Thank you to John Niven, Canongate Books, and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Fathers follows Dan and Jada, two men who meet outside a hospital the day their partners birth sons. Drastically different, their lives begin to intertwine inexplicably.

Jada can seem quite repetitive, tedious, and shallow in the beginning but he soon becomes more complex and nuanced as the story progresses. Dan was fantastic and each of the other characters also felt brilliantly unique.

A darkly comedic and tragic tale, Niven shows his sharp writing once again.

When Daniel and Jada meet - they only have one thing in common - their partners have given birth on the same day. But that's where the connections end: for they are different in their status: class, finances, backgrounds, outlooks on life and success. Both new fathers are on different paths. The fathers is a laugh out loud dark comedy, expertly observed and executed in the way you would expect from John Niven. Brava

I have only just recently discovered this author and. as well as pouncing on all his latest releases, I am playing catch-up with his back catalogue.
In this book we meet Dan and Jada as they meet each other at the hospital, both having just become fathers. Dan for the first time and Jada for the 5th or 6th - that he knows of. From that, you might guess that they are chalk and cheese, Dan being a successful TV writer and Jada being a bit of a wrong-un. But from this initial meeting comes some sort of bond where they will periodically keep bumping into each other, until Dan and Jada's lives become more and more intertwined, and more and more destructive...
This is a strange book. One which does escalate, but which does it slowly, if that makes sense. It was also one that I was pretty sure I knew where we would end up and, yup, completely wrong there too! But that doesn't really matter as I had an absolute blast all the way through! But, that said, it's also quite tragic in places. It's hard hitting and pulls no punches. It's raw and horrific. And, all the time, so very very real. But, at the same time, it is peppered throughout with some wonderful humour which does keep the book on an even keel and prevents it from becoming too dark. We also have some great observational humour included too.
I'm not going to lie, I did initially struggle a wee bit with the Glaswegian dialect initially but, and it's been the same for previous books, once I got into the swing, it began to flow again. I also found the ending to be a tad on the saccharine side but I can easily forgive the author based on what had come before.
All in all, a cracking addition to an already well impressive back catalogue. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Thank you to Canongate Books and Netgalley for the review copy.
I loved The Fathers! John Niven delivers his trademark dark humour and sharp writing, creating a story that’s both funny and deeply moving. It follows Dan, a TV writer, and Jada, a small-time criminal, who meet in a Glasgow maternity ward on the day their sons are born.

The novel brilliantly explores fatherhood, grief, and how lives unexpectedly intertwine. The emotional core is powerful, and Niven balances intense drama with moments of biting comedy. His characters feel vivid, and the story kept me hooked from start to finish.

A gripping, heartfelt read—perfect for fans of Niven’s unique style.

LIKE MOST big cities, there are two different Glasgows. In one, the creator and writer of a successful television series lives in a four-floor Victorian townhouse, drives a Tesla, appreciates a good bottle of wine, frequently meets up with his similarly privileged friends from university and boasts the means to go on several foreign holidays a year.
In the other, a career petty criminal, a ducker and diver from the other side of the tracks, lives with his girlfriend in a small tower-block flat. His interests include afternoon pints in the shadiest pub in town (and therefore, apparently, the world) and frequent dalliances with women who are not his girlfriend.
These two worlds converge one cold January night, when their respective partners each give birth to a son. For Dan, well-heeled showrunner of Inspector Morse style detective show Macallister, this is his first child, a miracle after many, many rounds of IVF. This baby is Jada’s 6th, albeit the first with nineteen-year-old Nicola.
The two new fathers find themselves unexpectedly getting along, seeing a kindred spirit of sorts in the other. They do not have anything in common apart from the birthdays of their children, and their ages, both being in their late forties. Their backgrounds could not be more different
What comes next is an irreverent look at how different these two men’s lives are, and the different expectations they have in the raising of their children. While Dan follows the hands-on approach of the modern middle-class man, Jada’s relationship with his son is largely held at arm’s length.
These cultural differences are presented as facts of life, and each man’s point of view is given in turn. Though both are Scottish nationals, Jada’s narrative is set apart by being written in a style to emulate his very distinctive dialect. It takes a while to get into the swing of it, but is very well done and effective, and adds to the comic value of this happy ne’er-do-well’s exploits.
There have been objections to depicting accents in novels in recent years, the argument being that the supposed default accent of the reader is non-regional or worse, received pronunciation, non-rhotic distinction and all, and that assuming an accent in a narration implies that the character is alien from, even less-than, the average educated reader.
But this story would suffer without it, as it ties in entirely with the brash and hearty tone. Both narratives are quite fast paced, but especially Jada’s, and the observations that accompany them are raw, honest, and often amusingly merciless.
Six months or so after their first meeting, Jada and Dan cross paths again, this time a fleeting chance encounter alongside their partners and children, and then they run into each other again after a year or so passes, this time in much different circumstances.
In those intervening months, and about half way in to the book, all of the signs that have pointed to things being all too perfect for one of the fathers turns out to be correct, when the worst possible thing that can happen to a parent, happens. It brings Dan and Jada back in to each other’s orbit, and the tone shifts from this funny comparison between two men to an account of how devastating and life altering a terrible loss can be.
In keeping with the pin-sharp accuracy of the rest of the story, the tragedy unfurls in an unsparing blow-by-blow account. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to get it over with, whilst also marvelling at the skill in depicting the nightmare unfolding.
Death permeates many stories, but this kind of death, rendered in terrible, visceral detail, leaves an indelible mark. It is a taboo subject, because it is so deeply upsetting to contemplate, yet it is also a thing that happens, and one that should get coverage and attention, in fiction and real life.
Unthinkably, the story continues – literature reflecting life – and the dark humour returns, resolving in a crackpot ending that fittingly mirrors the madness that can accompany grief. It is not an easy read but is often rewarding, and at times very funny. This is the most effective kind of horror story disguised as observational humour; cruelly reminding us that life, all life, is transient.

The Fathers introduces us to its titular characters in a Glasgow hospital where both have just given birth to a baby boy. For Dan, a fortysomething TV writer living in the affluent West End of Glasgow, this is his first child with Grace, after a lengthy period of IVF and therefore seen as somewhat miraculous and awe-inspiring. Jada, a small-time criminal, by contrast, is welcoming his fifth (or is it sixth?) child Jayden (or is it Cayden?) with his young girlfriend Nicola. A chance meeting in the hospital corridor seems initially comic and inconsequential, but a tragic sequence of events will draw the two families together in unexpected ways.

As a new-ish parent myself (like Dan, in my early forties) I was initially intrigued by the concept of this book, and interested to see how Niven married his typically jet-black humour with this delicate and emotional subject matter. The early part of the book played out roughly as I expected, with well-observed (but rarely super-original) observations on the perils of fatherhood mixed in with laugh out loud funny moments of comedy. As with some of Niven’s other books, the comic moments are rarely comfortable, and not for those that are easily offended. I’m not, but still managed (as usual with Niven) to find moments that pushed me right to the edge. This one, most similarly to Kill Em All and 2013’s Straight White Male, has moments that I enjoyed but left me feeling thoroughly filthy afterwards for having done so.

More uncomfortably for me, in this one, was the constant sense I had throughout that the comedy around Jada veered too often into ‘punching down’ territory. I know that this isn’t exactly literary fiction and comedy relies on heightened contrasts and a degree of stereotyping to work, but the working class cliches heaped on Jada and Nicola felt excessive even for this purpose. Gratuitous drug use? Check. Feeding junk food to the baby? Check. Dodgy dealing petty crime? Very much so. The problem for me with this was twofold: their depictions were rarely surprising enough to be truly hilarious, and there was very little light to balance the shade, at least until a hasty redemption in the somewhat rushed coda right at the end of the novel.

A slightly more generous reading (though still not entirely a positive one) is that Jada is largely here as a contrast and foil to Niven’s real character of interest here, which is Dan. I did find him a more rounded and interesting character in general, and one who certainly goes through a lot in the course of the book. I found it difficult to decide how much Niven wants us to sympathise with him, though. He’s certainly presented superficially as the more dedicated father, when placed in contrast with the exceedingly low bar that is Jada at least, although even in the book’s early part he’s also hardly the model of the progressive, equal-contributing and present father. (He’s in the pub with mates the day of his son’s birth, for example). In the book’s second half, in which he is (quite understandably) sent into the depths of despair by a tragic event, he not only abandons Grace entirely but begins plotting a crime that would be beyond even Jada’s imagination. And yet in that hasty coda he’s seemingly redeemed and rewarded with everything totally back to normal. Are we meant to be left to make our own judgement or does Niven actually just think Dan is fairly unproblematic and deserving of his happy ending? I wasn’t sure.

Female characters have never been especially strong features of Niven’s books and it’s unsurprising therefore that they are not at the forefront in a book titled The Fathers. Nicola, like Jada, is entirely two dimensional (again, only developing anything approaching a third dimension in the book’s last few pages). Grace is more interesting, in that I feel like there’s a genuine attempt here to acknowledge that the book’s second half is a kind of mirror to Dan’s self-obsessive doom spiral and that in our focus on his reactions we are missing an important story going on largely inside Grace’s mind. I don’t think it worked entirely, and I found that Grace’s relative strength and stoicism was in itself a bit of a cliche, but it has its moments - there’s a notable playground scene featuring Grace and Nicola that was one of the most emotionally effective (and affecting) moments in the book.

Overall it’s a bit of an odd concoction. It has moments (like the above, but also its hideous, heart-breaking centrepiece) that are truly impressive and emotionally heavy. It also has its issues, as discussed, as well as some lengthy distracting (and near-redundant to the plot) sections that go too deep into Jada’s dodgy dealings, seemingly largely because Niven finds this sort of thing kind of fun. It sort of is, but only moderately so, and it throws off the balance of a book that manages in some places to pull off both comedy and tragedy to great effect.

Despite those many issues, I’m still scoring this relatively well because its peaks are really strong (if a little traumatic for a fellow father). (7/10)

I cannot put my finger on why this felt familiar, not in a predictable and boring way, but as if I had met Dan and Jada before.
Dan and Jada are two unlikely characters whose paths cross more than once and they transform each other.
It is both funny and emotional to read set in Glasgow.
The characters and their situations were very interesting.

Well this was a surprise! I chose it because it was set in Glasgow. I think it accurately depicts the opposite sides of society in the city. Two new fathers meet on the day that their children are born. Totally different in background and yet they are somehow destined to be linked. One has everything he desires , now that he has his son. The other has nothing except a drug and criminal background. I liked the descriptions of their lives, how they each accepted their own lives as ‘normal’ and the other’s as anything but! There is a lot of Glaswegian dialect ( which I enjoyed translating from my childhood memories) but it doesn’t get in the way of- it adds to the scene setting of Jada’s world.
I thought the ending was slightly rushed and a bit ‘tidied up’ but it brought things to a conclusion.
I will watch out for more by this author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ebook ARC.

a powerful book and i loved how even the cover seemed to tell us so much. when i started reading the story every time i came back to reading id see the cover and go "yup, that it all right".
you get bought into the characters world by John. almost like you are sat in the room with them or being let into the houses or happenings. i could feel the feeling and see the sights kind of thing. we are bought two men here. one is Dan who is wealthy but weary with it. hes successful but never quite fulfilled. and he is about to become a father for the first time. our next is another father, already a father of a few and not so squeaky clean one at that. ok OK far from squeaky clean Jada is a crook. they meet at Glasgow maternity ward waiting for each of their babies to be given all clears. they both think they know what is best for their kids. the proof so far isnt looking good on Jadas side. but hes sworn to do things differently. and Dan thinks he will be there and his kid wont need for anything.
but after a awful event comes to pass both men meet again months later. and this might be the formation of something we never saw come and neither did they. but how or what or why are they connected?
read on to be stilled. to be taken aback and to wonder how will come out of this ok or even alive. i wont spoil it, because i think it truly would if i gave away more. but its not easy. but it is fantastically written and makes a wow of a book.
its not a light read but its still a must read.

3.5⭐️ Another hard hitting and twisted slice of life from John Niven. This time set in Glasgow with our two main characters coming from polar opposites, socially and economically. Dan is a TV writer and executive who is about to become a father for the first time after many rounds of IVF. Jana is low level grifter and thug who is about to become a father for the 6th time, although it's his much younger partners first time. The two men meet by chance at the hospital, and their lives became unexpectedly entwined.
This is not a light read, there are a lot of upsetting events and some extremely dark humour.

‘The Fathers’ is strong stuff. Wealthy, educated and older first-time father, Dan, meets world-weary, small-time wheeler dealer/crook/violent thug, Jada, at a Glasgow maternity unit after the births of their sons, Tom and Cayden/Jayden. Father of five whom he rarely sees, Jada vows that he will be more present for his latest progeny, never mind the impossibility of being a positive influence on the boy’s life. In contrast, Dan is determined his son will never doubt his devotion nor want for anything.

Months pass and then the unthinkable happens. Bizarrely Dan and Jada’s paths cross again and the men grow increasingly dependent on each other. How and why?

I found Jada’s character really tedious for the first third of this story. Maybe that’s what the author is aiming for, showing us just how grim it is to live like him. However, it’s worth persevering with the narrative – the depiction of the central characters grows increasingly complex and nuanced. John Niven takes a terrible, nightmarish situation and explores its effect on the men and their families to the extent that it’s possible no one will survive. A thought-provoking, fearless look at privilege and poverty and whether or not the gap can ever be bridged.

My thanks to NetGalley and Canongate Books for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

In many ways, this is a strong book. Unafraid of writing about the realities of life, this book is a savage and unblinking tale of two people and also many people, going through life as best or as worst they can.
I've always admired this author and enjoyed his books and this book is unflinching in the best possible way, rendering the story stronger and more resonant.
Thank you for the publisher for allowing me to read this early.

Two men from hugely different backgrounds meet outside of a Glasgow hospital maternity unit. Jada is a working class man who earns his living through dodgy deals and this is his sixth child. Dan is a middle class television writer and his son is his first. The pair have little in common outside of their babies but find a connection. This book is a lot darker in places than I expected but I found it completely captivating throughout. It's a very Glaswegian book though will have a really wide appeal. It's funny and twisty and I loved it.

I loved this book from start to finish and found it very unputdownable. I love John Nivens writing style, it makes you really get a feeling of being in character. Would recommend for all fans of Irvine Welsh.

We follow the lives of Dan and Jada who meet outside the hospital on the day that both of their sons are born. Dan is a well to do upper class man and Jada is a roughian who’s constantly wheeling and dealing to get by. After their first meeting at the hospital they end up bumping into each other more frequently and become and unlikely pair of companions.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Found this a great read I loved the setting the witty undertones among the darker aspects and I felt it was well written with characters you felt invested in. It's a change to read to fiction like this you don't get many books like this now and it was a pleasure to read something that felt fresh.

This is the story of two men who meet in a maternity hospital where their partners have both just given birth to boys. They are from opposite sides of the tracks in Glasgow but their lives are set to interact in unexpected ways. The depiction of criminality and drug use in the underclass of the town is reminiscent of Shuggie Bain. The polar opposites of the two lifestyles is exaggerated, but never becomes cliched because of the talent of the writer, Both characters show compassion and weakness at various times. The plot is rollicking and full of gritty detail and surprises. I loved it.