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Plot Summary

The first scene of the novel The Dead Fathers Club takes place at 11 year old Phillip’s father Brian’s funeral. There, he is visited by his father’s ghost, who tells him his he was murdered by his uncle Alan--Brian’s brother. Recently after Brian’s death, Alan had been helping out Phillip’s family and business: they live above and run a pub, the Castle and Falcon. However, Brian’s ghost tells Phillip that Alan just wants to take the pub and marry Phillip’s mother. The ghost tells Phillip that he must avenge his murder by killing Alan before Brian’s birthday in about three months so that Phillip can save him from the Terrors. Later on in the story, Phillip is on an overnight with his school field trip to Hadrian's wall.. In the middle of the night, he is met by his father’s ghost, who tells him that there are men breaking into the pub that will hurt Phillip’s mother. Brian claims that it is Alan and it is part of his plot to steal Phillip’s mum. He convinces Phillip to steal the mini-bus that his class road to Hadrian’s wall and drive back home. Phillip cannot tell his mother about Brian’s ghost because “It will put you both in more danger” according to the ghost. As Phillip begins driving off, the chaperones follow. Soon, he loses control and drives into a ditch, but walks away unharmed. It turns out that no one actually broke into the pub. Phillip is consequently assigned to therapy sessions.

One night, Phillip’s family has dinner with Mr. Fairview, a business partner in the garage where Alan works, and his daughter, Leah. That night, Leah and Phillip go upstairs and kiss. Leah pronounces them boyfriend and girlfriend without Phillip’s consent. The ghost is oppose to the relationship from the start and thinks it is a distraction from the murder of Uncle Alan. Some time later, the ghost appears in Phillip’s science class and show Phillip to certain chemical that could kill Alan. Soon after that, Phillip learns that Uncle Alan and Phillip’s mother plan to marry.

Phillip’s first attempt to murder Alan comes when he poisons his whisky. However, before he can drink it, Phillip purposefully knocks the table making the drinks spill, Brian’s ghost is disappointed. The second time he tries to kill Alan is when he replaces his bath salts with a substance that explodes when it touches water. When Phillip thinks the bath salts are about to be used, he realizes that his mother is preparing the bath for Uncle Alan, so Phillip is yelling and takes the bath salts and throws them in the recycling outside. It is becoming closer to. Brian’s birthday, so Phillip finally listens to his father and breaks up with Leah. The third time Phillip tries to kill Alan is when he goes to the garage where Alan works. The ghost tells Phillip that Alan is the only one inside, so he starts a fire that engulfs the entire building. He hears screams from inside and the goes home satisfied but a bit uneasy. When Phillip gets home he hears his mother on the telephone; Phillip suspects that the phone call is about Alan’s death but instead he learns from his mother that Mr. Fairview had died in the fire. Phillip immediately panics and runs upstairs to find Uncle Alan sleeping in his room. The ghost at first does not visit Phllip, which concerns him, but eventually he shows up in the middle of the night and apologizes profusely, saying “I was flickering out”, and “I couldn’t see properly Phillip”. In the next couple of days Phillip’s conscious gets the better of him and he decides that he needs to tell Leah. However, when he goes to her house she is very depressed and appears slightly delusional, she repeats the phrase “dead and gone” and quietly sings, not responding. Phillip then sees Mr. Fairview’s ghost sitting on Leah’s bed. He pressures Phillip and makes him feel terribly guilty. Phillip decides to confess to Dane instead, Mr.Fairview is there as well. He tells Dane what happened, and then Dane holds a knife to Phillip’s neck in anger but does not harm Phillip, instead he just tells him not to tell Leah.

A few days later, Dane storms comes to the pub asking if Phillip has seen Leah because she is missing. Phillip, very worried, rushes to the bottle banks where the Dead Father’s Club resides and asks them to take him to Leah. One ghost, Ray Goodwin, uses his power to levitate and piece of paper and takes him to the bridge above the weir where Leah is standing. She has the words “dead and gone” written in blood on her arms. Despite Phillip’s pleas, she jumps into the water, and Phillip jumps in after her in attempt to save her. Leah and Phillip are struggling to resist the force of the water. The next scene depicts Uncle Alan and his business associate known as Sleepy Eye Terry in the story, are attempting to save Leah and Phillip by giving them CPR on the shore. Uncle Alan is shouting that there is someone else in the water but no one can see it besides Phillip when his eyes are closed. He describes the man as “It is Dad’s head I think”. The resolution to this event is not revealed.

Phillip wakes up in the hospital periodically. He sees a bit of news that reads “Pub Gang Caught” , suggesting that Phillip’s father’s ghost was lying. Phillip is told that he is healthy again and he goes to Alan’s room. Brian’s ghost is there, and tells Phillip that he has 2 minutes until his birthday and that he should kill him now, but Phillip does not listen. The doctor then calls out Phillip’s mother and he hears bits of their conversation about the poor condition of Alan. During the conversation, the heart monitor reports the solid beep, signaling that Alan has died. It is unclear whether or not Brian is saved from the terrors and there is also an idea floating around in the air questioning the true existence of ghosts or if it is just a figment of Phillip’s imagination.

Characters

• Phillip- The protagonist, Phillip, is assigned to the task of avenging his father’s murder by murdering his Uncle. He is an outsider at school and is picked on by Dominik Weekly and Jordan Harper.

• Brian Noble- Brian died before the novel starts. He comes back back to visit Phillip to get him to avenge his death to save him from the terrors. He fades in and out of the real world.

• Alan Peter Noble- Alan, the antagonist, has supposedly killed his brother, Brian, by dismatling his brakes on his car. According to Brian’s ghost, he is only out to steal Phillip’s mother and take the pub for himself.

• Carol Suzzane Noble- Mother of Phillip, Carol marries Alan and is unaware of the presence of Brian’s ghost. Phillip cares a lot for his mother, who is one of his only last sources of comfort.

• Leah Fairview- The former girlfriend of Phillip is sister to Dane Fairview. Her mother died when Leah was young and her father is accidentaly murdered by Phillip. At the end of the novel, Phillip saves her from committing suicide

• Mrs. Fell- The teacher and counselor of Phillip, Mrs. Fell is a lovely woman who offers comfort to Phillip. Ray Goodwin, is in the Dead Father’s Club; it is unclear whether or not Mrs. Fell knows this.

• Mr. Fairview- He is a father and a widower. He is murdered accidentally by Phillip.

• Dane- He is the brother of Leah and a friend of Phillip’s that at times has protected Phillip from Dominick. However he nearly slits Phillip’s throat when Phillip confesses that he murdered Dane’s father.

• Terry- He works with Uncle Alan in his garage. He chokes Phillip on Halloween night, he also revives Leah with Uncle Alan.

• Dominick Weekly and Jordan Harper- They are bullies at Phillip’s school hat torment and physically abuse Phillip.

• Nan- She is a minor character that is the mother of Phillip’s mother. She is disapproving of Carol’s precocious marriage to Alan.

Major Themes

The major themes of The Dead Fathers Club include the the separation of childhood and adulthood, and the separation of the civilized and the savage. The Romans are referenced frequently in the novel, as they represent a civilized empire at war with the savagery in themselves and from the outside. In particular, Hadrian’s wall is recognized as a separation between the civilized romans and the unknown savages beyond the wall. Likewise, Phillip has the same conflict with the civilized citizen he was, to the murderous, confused, savage child he has become. Another theme that runs through the story is the separation of childhood and adulthood. Phillip, age 11, is forced to commit an atrocious act, a violation of the innocence associated with childhood. In one instance in particular, Phillip witnesses his mother and Uncle Alan having sex, and instead of cringing or being disgusted, he understands what is going on and all he feels is anger toward Uncle Alan . In order for Phillip to come to terms with what he must do, he must cross the dichotomy of childhood and adulthood.

Reception

Overall, reviews have been good for The Dead Fathers Club. One critic praises the book by saying that Haig can be "sweet or funny or dark, sometimes all in the same scene." . Most people praise the subliminal allusions to Hamlet, the unpunctuated style of writing, and the lovable character with the conflict of human nature. One of many satisfied reviewers complements Haig in his ability to keep originality in his story although not deviating to far from the consistent allusions to Hamlet. However, some people claim that the allusions to Hamlet are misconstrued or are not consistent and that the unpunctuated style of writing makes the story difficult to read. One of the largest biggest changes between Haig's book and Hamlet is that Phillip is only 11 years old. While this does add to the novel's unique style, some reviewers found it disturbing to read of a young boy contemplating murder. Despite the criticism, nearly all agree that this book is worth reading.

Adaptations

Even before the book’s release, the producer of the Harry Potter series, David Heyman, has taken up the project of creating a movie of the story. Matt Haig is optimistic and excited about the release and is interested to contribute to developing the story on the big screen.

Background

The basic premise of The Dead Fathers Club is similar to the story of Hamlet-- a ghost visits his son and imposes on him the task of exacting revenge for his murder. The story is not meant to be a retelling, but it shares a similar plotline despite a different ending entirely. In certain times in the novel there are acute allusions to Hamlet, such as in the names, characters, and certain lines that join in with the similar plotline . The reception of the foundation of the story is somewhat mixed, although the majority of reviewers say they have fun picking out the allusions.

The novel is set in the author’s home town, Newark on Trent. Many of the landmark places in the book are actual places in real life, such as the Castle and Falcon Pub, the School Phillip attended and the bottle banks outside in the car park.

Publication History

The story is written by an English author and was published first in England than in the U.S. Nothing in the book was changed in the American release, meaning some of the terminology that English people are familiar with may confuse American readers, but does not impede the development of the story.

Style

Phillip narrates the novel, and with his discriptions comes his simplified narration. Haig never uses quotation marks or commas, intentionally creating run-on sentences. Whenever there is dialogue, Phillip reports it to the reader saying "he said" or "she said". A reviewer says "Phillip's unpunctuated, edgy narration is an utter delight". periodically throughout the novel, Haig uses the literature itself to paint a picture, such as leaving an empty space on the page to emphasize a pause or capitalizing an entire word. In one instance, Phillip is counting the fish in his fish tank and to show this, Haig randomly places numbers in an empty paragraph as if they were showing the places of the fish in the fish tank.

Bibliography

Haig, Matt (2007). The Dead Fathers Club. New York: Penguin Books. p. 328. ISBN 978-0-14-311294-551400. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: length (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)