Father's Day: A Novel

When devastating news shatters the life of six-year-old Harvey, she finds herself in the care of a veteran social worker, Wanda, and alone in the world save for one relative she has never met—a disabled felon, haunted by a violent past he can't escape.

Moving between past and present, Father’s Day weaves together the story of Harvey’s childhood on Long Island and her life as a young woman in Paris. Written in raw, spare prose that personifies the characters, this novel is the journey of two people searching for a future in the ruin of their past.

Father's Day is a meditation on the quiet, sublime power of compassion, and the beauty of simple, everyday things--a breakthrough work from one of our most gifted chroniclers of the human heart.

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“A strong voice full of poetic, timeless grace.”—San Francisco Examiner

When devastating news shatters the life of six-year-old Harvey, she finds herself in the care of a veteran social worker, Wanda, and alone in the world save for one relative she has never met—a disabled felon, haunted by a violent act he can’t escape.

Moving between past and present, Father’s Day weaves together the story of Harvey’s childhood on Long Island and her life as a young woman in Paris.

Written in raw, spare prose that personifies the characters, this remarkable novel is the journey of two people searching for a future in the ruin of their past.

Father’s Day is a meditation on the quiet, sublime power of compassion and the beauty of simple, everyday things—a breakthrough work from one of our most gifted chroniclers of the human heart.

Praise for Father’s Day and Simon Van Booy

“Father’s Day is the moving account of a unique relationship between a parent and child thrust together under the worst of circumstances.”—Elizabeth Crane, author of The History of Great Things

“Deftly portrays his characters’ raw emotions.”—Wall Street Journal

“The uncanny beauty of Van Booy’s prose and his ability to knife straight to the depths of a character’s heart fill a reader with wonder.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“This is a truly special writer who does things with abstract language that are so evocative and original your breath literally catches in your chest.”—Andre Dubus III

“Van Booy tells his stories without affectation, but ever so effectively as a stylist and a devout humanist.”—Portland Press Herald |

“Van Booy’s great triumph comes in using a family secret to underscore the message that family is as much a choice as a blood tie. Although any reader will find something to love here, someone who has benefited from a perfectly imperfect family will wear the widest smile. This little book with a big heart is suitable not just for Father’s Day, but for any day.” - Shelf Awareness

“Shifting seamlessly between past and present, Simon Van Booy’s Father’s Day is the moving account of a unique relationship between a parent and child, thrust together under the worst of circumstances. With fine, nuanced prose and much tenderness, Booy guides this unlikely father-daughter pair into a beautiful maturity, showing us with great heart what it really means to be a family.” - Elizabeth Crane, author of The History of Great Things

“The moving account of a unique relationship between a parent and child, thrust together under the worst of circumstances. With fine, nuanced prose and much tenderness, Booy guides this unlikely father-daughter pair into a beautiful maturity, showing us with great heart what it really means to be a family.” - Elizabeth Crane, author of The History of Great Things

“There’s so much to enjoy along the way, from Mr. Van Booy’s muted lyricism to the profusion of quiet domestic moments rendered in the strangely captivating way of Andre Dubus.” - Baylis Greene, East Hampton Star

In Father’s Day, Van Booy again deftly demonstrates that he is a master at the craft of storytelling. - Portland Press Herald

“Van Booy’s great triumph comes in using a family secret to underscore the message that family is as much a choice as a blood tie. Although any reader will find something to love here, someone who has benefited from a perfectly imperfect family will wear the widest smile. This little book with a big heart is suitable not just for Father’s Day, but for any day.” - Shelf Awareness

“Moving, redemptive new novel...The third-person narrative gives both characters their own, distinctive voices that nonetheless change over time. Van Booy creates refreshing, humorous, yet poignant childhood milestones that the two reach with emotional honesty.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“[Van Booy’s] facility with word choice and sentence structure can leave a reader swooning...[a] movingly understated drama punctuated with moments of quiet reflection.” - Barbara VanDenburgh, Arizona Republic

“In this novel, Van Booy is at his most poignant, showing how redemption can arise from heartbreaking circumstances.” - Boston Globe