Book Review: "Thy Father's Glass" by Jeffray Harrison

How do you navigate forgiveness for someone who may not even remember what they’ve done? How to we find peace within ourselves when caring for someone who did not always show a caring heart to us?

“Thy Father’s Glass” is a fantastic debut novel by Jeffray Harrison that navigates the familial relationship between Dane and his father Branson who has Alzheimer’s. Branson was a distant, cold, and sometimes abusive father to Dane growing up causing him to harbor complicated feelings for his father whom he now has to care for. Upon staying in his childhood home to care for his father it is discovered that the window in the attic acts as a look into the past, showing both Branson’s childhood as well as Dane’s own childhood.

This was quite a compelling read, the familial connection between the characters could be felt almost immediately. Harrison does a fine job at establishing these relationships quickly for the audience, but without making it feel rushed, so they can feel connected to them as the story unfolds. Dane and his wife Muriel’s intimate connection is built so well and swiftly in the open pages during the funeral for Dane’s mother that the years of marriage between them can be felt in just a few words. With the book coming in at around 150 pages it does a great job pacing and building these relationships so we truly do feel the connection amongst them and allow ourselves to feel for these characters in such a short amount of time.

Harrison really handles the sensitive subject matter of caring for a parent during end-stage Alzheimer’s with such understanding and empathy. Harrison pulls us into this family giving us an almost voyeuristic, play-like view of what is happening, this would in fact make a wonderful play production. Each setting really feels so fleshed out and full, the years lived within the house and the memories that exist there. How each character has a familiarity with their surroundings is structured quite nicely so the story feels truly lived in.

The sprinkling of some magical realism really added a wonderful element to the storytelling, allowing us to look into the past of the childhood of both Branson and Dane and providing us the opportunity to understand the complex nature of relationships between parent and child. Each character within the story feels well-rounded and integral to the story, from Dane’s wife Muriel to Sabine the daytime caretaker of Branson. Each key moment feels wonderfully placed within the story, never lingering too long on one thing or the other. Despite it being a shorter novel it doesn’t feel as if there is much missing. By the end of the book, things feel complete and nicely wrapped up in this fantastic debut novel from Jeffray Harrison.

4/5 stars

- F.A.