You Never Knew My Father


  Thursday 27th June, 2019
  Author: Graeme Sparkes
  Categorised: literature

This is an extract from the memoir 'You Never met My Father' by Graeme Sparkes. As suggested, the memoir centres around Sparkes’ father who was mentally ill. Many family troubles (and many family strengths) came from the father's illness but so did many good stories!
This one tells of a time when the younger Sparkes went with his father to the regional office of the Housing Commission. Sparkes who by then was a university student, didn't know what the visit was about, but thought it was to pay rents. Although the extract raises good discussion issues for VCE students such as gambling, violence, dealing with bureaucracies- its humour, which has a subtle quality that is hard to even describe- is a winning element. Graeme's father
was ill but he was not dull!”






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