9 Excellent Reads Featuring Inspiring Fathers

If you were lucky enough to have a dad or grandfather that loved to read, you probably explored his library as a child. Or maybe your favorite father figure was one you found in the pages of a book. Whether your father shaped your views on literature, or literature shaped your view on fatherhood, you’ll appreciate these books featuring admirable fathers.

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Lincoln in the Bardo

By George Saunders

The debut novel from short story master George Saunders centers on the death of Willie, the third son of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln. A deep meditation on grief, the afterlife, and memory, Lincoln In the Bardo explores a part of fatherhood that no father ever hopes to experience. While Lincoln himself is not exactly the main character of the book, the long shadow of his presence and popular consciousness surrounding his life (and specifically his life as a father), provide the main current of this beautiful and tragic work.

To Kill a Mockingbird

By Harper Lee

A classic that has stood the test of the time, To Kill A Mockingbird is beloved for many reasons, but one of the key ones is the character of Atticus Finch, an admirable man of reason. The example he sets for Scout and Jeb is a great one, teaching them the importance of sympathy, justice, and respect, which is apparent in not just his life and work, but how he treats his children.

If you're more of a visual reader, you can also try the graphic novelization.

Sweet Tooth

By Jeff Lemire

Jeff Lemire’s Sweet Tooth takes place in a future where an inexplicable plague has women giving birth to human-animal hybrid children all over the world. When society turns against these hybrid kids, one father runs to the woods to ensure the safety of his son, a deer-child name Gus. Though their utopia is short lived and Gus is left to fend for himself after his father falls ill and dies, the tender father-son relationship is a touchstone of Gus’ entire journey of self-discovery.

Jim Henson

By Brian Jay Jones

As a driving force behind the Muppets and Sesame Street, Jim Henson is, in a sense, a father figure to millions. While his relationship to his five kids was complicated—Henson was evidentially a workaholic who spent more time at the studio than at home—he was also a source of wonder and inspiration, with all of his kids entering the puppeting game at some point or another. You can learn more about Henson and his legendary creative career in this acclaimed biography.

Hamlet

By William Shakespeare

While King Hamlet, the father of the titular Hamlet, is not alive in the play, his ghost is a valuable presence to his lost, depressed son. Whether or not the ghost Hamlet sees is truly his father’s ghost, the message he relays of Hamlet’s mother’s and uncle’s betrayal set the moral stakes that cause Hamlet to seek vengeance and send him on his path of madness.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

By Jonathan Safran Foer

Another book father that isn’t alive during the majority of the book, protagonist Oskar's father Thomas Schell died in the terrorist attack on 9/11. We see him mostly in flashbacks and in Oskar’s memories, where we learn that he was a devoted father who pushed his son to dream big and fostered his imagination, telling him stories and cuddling him to bed at night. Though his death leaves Oskar feeling lost, his presence is still felt by his son.

A Room With a View

By E.M. Forster

Mr. Emerson, the father of the man that A Room With a View protagonist Lucy falls in love with, is a wonderful character with unconventional morals that make him disliked by many, but appreciated by his own son and Lucy. His strong belief in the equality of women is a motivating factor in Lucy’s life path, which she finds herself unsure about. Not only is Mr. Emerson a great character and father, but he’s also an avid reader!

The Road

By Cormac McCarthy

Cormac McCarthy’s The Road finds a man, known only as The Man, tasked with the impossible: keeping himself and his son, known as The Boy, alive in a post-apocalyptic world. The Man does everything in his power to keep the boy safe and above that, happy. Despite the bleak conditions of the world, The Man finds ways to give the boy small glimpses into how the world used to be and introduce small pleasures, like teaching him how to float in a waterfall, or offering a rare can of soda.

If Beale Street Could Talk

By James Baldwin

In James Baldwin's If Beale Street Could Talk, when protagonist Tish’s father Joseph learns that she’s pregnant at 19 years old, he’s eager to celebrate the miracle of life, easing Tish’s own fears. He also accepts the father of the child, Fonny, who didn’t have a close family growing up, going to great lengths to raise the funds for Fonny’s legal fees. His loving demeanor and his dedication hold his family together in the tough times they endure.