Sad Daddy's Girl

The father awful to others, but beloved by his daughter is a fairly standard literary trope. Why? Because it is often true.

Lily King is currently being celebrated for her new novel Father of the Rain. The setting is late 60s suburban Boston. The country was splitting apart as is the family of narrator Daley Armory. The 11-year-old will grow up to follow the words, if not necessarily actions of her liberal mum, but it is her alcoholic, regressive, often obnoxious-to-outsiders dad who always has her heart.