Our Father Who Wasn't There

A masterfully rendered memoir, this account weaves bits of truth and fiction in an attempt to tell the life story of Brian Carlin, the author’s father. In 1960s conservative Western Australia, Carlin commits suicide, resulting in his son David’s yearning to conjure up his father and uncover the series of events that led to his death. Piecing together Carlin’s tale from medical records, faltering memories, and imagined scenarios—including bouts of undergraduate bohemia in late-1940s Perth, a damaging undertow of electric-shock therapy, insulin comas, and whispered wartime events—this narrative underscores issues associated with mental illness and family burdens.