Lessons For A Sunday Father

By Claire Calman

Scott is a husband and father who comes to the astounding realization that his accidental "fling" (a one-hour stand might be the correct terminology -- and the second time doesn't really count because he was only trying to make up for the first, umm, rather embarrassing quickie) has just closed the coffin lid on his 15-year marriage.

Gail is a wife and mother, who is fed up with being the responsible one.She wonders whether Scott's Big Mistake has given her the push she needed to get out of a marriage where the best-before date expired a long time ago.

Nat, their 13-year-old son, can't believe his parents think he's clueless about their huge row.So now, hiding his hurt underneath the teenage uniform of sweatshirt and baggy pants, Nat retaliates by refusing to see his dad for the obligatory Sunday visit.

Rosie, nine and irrepressible, is discovering a new relationship with her dad, which to her delight often includes more regular rations of cream cakes. It's only Nat who has turned his back on her.

Lessons for a Sunday Father explores the ragged edges of a marriage break-up from a family's four radically different viewpoints. Written by the bestselling British author whose first novel, Love is a Four Letter Word, sold over 100,000 copies in the UK, Claire Calman's second book is an irresistible read, filled with humor and poignancy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 16, 2012
• ISBN: 9781443402163

Claire Calman

Claire Calman decided to write a book when she discovered that it mainly involved making cups of tea and gazing out of the window. It was some time before a real writer friend pointed out that if she were to select an assortment of words and arrange them in some kind of order, this would speed up the process no end. Spurred on by this invaluable hint, she wrote Love is a Four-Letter Word, a funny yet poignant story of love and loss which became a bestseller. ​After this, she went on to write Lessons for a Sunday Father, I Like it Like That, Cross my Heart and Hope to Die, and Growing Up for Beginners. She has also written numerous short stories for magazines and anthologies. Claire Calman has a teenage son and lives in London.