Mr Outside
Caleb Klaces
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From the publisher
A novel exploring a relationship between a son and his father as he descends into dementia. Told through a striking combination of text and image, Klaces’ distilled novel explores the stories we tell about our lives, the limits of intimacy, and the fragile line between reality and delusion. Based on the life of his own father, Mr Outside is poignant, profound and unexpectedly funny; a tender meditation on endings.
Mr Outside is a novel which explores a relationship between a son and his father as he descends into dementia, and follows Klaces' acclaimed debut novel Fatherhood. Where Fatherhood was focussed on the beginning of a life, Mr Outside is interested in the end. Where Fatherhood was a hybrid of poetry and prose, Mr Outside draws on images, situating itself in a lineage that includes Susan Sontag, John Berger, Javier Marias and WG Sebald.
During a time of restricted movement, the narrator of Mr Outside visits his reclusive father Thomas who is packing up to move into a care home. As father and son grapple with the task, long-buried conflicts resurface. Thomas, a poet and former radical priest, slips between affection and fear, while the narrator struggles to find the words he’s been holding back. Yet amidst confusion and grief, moments of humour and connection emerge, as both men discover new ways to understand each other and let go.