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A review by screamdogreads
Cry Father by Benjamin Whitmer
4.0
Cry Father is a story of fathers and sons. It's also a story of brutal and unflinching violence fueled by substance abuse. This book sits more towards the extreme end of grit-lit, it's full of bloodshed, bleak situations, death and casual racism. While this makes it a book that won't be for everyone, it's certainly a worthwhile read if you like reading about messed up people doing messed up things.
Whitmer's writing is stunning here. There are these moments of quietness, of actual loveliness, where our main character writes letters to his dead son. These parts break up the unapologetic violence, making those scenes even more powerful. There's a certain... Something about a book like this. It's a special experience, it's a painful, gut-wrenching feeling that makes your heart sink every time you pick it up.
"We're all everything we've lost. Just as my fuckups as a father came, in part, from losses before you. Nothing ends, nothing heals."
Whitmer's writing is stunning here. There are these moments of quietness, of actual loveliness, where our main character writes letters to his dead son. These parts break up the unapologetic violence, making those scenes even more powerful. There's a certain... Something about a book like this. It's a special experience, it's a painful, gut-wrenching feeling that makes your heart sink every time you pick it up.
"We're all everything we've lost. Just as my fuckups as a father came, in part, from losses before you. Nothing ends, nothing heals."