Daily Mail
This
loose reworking of Hamlet is full of poignant
insights and literary in-jokes, plus the
author does a nice line in grim hilarity.
Easy Living
Touching,
quirky and macabre.
S Magazine, Sunday Express
Tempering
the tragedy with a deftly comic touch, Haig
combines a compelling mixture of psychological
insight and pre-adolescent angst in this
strikingly original tale. The
Big Issue
In
Haig's magnificent updating of Hamlet, Philip,
an English schoolboy, must decide whether
to listen to the ghost of his father and
to murder the uncle who is making the moves
on his mother. . . . Haig's prose is light
and humorous and sprinkled with allusions
to the Bard, even as his topic turns dark
and menacing. Arsen Kashkashian
of The Boulder Book Store, Colorado store
(Book Sense) in the Seattle Post
If
Hamlet were 11, he might write this. What
I liked about this book, The Dead Fathers
Club by Matt Haig, is that although it's
what they call an adult novel it is written
just like an 11-year-old kid talks. I am
not English like the boy in the book, Philip
Noble, and I am a little bit older - 12
- but I can understand him very well. .
.It's good and it doesn't sound like a grown-up
trying to be a kid . . . Roger
K Miller, Philadelphia Inquirer
I'm
not a natural fan of authors who refuse
to use apostrophes but Matt Haig's Hamlet-esque
Dead Fathers Club, narrated by an 11-year-old,
somehow gains piquancy from it. This is
the story of Philip, whose late dad appears
as a ghost and tells the boy that he was
murdered by Uncle Alan. Philip must now
avenge him by killing Uncle Alan. And he
has to do it before his father's birthday
in a few weeks, otherwise Dad's ghost will
be condemned to haunt the pub car park forever.
Phil Hogan,
The Observer
Matt's
writing style is unusually down-to-earth
and he prides himself on penning novels
that appeal to different generations.
Grant Woodward, Yorkshire Evening Post
Told
through the eyes of 11-year-old Philip,
this is a hilarious yet moving novel. *
* * * Closer
There's
no doubting the inventiveness and imagination
at work here and Philip's desperately confused
emotions are drawn with great sympathy and
conviction. Tina
Jackson, Metro
The
yarn is spun in the authentic contemporary
words of a pre-pubescent, telling us that
his pub landlord father has died in a road
accident, and his mother is succumbing to
the greasy charms of her dead husband's
brother, Uncle Alan. . . Hilariously funny,
it is also extremely dark. . .You will either
love it or hate it, but it would be a challenge
not to be affected by it.
Jackie Butler, Western Morning News
It's
a playful manhandling of Hamlet, and it
works: The more you read, the more captivating
it becomes. Philip is funny, vulnerable
and resolute as he tries to shake off his
grief and save his beloved dad from the
Terrors and his mom from Uncle Alan. We
suspect the Bard would be pleased. Anne
Stephensen, The Arizona Republic
astoundingly
authentic. . . East
Bay Express
Kept
me in a state of tension throughout The
Bookseller
The story of Hamlet is not usually thought
of as one meant for laughter. But Matt Haig's
able retelling of the tale in The Dead Fathers
Club will make you laugh, though it might
also evoke a tear. . . There are many encounters
with other Dead Fathers in a great sendup
of ghostly dealings, Hamlet-like, on the
moors, and several sly references to the
play. There is even a character named Dane.
The ending is not pure Shakespeare, but
it is pure Haig and that is very good indeed.
Valerie Ryan,
Amazon.com editorial review
Philip,
who pours out his story in a style unhindered
by punctuation or the rules of grammar,
is an immensely likeable character. Spending
300-pages seeing through his innocent and
honest eyes as he relates his tragically-comic
story is an experience not to be missed.
His story is actually more tragic than anything
Hamlet had to deal with. In fact, my overwhelming
urge on finishing The Dead Fathers Club
was to apologize to Philip for laughing
at his predicament, but it is impossible
not to as Haig has a keen eye for the blackly
comic.
Bookbrowse
This
is an amazing and imaginative update of
Hamlet . . . Haig does a fabulous job of
exploring the psyche of an eleven-year-old
boy. He takes serious situations and makes
them come across with humor and a full range
of other emotions. The Dead Fathers Club
is a refreshing and modern tale of grief
and revenge - and also a definite must-read.
Curled Up.com
Matt
Haig's prose is quirky, with no apostrophes,
liberal use of capital letters, and some
creative typesetting. He captures Philip's
young voice with its innocence and acceptance
of a new reality. . . Haig has a deft descriptive
touch. A church "smelt of God which
is the smell of old paper." When Philip
reluctantly answers Uncle Alan, "In
an invisible ice cube out of my mouth I
said Yes.". . . a poignant, original,
often charming story of a boy struggling
in sorrow and misery with all his heart.
Marilyn Dahl,
Shelf Awareness
Lovers of Hamlet will savor The Dead Fathers
Club. . .The Dead Fathers Club, at heart,
is the wrenching story of a boy who can't
cope with his father's death. He is 11 years
old and powerless, not a prince with infinite
charisma, and still the ghost keeps demanding
that he show vindictive bravery. That Haig
lets the problem overwhelm the boy so relentlessly
gives the book its haunting power. . . The
Hamlet-sized story doesn't crush the innocent
telling. In fact, in places, youth refreshes
the older vision. . .in a climax in which
Philip seems to overhear himself, he muses:
"Dads are just men who have babies
but I know he loved me because I felt it
go out of me when he crashed. It was like
air or blood or bones or something that
made me me and it wasnt there any more and
I had only half of it now and I didnt know
if that was enough." That last beautiful
clause -- "I didn't know if that was
enough" -- achieves understanding while
still preserving ambivalence. Its eloquence
is hemmed tightly with doubt and fear. He
is right: We never know if we have what
it takes to make it through, and circumstances
have forced him to learn this too young.
It is irresistible to wonder if Haig chooses
the protagonist's age not only for its inherent
vulnerability but also because another Hamlet--Shakespeare's
son, Hamnet -- died at the age of 11. If
so, "The Dead Fathers Club," a
tale of grief, holds a posthumous mirror
up to the Bard, and offers him empathy.
Todd Shy, News
& Observer, Raleigh
This
is a first novel with incredible promise.
I received an advanced readers' copy of
this retake on the Hamlet story and have
been reading it faster than the bodies piled
up in Shakespeare's famous tragedy. Mike
Ashworth's must-reads
for 2007,
EC/DC
The
hilarious tale is full of poignant insights
into the strange workings of the world seen
through the eyes of a child. Hull
Daily Mail
A
clever adaptation of Hamlet, with the characters
mirroring their Shakespearian counterparts.
Liz
Taylor, Booksellers' Choice, The Bookseller
.
. . the book leads to a conclusion as tumultuous
and powerful as Hamlet's. While that might
sound like exaggerated praise, it's remarkable
how Haig transforms the melancholic prince
into a kid, the Danish court into a blue-collar
inn and a schoolyard full of brats, the
prince's failed romance into a nearly asexual
friendship with all the force of love. Genre
fans should also be satisfied, for there's
more of the supernatural here than in the
original: multiple ghosts from various eras,
trapped in horrors not quite as absolute
as fate. Faren
Miller, Locus Magazine
[An]
elegant little farce Glasgow
Herald
Clever and delightful. http://www.whatnottoread.com
at
times funny, dark and very sad. . .The author
expertly navigates through the murky waters
of pre-teen life with scenes that ring true
to life. And the first-person narrative
by the young protagonist offers incredible
insight into a boy's life after his father
dies.
Haig uses skewed typography, all-capitalized
words and no punctuation (besides periods,
that is) to mimic the young boy's stream-of-consciousness
and mental reasoning. . . This is Haig's
American literary debut, and he does it
with wit and imagination.
Angie Blackburn, The Post and Courier
Plot in a nutshell: This is a British hip-hop
retelling of Hamlet, an effort you may not
have realized you needed until you see it.
Author reminds me of: Dave Eggers. Best
reason to read: If he weren't so literary,
Haig could have a future in the gothic world.
His scenes with Dads Ghost are genuinely
frightening — and they're interspersed
with funny and poignant insights of adolescent
love and loss.
Dan Whipple,
Rocky Mountain News
. . . in the capable hands of Matt Haig,
this knock-off works . . .
While the HAMLET connection is never lost,
Haig takes the story in a direction all
his own and the reader is compelled to go
along for the ride. Matt Haig is a writer
whose work I’ll be tracking down as
it comes out. P.J.
Coldren, Reviewingtheevidence.com
Matt
Haig's second novel leaps off the page with
startling effect . . .The story is quirky
and, despite obvious plot similarities to
Shakespeare's Hamlet, it is highly original...
with action and incident on virtually every
page. Andy
Smart, Nottingham Evening Post
You
know a book is a good one when you do not
want to put it down and everything else
in your life – including the washing
up – has to wait. . . It is a superb
book, quite different from any I have read
before, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I shared
it with my 16 year-year-old daughter and
she got so absorbed in it she even abandoned
her normal television soaps – a compliment
indeed. . . . It’s a winner. Newark
Advertiser
Cleverly constructed narrative
convinces the reader that this is a young
child relating, explaining and describing
both major and trivial incidents in his
life. If you enjoyed The Sixth Sense you’ll
find this book compulsive reading. It offers
some pertinent observations about the human
condition . . . be prepared for a highly
dramatic conclusion.
John Weller,
Reader’s Pick, Hull Daily Mail
Most
entertaining are Philip’s chums, the
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern equivalents,
Ross and Gary. Philip’s exchanges
with these interchangeable comic twins are
brilliant pitched in adolescent speak .
. . [Haig] is also interested in how language
breaks down, and frequently his verbal dexterity
is at once disorientating and enlightening
. . . In his boyishness, Philip shows an
all too apparent weakness that very effectively,
and often poignantly, exposes the absurdity
of revenge. As well as the influence of
Roald Dahl in his narrator, Haig’s
novel echoes Mark Haddon’s The Curious
Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time and
like that work, this should hold similar
appeal for adults and older children alike.
. . There is a great deal to admire in his
zippy writing, and as for the themes he
explores so well, they’re as old as
time itself. Johanna
Thomas-Carr, City A.M
Where
Matt Haig’s debut novel, The Last
Family in England, was a superb reworking
of Henry IV, Part I, Dead Fathers Club gives
a gracious nod towards Hamlet. . . Matt
Haig – one of the freshest talents
in the UK at the moment – triumphs
again. Steph
Little, Brighton Argus
A
SELECTION OF BOOK TRADE REVIEWS
The
Dead Fathers Club is a wholly unusual reworking
of Shakespeare's Hamlet. But the 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. Haig's novel reads
at a breathless pace (assisted by the absence
of commas and apostrophes), his first-person
narrative credibly that of a young British
boy who takes things at face value. The
result is a mysterious and engrossing book
for both older children and adults -- neither
of which will be able to put it down. The
Barnes & Noble Review from Discover
Great New Writers, Spring 2007 Selection
Dear Reader,
If I could jump out of this magazine right
now and press one book into your hands,
it would be Matt Haig's wonderful and imaginative
novel THE DEAD FATHERS CLUB. I loved it!
I hate comparing books to others, but just
to give you a quick feel for what this novel
is all about, think The Curious Incident
of the Dog in the Nighttime meets William
Shakespeare's Hamlet. It works. . . What
unfolds is a delightful and witty story
about loss and growing up and finding your
voice when so many obstacles are trying
to silence you. I hope you take a chance
on this book and if you love it, please
tell your family and friends about it and
start a wave of enthusiasm about one of
the best - and most underappreciated - novels
of 2007. Gary
Jansen, Executive Editor, QPB
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
The
Dead Father's Club is the perfect choice
for fans of The Curious Incident of the
Dog in the Night-Time...The story is a quirky
little mystery and also a moving tale of
how a young boy deals with a terrible loss.
With narration by 12-year-old Andrew Dennis,
winner of the BBC Audiobooks Young Voice
of Bath competition in 2006, Highbridge
Audio's production of The Dead Father's
Club is spot-on. Linda
Arrington Lusk, Ingram Auditor's Pick Feb
07
This
clever and poignant update of Hamlet will
keep you in suspense until the last page!
. . .The problem with reinterpreting Shakespeare
is it’s difficult topping the Bard.
When it fails, it fails miserably. But when
it succeeds, like in this wildly imaginative
novel, it opens your eyes to the new possibilities
of literature! Mystery
Guild America pick
A suspenseful —
and funny — ghost story with a twist.
Feb/March
Showcase, Keplers
Books made out of other books are not a
modern invention; Shakespeare adapted texts
that were known in his time for his own
plays. But in recent times, such parallel
works and pastiches as Cold Mountain (following
The Odyssey) and Jane Smiley’s new
novel, Ten Days in the Hills, after the
Italian epic The Decameron, have reworked
the classics with a postmodern élan
that seek to reinterpret what was as what
is, for contemporary readers. Thus, Matt
Haig’s unusual debut novel, The Dead
Fathers Club, is Hamlet for a new age: told
by a young boy named Philip Nobel whose
father has died in a car accident, his father
returns, “flickering” to life
for only Philip’s eyes as Dads Ghost—no
punctuation (as much of the novel as written)—to
instruct him to take revenge on his Uncle
Alan... And Haig’s writing style does
much to emphasize the unreliable narrator
(given that at one point the reader realizes
that Dads Ghost and the flickering and the
private conversations may not be a conceit
but Philip’s own Hamlet-like neuroses):
“When Dad died I believed it was all
my fault. But I dont think that any more.
You can believe what you want to believe.
That’s what I think.” This is
a marvel of invention (and reinvention).
Steve Shapiro's
picks, Rainy
Day Books – Fairway, KS
After
The Bad News That His Dad Was Killed In
A Car Accident, Imagine Philip Noble's Surprise
When Dad Appears @ The Funeral, With The
'Dead Fathers Club'(All Murder Victims Themselves)
In Tow, With Not Only The Identity Of His
Killer But The Further Unwelcome News That
It's Up To Young Phillip, 11, To Avenge
His Father's Death, & Defend The Family
From Future Attacks...BY WHATEVER MEANS
NECESSARY. The Quandry? Well, To Kill Or
Not To Kill, Of Course! A Quirky, Light
1st Mystery (Haig's First Novel To Be Released
In The States) That, Despite Obvious Points
Of Reference (HAMLET'S CURIOUS INCIDENT)
Not Only Feels Original, But Has The Equally
Rare Quality Of Being Enjoyable. Good Stuff.
Tom’s favourites, JCA
Books, NY
In Haig’s
imaginative, quirky update of “Hamlet,”
11-year-old Philip Noble is asked by his
dad’s ghost to avenge his murder by
Uncle Alan; but the boy realizes it’s
a bigger job than he anticipated, especially
when he is caught up by the usual distractions
of childhood—girls, bullies, and his
own self-doubt. Kay L. Grismer
and Angie Tally for The Country Bookshop,
Southern Pines, NC
It’s
compelling, ambiguous, and more surprising
than you might think. Liz's
favourite, Mystery-Bookstore
In his quixotic quest to avenge his father’s
death, Phillip learns many life lessons:
truth is relative, revenge is a big job
and not painless, and love is worth fighting
for. Haig's novel is an unusual and often
hilarious update of Hamlet ... Julie,
Book faves for Feb, Blue
Willow Books, West Houston
Young Philip Noble wants to do
what is right. Unfortunately, that means
avenging his father's death... With a bow
to Shakespeare's Hamlet and a nod to Donald
Barthelme's The Dead Father, this is Philip's
account of the ordeal told in the quirky
style of The Curious Incident of the Dog
in the Night-Time, unedited and fun, just
like an eleven-year-old kid's version should
be. MW, Jan/Feb
picks, Square
Books Mississippi
What an amazing book! I practically wept.
I really, really liked this book a lot.
Amy Rosenfield,
Joseph-Beth
Davis-Kidd Booksellers, Cleveland
Funny,
tragic (and very British), Matt Haig has
written a delightful and poignant novel,
told in the voice of an 11 year old boy
who is trying to process the death of his
father as he also endeavors to grow up.
Full of surprising and intricate language
as well as fascinating plot twists, this
is a story for all types of readers. Karen
Frank, Northshire
Bookstore Vermont
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
THE AUDIO BOOK REVIEWS (narrated by 12 year
old, Andrew Dennis)
Narrators are generally a versatile lot.
But there are limits
Gender isn't too much of a problem. But
youth is, especially for a male. A woman
can imitate a young voice fairly easily,
but few men can regress to a time before
their voices changed.
So when producer Paul Ruben was pondering
who should narrate a story told in the voice
of an 11-year-old boy, he went for the real
thing.
The problem was, how do you find someone?
Acting prodigies aside, how do you find
a kid who can deliver a 7-hour narration
of a book based on a Shakespearean play?
And, oh yes, Ruben is American and the boy
had to be British.
Turns out a British narrator and friend
who had just judged a BBC-sponsored competition
to find "the Young Voice of Bath"
recommended the winner, Andrew Dennis, who
just happened to be 12.
Lucky Ruben. On the audio version of Matt
Haig's novel, The Dead Fathers Club, Dennis
is splendid. For starters, he's a good reader.
He'd have to be. But it's so much more.
Perhaps not surprisingly, he captures the
essence of adolescence - confusion and excitability.
Sandy
Bauers, Philadelphia
Inquirer
5/5:
After a car crash kills his father 11 year-old
Philip Noble and his mum are beside themselves
with grief. Luckily they’ve got Uncle
Alan to console them and help run the family’s
pub, the Castle and Falcon. Trouble is,
dad’s ghost appears to Philip at the
wake and informs the boy that it wasn’t
an accident that killed him. It was Philip’s
conniving Uncle Alan who messed with the
car’s brakes. Alan, Dad says, is out
to get his hands on the pub and on Philip’s
saintly mum. Now because he’s been
murdered he can’t move on into the
afterlife until his murder is avenged by
his son. The vendetta must be resolved before
dad’s next birthday or else he’ll
be condemned to the Dead Father’s
Club, forever tormented by The Terrors.
If this is beginning to sound like something
you’ve maybe read before, well, think
about Hamlet. There you go. But please don’t
let that scare you. Haig’s version
is ever-so-much better than Shakespeare’s
(I’m not kidding). Told by Philip,
the prose is as bright and perceptive as
any eleven-year-old-going-on-forty can write.
Even though I knew how the story might end,
I was gripped by the humor and plot twists
and, shucks, shear curiosity to see how
it all comes out. Read it – better
yet, listen to it. The narrator, Andrew
Dennis, is outstanding! Monday
Night Book Club
Something of a Hamlet for the 21st
century, this audiobook presents Philip
Noble, an 11-year-old boy whose father recently
died in a car accident. But when his father
returns as a ghost demanding revenge for
his death, Philip must decide whether or
not his Uncle Allan murdered his father.
While grappling with the idea of murder,
Philip must contend with all the typical
stresses of adolescence including romance
and bullys. HighBridge Audio's decision
to cast 11-year-old Andrew Dennis to read
this novel pays off. His youthful voice
adds authenticity and his narrative skills
fully envelope the first-person perspective
of Philip. He also ably distinguishes additional
characters. His most impressive feat is
the level of emotion and intensity he maintains
through many of the scenes. Several times,
Haig repeats a word or phrase more than
five times. In the text, this works because
readers can skim, but listeners must hear
each one. However, Dennis infuses different
emphasis for each repeated word, making
it work. Publishers
Weekly
Links
to online articles about The Dead Fathers
Club are here.