This quick read barely left an impression on me. For a character driven novel, I couldn't find a shred of interest in any of the characters; they always seemed distant. Bleak and plodding. Not for me. ( )

An infinite nostalgia for everything that had gone wrong in her childhood began to weigh down on her like a stone.

Ania has been estranged from her father for years, and when he dies, she returns to her childhood home and has to deal with all the unresolved issues she left behind. Gabriel was a prominent and strong-willed man, who enjoyed his position until an ill-advised rant in which he defends the brutal murder of a young migrant turns him into a pariah. He was also an exacting man whose disappointment with his daughter's imperfections drove her away.

Autopsy of a Father is a slender book that packs a surprising amount into its 200 pages. Ania is a woman raising her deaf son alone, mostly content in the small world she has carved out for them in a Paris suburb. Her final unsatisfying meeting with her father as well as her return after his death bring up memories of her childhood as well as a needed reckoning with her present. This is my first encounter with Swiss author Pascale Kramer's writing, but it certainly won't be my last. ( )

Ania is having difficulty dealing with her father's death. They had been estranged for years. I'm not clear why.

Novel is very negative similar to Kramer's The Child which I recently read. I found it hard to understand everything going on including the nuances, the anger and resentment.

If this wasn't an Early Reviewer book I would not have completed it. ( )

When her politically controversial father commits suicide, a young woman returns home to face the memories of her father and his legacy. This was a short, not entirely easy, but absolutely beautiful story. The author's way of unfolding a disturbing past without any blatant statements of fact makes for a very subtle read and, although I should have been frustrated at not finding out the answers to all my questions, the odd unease the story caused me to feel was so strangely enjoyable that I didn't mind. This story may be about racism and fear, but what I most take away from it is the sadness of family/friends/lovers drifting apart due to misunderstandings and presumptions. It's a very quiet story, this, but its mood stayed with me long after I finished reading. ( )

Ania is estranged from her father, Gabriel, a prominent journalist, not having seen him for four years. However, she decides to visit him with her young son, Theo. The visit is an awkward one. Ania is shocked to learn the next day that her father has committed suicide. Ania returns to her father’s home where she grew up and tries to piece together the last years of her father’s life. She discovers that her father was fired from his job when he defended the murder of a harmless African immigrant. Her father’s actions have released a violent response in the community. How did her father turn into such a racist?

I was very impressed by this short novel translated from the French language in which the author wrote. It’s a quiet book but kept me riveted to the pages with a chill up my spine. The title is a perfect one as this book is in fact an autopsy of this man, an in depth look at his life, family and animosity towards immigrants. It’s insightful and compelling and casts a light on the racial tension in France.

I now want to read more of this author’s work and I’ll be getting a chance to do just that since, along with an ARC of Ms. Kramer’s newest book, the publisher also kindly sent me a copy of “The Child” by the same author. You’ll be seeing a review on that book fairly soon!

Very unsettling and quite fascinating. Recommended.

This book was given to me by the publisher in return for an honest review. ( )