Excellent: family struggle and grief described a boy on the spectrum. Wonderfully depicted.

I love the narrator’s interpretation of this unusual book. Well acted and read. Sad and often very funny, Haig’s observations are clever and highlight the views and struggles of a boy on the spectrum living in a working class family. A masterpiece.

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Just brilliant!

What a unique way to tell a story of the loss of a child's father. Told from the child's point of view, missing his father, and his mother marrying his father's brother within 3 months. Great story, and very ell narrated.

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narration was a joy

a great book and the narration lifted it even higher, really enjoyed it from start to finish

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Everything about this book is excellent.

This book is a must read/listen.

Great story. Very, very well read.

Get it. You won’t regret it.

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Great story murdered by bad narration

Hated the narration i mean it didn’t slightly mess up a great kids or adults story. It murdered it in cold blood. It was only by the skin of my teeth I got through it with many breaks and I’m not even through it it’s so hard to listen because the story was so good but narration is at a point I may need to duck out even though I’m into the plot it’s simply too painful all read like an innocent breathless child , but not naturally so. Exaggeratedly so and by an adult done badly ..and he makes the ghost dad talk extra slowly and like a zombie in a monotone . The mother exaggerated air head with no brain voice. and it’s a shame . It’s not needed. Just read the plot like the people are real not exaggerated and fake.

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The Dead Fathers Club

I honestly don't know what to say about this other than it's unlike anything I've listened to before. I was hooked but I'm not sure what it was that hooked me. The story is quintessentially a wacky ghost story... quirky, strange, odd, not scary but occasionally, dark, funny and sad. Yet on more than one occasion I asked myself who/ what age is the author's intended audience! It certainly leave you thinking.
The story is told through the voice of the main character, Philip, an eleven year old boy. The dialogue covers the months after his father's untimely death and Philip's own struggle, confusion and mental breakdown as he tries to come to terms with it and the changes to his life as he and his mother move forward.

Reviews I've read about the written vesion mention the text being difficult and frustrating to read due to a deliberate lack of punctuation by the author. I believe, in this case, the essence and understanding of the story is enhanced by the excellent narration which brought the characters to life ( and death) and helped it flow. Disappointingly the sudden ending is abrupt and leaves a lot unanswered questions.

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Dark

Very dark read, but quite challenging on a rational/empirical evidence perspective. interesting read all round.

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Feels like a teenage read

The narrator did a grand job but I did feel like the book was aimed at a teenager. I do think this would make a good play though.

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Awful ending!!

After reading the waiting room I was excited for this, only to be let down with the unexplained ending!!!

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It lasted two days.

At first I thought, no, probably a kids story, but the more I listened, the more I liked it; then it was over all too quickly.
Mr Haig has this annoying habit of just getting it right. It will suit a younger audience, and it will suit a more mature audience. It's entertaining, has twists, good characters, good plot and, well, good everything.
Ultimately, a story well told always works, irrespective of age.

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2 people found this helpful