Head of Household

A powerful, singular collection of short stories depicting the evolving role of fatherhood in contemporary society—perfect for readers of Jamel Brinkley’s A Lucky Man and Phil Klay’s Redeployment. From stories about a father who shows up hungover to chaperone his daughter’s kindergarten bowling trip, to another who rediscovers his love of graffiti, and a father who pays for his legal fees and apartment through his OnlyFans earnings, Head of Household is a short story collection that reckons with divorce, financial anxiety, and sexuality to create a collage of the beleaguered father, a man on the frontlines of a masculinity in crisis—stories of men salvaging the shreds of their identities while staging puppet shows and pretending to be ponies for their children.