And When Did You Last See Your Father? by Blake Morrison

I first encountered Blake Morrison when I heard him speak at the Sydney Writer’s Festival ten years ago on the rarely-deeply-discussed topic of the relationship between fathers and sons. I knew immediately that I was going to relate to his book And When Did You Last See Your Father.

The book is an autobiographical series of vignettes spanning Blake’s life, each of which add a piece to the puzzle depicting his larger-than-life father as seen through the son’s eyes. Interspersed between these snapshots is the background scene of Blake’s aging father’s gradual death due to cancer. In many ways it reminded me of in my relationship with my own father. (more…)