They’re an unlikely pair. Jada is a small-time criminal scraping by in a cramped 1960s high-rise, barely keeping track of how many kids he’s fathered. Dan is a successful TV producer with a Tesla parked outside his mansion, about to become a first-time father after five years of trying and six rounds of IVF.
Their paths cross outside Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. Dan stands nervously taking deep breaths, overwhelmed by the joy and fear of impending fatherhood, while Jada sneaks a quick cigarette. Dan notices Jada’s watchful eyes and weather-defying sportswear; Jada sizes up Dan’s Rolex and calculates how easily he could overpower him. Days later, they meet again in the hospital elevator, planting the seeds for a complicated friendship that will expose both their differences and unexpected common ground—leading to a climax of both connection and betrayal.
Since leaving his music industry job in 2002, John Niven has written novels and screenplays blending satire (of pop culture, publishing, and film) with wild excess—elements likely to feature in his upcoming play about the Blur vs. Oasis rivalry, The Battle. While The Fathers doesn’t shy away from hard living, it also reveals Niven’s gentler side as it follows two Glaswegian men navigating fatherhood in their forties. Dan obsessively baby-proofs his home, splurges on high-end baby gear, and strives to be the perfect dad to his newborn son, Tom. Meanwhile, Jada tries—with limited success—to be more present for his girlfriend Nicola and their new baby, Jayden, than he was for his other children.
Despite Dan’s efforts, the mothers shoulder most of the childcare, leaving the fathers free to pursue career changes. Bored with his hit TV show McCallister (imagine Taggart meets Hamish MacBeth), Dan plots to kill off the main character and write a novel. Jada, meanwhile, has a contact at Prestwick Airport who can divert military supplies meant for Ukraine—a scheme he believes could set him up for life.
Classic Scottish themes of duality, sentiment, and alcohol run throughout, often filtered through class differences. In the hospital, Dan’s wife Grace enjoys a private room and a pricey smoothie that “cost more than wine and tasted like cut grass.” Nicola’s bedside, by contrast, holds cigarettes, a giant Toblerone, and a bottle of Irn-Bru. In the months that follow, Jayden’s sippy cup gets filled with the fizzy orange drink while Nicola and Jada indulge in beer from “PriceBeaster,” along with ecstasy and heroin. Meanwhile, Glasgow’s gentrified West End thrives on “macchiatos, pastel de natas, and designer knitwear.”
The book doesn’t shy away from inequality, hypocrisy, or self-destruction, but Niven keeps it darkly funny, even when leaning into clichés. You might wish for a character who’s neither a privileged fool nor a reckless schemer, or for a man who expresses emotions without alcohol or desperation as a crutch. Yet Niven never loses sight of his characters’ humanity, balancing humor (brushing a baby’s teeth is like “trying to draw a moustache on a live eel with a felt-tip pen”) with moments of poetic beauty (Nicola admiring the city, “all golden and peach, the river dead flat and calm with not a soul around”).
As The Fathers unfolds, Niven tightens the tension like a noose. By the first third, the story swings between unputdownable and unbearable—Jada’s airport deal uncovers a crate of pistols meant for an Irish paramilitary group, while Dan faces a shocking personal disaster that sends everything spiraling.He leaves his herringbone-floored home behind and steps into Jada’s world of shady deals, occasional violence, and daytime pints. The result is a lively comic melodrama and a sharp satire that mostly hits its mark. While the ending feels slightly too neat after the darkness Niven explores, the slow-growing friendship between the two leads remains genuinely charming. The Fathers is a great pick for anyone who enjoys a bit of edge in their holiday reading.
The Fathers by John Niven is published by Canongate (£18.99). To support The Guardian and The Observer, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.
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