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A Hard Time to Be a Father: Stories
Fay Weldon won the Silver Pen Award for her last collection of stories, Wicked Women.
Here are nineteen sparkling new tales about the way we live now, as lovers, partners, children, parents. Or alone. Stories of passion, desire and necessary restraint; of the near future, the recent past; of old habits, new technology; of won't-be mothers and would-be fathers; of houses ancient and modern. Stories, in fact, to enlighten us to the true and timeless nature of the human condition, in this new age of self-knowledge.
Here are nineteen sparkling new tales about the way we live now, as lovers, partners, children, parents. Or alone. Stories of passion, desire and necessary restraint; of the near future, the recent past; of old habits, new technology; of won't-be mothers and would-be fathers; of houses ancient and modern. Stories, in fact, to enlighten us to the true and timeless nature of the human condition, in this new age of self-knowledge.
264 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
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62 people want to read
About the author
Fay Weldon
159 books398 followersFay Weldon CBE was an English author, essayist and playwright, whose work has been associated with feminism. In her fiction, Weldon typically portrayed contemporary women who find themselves trapped in oppressive situations caused by the patriarchal structure of British society.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fay_Weldon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fay_Weldon
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 13, 2023
In the set of short stories, A Hard Time To Be A Father, Fay Weldon is very much at home, wherever that might be. For the most part, these tales are set in Britain, which was her long-time home. But some of the last stories, are set in New Zealand where the author grew up, a country that does not often figure in the work of European or American-based writers. One particular story, that sees a character relocate from an old house in England to an old house in New Zealand, actually relates the experience of moving to a country where a casual visitor might feel that assumptions have been inverted. Whatever the assumptions, the instincts remain the same, it seems.
Having lived in and worried about the cost of maintaining her historical house, the thatch, the floors, the dry rot, all needing to be done, the character finds she now lives among people who inhabit the present to such an extent they do not value anything antique. She also thinks that the greater space between people is one of New Zealand’s most agreeable features. People there, she says, are tolerant, always look for the good in everything and anyone. It all sounds optimistic. But this optimism would be illusory. The space between people, however, is very real and features large.
Fay Weldon is known as a ‘feminist’ writer. I profess not to know what that means. Adult people, men and women alike, are treated equally by this writer, who is apt to concentrate on the fickle, the inconsistent, the selfish side of human behaviour. It’s a thread that runs through her work in general and this book in particular. People promise. Then they break the promise, almost as they finish making it. They promise again. Then they break it again.
The New Zealanders’ habit of living for the present may apply to explain some of these traits, but the behaviour would always contradict the desire always to see the good in people. And it’s not only New Zealanders that double cross… No, that’s too strong… It implies planning, calculated stratagems to deceive. Fay Weldon’s characters simply react in a visceral, animal way to stimuli that are clearly more powerful than themselves, or at least more powerful than their conscious efforts at restraint or rationality. Perhaps seeing the good in people does apply, but only if another trait, shortness of memory, also applies.
Sex features large. It always does, even when ignored. It certainly always does in Fay Weldon’s work and indeed in any human life, despite individual denials. And many of these broken promises, perhaps most, relate to sex, sex that was imagined, tried, failed, or merely done. It’s between two people always, but there’s always a third person somewhere in the vicinity and sometimes a fourth. There’s also much said here about growing up, especially growing into sex, confusedly, and determinedly, often with a dash of envy on either side.
Some of the stories are short, one very short. Some are experimental, especially the last, from which the book takes its title, where typographical variation completely changes how it can be read.
Some of these characters, it has to be said, are hard work, often their own worst enemies. But overall, it’s the space between them that lingers, rather than their willingness to communicate or share.
Having lived in and worried about the cost of maintaining her historical house, the thatch, the floors, the dry rot, all needing to be done, the character finds she now lives among people who inhabit the present to such an extent they do not value anything antique. She also thinks that the greater space between people is one of New Zealand’s most agreeable features. People there, she says, are tolerant, always look for the good in everything and anyone. It all sounds optimistic. But this optimism would be illusory. The space between people, however, is very real and features large.
Fay Weldon is known as a ‘feminist’ writer. I profess not to know what that means. Adult people, men and women alike, are treated equally by this writer, who is apt to concentrate on the fickle, the inconsistent, the selfish side of human behaviour. It’s a thread that runs through her work in general and this book in particular. People promise. Then they break the promise, almost as they finish making it. They promise again. Then they break it again.
The New Zealanders’ habit of living for the present may apply to explain some of these traits, but the behaviour would always contradict the desire always to see the good in people. And it’s not only New Zealanders that double cross… No, that’s too strong… It implies planning, calculated stratagems to deceive. Fay Weldon’s characters simply react in a visceral, animal way to stimuli that are clearly more powerful than themselves, or at least more powerful than their conscious efforts at restraint or rationality. Perhaps seeing the good in people does apply, but only if another trait, shortness of memory, also applies.
Sex features large. It always does, even when ignored. It certainly always does in Fay Weldon’s work and indeed in any human life, despite individual denials. And many of these broken promises, perhaps most, relate to sex, sex that was imagined, tried, failed, or merely done. It’s between two people always, but there’s always a third person somewhere in the vicinity and sometimes a fourth. There’s also much said here about growing up, especially growing into sex, confusedly, and determinedly, often with a dash of envy on either side.
Some of the stories are short, one very short. Some are experimental, especially the last, from which the book takes its title, where typographical variation completely changes how it can be read.
Some of these characters, it has to be said, are hard work, often their own worst enemies. But overall, it’s the space between them that lingers, rather than their willingness to communicate or share.
September 12, 2017
I know about old houses. I know it's them or you. Some years back I held a lighter to the thatch of my cottage in Devon and said if you don't sell yourself within the week I'm going to fire you. I don't have the money to get rid of your dry rot; I don't have the money to renew your thatch; all I can do is raze you to the ground, claim the insurance, and be off. You have driven me to the end of my tether; you are becoming increasingly vicious. See how I am limping and bandaged. Not content, I said, with getting rid of my wife - who, I must agree, was better equipped for living in a Manhattan apartment block than an English country cottage - on the Tuesday you tripped me up over your threshold and sprained my ankle, and on the Wednesday you slammed a latticed window and sent shards of glass flying in my direction. Presently, as I attempt to rewire you myself because I can't afford both alimony and qualified craftsmen - a detail you overlooked, and are as furious as me to discover - you will throw me across the room and break my back, or worse, my neck. And kill me. So here's my ultimatum - sell, or burn.
I meant it. You have to mean it, with houses as with children. (147)
I meant it. You have to mean it, with houses as with children. (147)
December 24, 2023
Fay Weldon is such an under-rated author, known for her televised and filmed stories, but not for her dozens of other novels and short story collections, like this one.
These stories reflect the struggles of women and men in Britain and her native New Zealand. Her feminist characters must reflect the author's own resilience and creativity in the face of hardship and discrimination. Weldon's strength is her ability to show the great diversity of sexuality and sex, amidst the more routine lives and relationships of her characters, young and old.
The reader can see a little she-devil in some of these characters.
These stories reflect the struggles of women and men in Britain and her native New Zealand. Her feminist characters must reflect the author's own resilience and creativity in the face of hardship and discrimination. Weldon's strength is her ability to show the great diversity of sexuality and sex, amidst the more routine lives and relationships of her characters, young and old.
The reader can see a little she-devil in some of these characters.
October 17, 2020
Impressively focused and concentrated writing - no padding, every paragraph has interest and impact. Her wit is caustic and unsparing, but ultimately humane. Satire of the highest caliber, in my opinion...and very entertaining.
January 23, 2021
Fantastic short stories. Not at all what I expected. I will read more of her now.
September 29, 2021
Actually loved some of these stories and appreciated the dark humour but at this point in my life, I am still just not that into short stories! I'm sorry okay?
January 7, 2022
You have to love a satiric take on life with a snarky wit.
March 5, 2011
Picked the book up at random on a recent visit to local library. I really like it... :). Weldon's topic is edgy and her execution is full of surprises. It was a delight to read. Many years ago I read Weldon's She-Devil and I could not make myself like it. But since knowing that Weldon was one of the script writer for "Upstairs Downstairs", the English series from the 1970s about an Edwardian family at the edge of the British Empire's collapse, my interest on her works is inching upwards.
September 6, 2014
Maybe I've grown out of Fay Weldon, or maybe she's not as good as she was. I don't like short stories much anyway, but these were not much fun at all, nothing memorable, no wonder the book was remaindered.
August 12, 2012
A good mix of short stories. Once in Love in Oslo was probably my favourite. It's kind of funny, but Weldon's characters always seem to be getting divorced, or having affairs, or having fisty-cuffs, but it makes for a good read.
November 7, 2008
Still only a few stories into this collection, even though I've been "reading" it since May. Actually, I'm not sure where it is...
March 24, 2011
Love her style of writing. Short, different, concise and spunky.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews