This book explores representations of fathers in select South African novels published from the birth of apartheid to the post-transitional moment. Father figures in the texts reflect political and social climates in South Africa—at different times representing the oppressive apartheid government, righteous and authoritative liberation leaders, and the unfulfilled promise of a democratic South Africa.
Grant Andrews examines how father characters are linked to storytelling; they narrate the lives of their children and their patriarchal power is constituted through narratives. He features authors such as Alan Paton, Nadine Gordimer, J.M. Coetzee, Zakes Mda, K. Sello Duiker, Mark Behr, Zoë Wicomb, Lisa Fugard, and Zukiswa Wanner. Stories of Fathers, Stories of the Nation also investigates how fatherhoods are being reimagined in light of shifting discourses of gender and identity. More recent novels have deconstructed the father figure and his paternal narrative power, representing conflicts around racial identity, sexuality, legacy, and how the sins of the father are visited on his children.