Flesh Wounds

More about the book

A mother who fabricated her past, an often-absent father, and a son questioning his family's normalcy. Richard Glover's favorite dinner party game is 'Who's Got the Weirdest Parents?', a game he believes he'll win. His mother, a deluded snob, invented much of her history and eloped with Richard's English teacher, a nudist and stuffed-toy collector. His father, a distant alcoholic, cycled through multiple wives, yachts, and unfulfilled dreams. Meanwhile, Richard, a confused teenager, felt vulnerable and sought a family to connect with. Ultimately, he realized that understanding the present required confronting the past, though it might reveal painful truths. This narrative blends poignant family memoir with a humorous exploration of 1970s Australia, appealing to anyone who has questioned their family's uniqueness. The answer is clear: there's always something stranger out there. Praised as both 'poignant and wildly entertaining' by the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, it has been called a 'breathtaking accomplishment' by THE AUSTRALIAN and 'heartbreaking and hilarious' by SUN-HERALD. The book offers an engrossing and funny portrayal of childhood, making ordinary family life extraordinarily entertaining.