This is not the sort of book I would tend to choose for myself; I don't tend to go in for memoirs... and let's face it, I don't tend to go in for real-world stuff that often. Especially not such modern real-world stuff.

I read this in an afternoon. Partly because I had to (for a class I had to teach); partly because I couldn't put it down. The prose it glorious and the story itself is captivating - tragic and funny and everything else that real life really is.

Raimond's parents, Romulus and Christina, come to Australia as newly weds, from Germany (although Romulus is born in... Yugoslavia, I think?). Their marriage is difficult - Christina has depression and possibly other mental health issues, while Romulus struggles to find work, as a non-Anglo immigrant, and is worried about his wife and his son. All of this is dealt with gently but honestly; after all, this is a son reflecting on the frailty of his parents, which is not as easy thing to do. His memories of his mother in particular are enough to break your heart; they, in themselves, are tragedy interspersed with love, much like many childhoods I suspect.

As well as mental health issues, Gaita also confronts issues of racism - I think we all agree Australia was a generally racist place in the couple of decades after WW2 (other times too of course, but that's when this is happening) - and the whole question of belonging and identity: how do you get to feel like you fit?

I really, really enjoyed it, far more than I had expected.

It was clear from the start that Raimond Gaita, like most sons, idolised his father. While this made for a biography through sometimes rose-tinted glasses, Raimond Gaita draws on interesting philosophical ideas which tempers this fact. He examines his father's life and creates a highly insightful novel. The philosophy isn't too heavy (& easily skippable if the reader isn't interested) and mainly draws on moral character. What's more, the life of Romulus is actually an interesting tale so it's easy to keep on reading & not put down.

I found the stories interesting but all of the philosophy and babble didn't do anything for me.

Lovely book reflecting on a tough childhood without ... sort of angst and disappointment. The story is dark but the book isn't somehow.

While this book is touching, a large majority of it does read like a eulogy which is odd. It's lovely to read about his father's life and experiences but honestly, it's fairly boring, and reads like anyone else's experiences who would've grown up in the same time period. It's exactly the type of book you would be forced to read and analyse in highschool English.

forced to read this for school. hated it