The Dead Fathers Club

By: Matt Haig

Narrated by: Andrew Dennis

Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Eleven-year-old Philip Noble has a big problem. His dad has appeared to him as a member of the Dead Fathers Club, a club for "ghost dads" whose murders are unavenged. His father's road accident, it turns out, was no accident at all. Uncle Alan is responsible for his dad's death, and if Philip doesn't succeed in killing his uncle just before his dad's birthday, just 10 weeks away, his dad's spirit will never rest.

So begins Philip's quest to avenge his dad and to save his mom from the greasy clutches of Uncle Alan, who seems intent on taking his dad's place in their lives. But Philip finds himself both uneasy with his mission and distrustful of the ghost that claims to be his father. Plus, he's distracted by Leah Polonius, the gorgeous daughter of Uncle Alan's Bible-thumping business partner. What's a young lad to do?

With more than a nod towards Hamlet, but with a quirky humor all its own, The Dead Father's Club is full of poignant insights into the strange workings of the world as seen through the eyes of a child.

©2007 Matt Haig (P)2007 HighBridge Company; 16 9

Critic reviews

"Clearly inspired by Shakespeare's Hamlet, and part of the fun for the reader is discovering the many droll and unforced parallels." (Booklist)
"Haig does an enviable job of leavening a sad premise through the words and actions of a charming, resilient young man." (Publishers Weekly)
"Humorous and original....[It] will appeal to adults and children alike." (Daily Mail, UK)

It’s dark but so different

Like everything else Matt Haig has written, this was so intelligent, with beautiful bits of humanity peppered through. You often question your sanity when you’re reading his books, I just love them.

Overall, Well Done

I very much enjoyed the book. The writing was well-done, the characters were interesting, and the story was just off-kilter enough to provide both humor and pathos. The narrator even does a pretty good job, presenting conversations in the kind of monotone that kids often use to relay such conversations. And I especially liked the way the author described and dealt with anxiety disorder and panic attacks.

I see that other reviewers complained that the ending did not really resolve some of the issues. I didn't mind, I figure the kid has a few more years to settle those, and by then, he'll have a whole different set of issues!

wonderful, from the story to the narrator

If Hamlet were an eight year old, how would the story play differently?
Hilarious and full of heart from the view of a child (and read by one in the audio version - kudos to that amazing kid!), this hit on all of the best plot points in Hamlet, with a twist on a few of them. If you like Shakespeare or just want a fun ghost story, this one's a winner.

Not what I imagen

This is the first Matt Haig book I have not been impressed with. Felt like the plot was everywhere and hard to keep up

the narrator was great, the story not so much

i love most of matt haigs books and this was interesting to the end. maybe i just don’t have the literature level to “get” it but i felt like there was not much resolution to the story

Not the fantasy I thought

The narrator was good, and I really like the story…at first. It never really picked up speed and left me with a lot of questions in the end. If you like an ambiguous ending, then you may enjoy it. However, I think the story could have taken a much more delightful and fantastical turn. Perhaps a good read for realists, but it was not nearly as good as I had hoped.

Tough Reading for Most Young Adults

The book is well written but the story is a little flat. The book is aimed for young adults yet I think it might be to heavy and adult for most. The subjects include depression, murder, sex, adult language, the main character that thinks he can talk to ghost but who is a bit unbalanced, revenge, and no happy ending. For that matter the ending is not satisfying at all. Finally the reader is good but he speaks with a bit to much of an accent for most American listeners.

I am a 53 year old adult that finds some young people literature better than much aimed at adults found it a bit slow at times and sad. It is not that I don't approve of it for young people, I think we shelter young people way to much, but I think most of them may find this disturbing and unfulfilling

Hamlet Only New

At first I was afraid to finish because let's face it we all know how it ends. But give it a chance. This is how it might happen today, and what would dear Hamlet have done...i don't want to ruin it. It's nice.

Entertaining but Dark

I loved the narration. He really brought me in and made the child telling this story believable. It reinforced the great writing and gifted us with many entertaining moments of knowing a child's mind. The story itself was such a tragedy and to hear it told from a child's version made it even more so.

This is a book like no other is looking at world thru the eyes of an 11 year old boy

story became tedious at the end and , I don’t think I’d read it again I did not like the end
But I truly love the way the author writes , is unique and beautiful and funny