Books published by Harvard Publications

In his own version of Kafka's Letter to Father, Bernard Marin reflects on fatherhood: his own experience as the son of a distant and angry father, and as a loving father himself. Recalling his father's gambling, his anger, his indifference, Bernard is surprised to discover happiness in the time he spent with his father at their nursery, surrounded by plants. Both men were called upon to fight, but the outcomes were very different. Ultimately Bernard comes to terms with who his father was, and makes his peace.

Marin's life in accounting has introduced him to high flyers and those who might seem perfectly ordinary--to anyone else. With an eye for detail and a generous heart, he brings readers the stories that have moved him, filtered through a lively imagination, and remade as fiction.tion.

Remembering and forgetting can be conscious or unconscious acts, which can heal or harm. Bernard Marin's life has been rich in experience and intriguing characters. The author examines mental illness and family conflict, extramarital affairs and transgender issues, refugees and war, making ordinary lives extraordinary and more real.

That night, the night I first met Jim, lightning blazed and thunder cracked and rolled overhead … Dad burst in through the front door, a flashlight in one hand, an Aboriginal boy clasped to his hip with the other. 'This is Jimmy,' he said. 'He's going to be living here with us now.' I was watching the boy and saw tears mingle with the rain on his cheeks.It's the mid 1950s, and racism is rife. Robert's father, Jack Pickering, is confident he's doing what's best for Jim, a young Indigenous boy. Recognising the child's athletic ability, Jack encourages him to train hard, to go for gold. But despite Jim's outstanding success, something is wrong. Jack's paternalism, and the injustices Jim faces every day, weigh heavily against the 'advantages' forced upon this Aboriginal child. When Jack finally dies, his white son Robert discovers something terrible about Jim that will ultimately explain everything.A unique, and powerful story of the stolen generation, reconciliation, the power of country and ultimately of hope.