LEADER 03787nam 2200673Ia 450 001 9910781327703321 005 20200520144314.0 010 $a0-8014-6144-8 010 $a0-8014-6096-4 024 7 $a10.7591/9780801460968 035 $a(CKB)2550000000037228 035 $a(OCoLC)743196386 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebrary10478343 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000534710 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11329792 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000534710 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10511450 035 $a(PQKB)10895229 035 $a(StDuBDS)EDZ0001499039 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3138223 035 $a(MdBmJHUP)muse28899 035 $a(DE-B1597)478720 035 $a(OCoLC)979968137 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780801460968 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3138223 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10478343 035 $a(CaONFJC)MIL767798 035 $a(EXLCZ)992550000000037228 100 $a20101214d2011 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur||||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aBureau of missing persons$b[electronic resource] $ewriting the secret lives of fathers /$fRoger J. Porter 210 $aIthaca [N.Y.] $cCornell University Press$d2011 215 $a1 online resource (214 p.) 300 $aBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph 311 $a0-8014-4987-1 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index. 327 $tFrontmatter -- $tContents -- $tAcknowledgments -- $tIntroduction: The Child's Book of Parental Deception -- $t1. Faith-Changing for Life -- $t2. Deciphering Enigma Codes -- $t3. The Men Who Were Not There -- $t4. Becoming One's Parent -- $t5. Breaking the Silence -- $tConclusion: Freedom or Exploitation? -- $tBibliography -- $tIndex 330 $aA devoted reader of autobiographies and memoirs, Roger J. Porter has observed in recent years a surprising number of memoirs by adult children whose fathers have led secret lives. Some of the fathers had second families; some had secret religious lives; others have been criminals, liars, or con men. Struck by the intensely human drama of secrecy and deception played out for all to see, Porter explores the phenomenon in great depth. In Bureau of Missing Persons he examines a large number of these works-eighteen in all-placing them in a wide literary and cultural context and considering the ethical quandaries writers face when they reveal secrets so long and closely held.Among the books Porter treats are Paul Auster's The Invention of Solitude, Alison Bechdel's graphic memoir Fun Home, Essie Mae Washington-Williams's Dear Senator (on her father, Strom Thurmond), Bliss Broyard's One Drop, Mary Gordon's The Shadow Man, and Geoffrey Wolff's The Duke of Deception. He also discusses Nathaniel Kahn's documentary film, My Architect. These narratives inevitably look inward to the writer as well as outward to the parent. The autobiographical children are compelled, if not consumed, by a desire to know. They become detectives, piecing together clues to fill memory voids, assembling material and archival evidence, public and private documents, letters, photographs, and iconic physical objects to track down the parent. 606 $aAutobiography$xAuthorship 606 $aFathers in literature 606 $aSecrecy in literature 606 $aDeception in literature 615 0$aAutobiography$xAuthorship. 615 0$aFathers in literature. 615 0$aSecrecy in literature. 615 0$aDeception in literature. 676 $a808/.06692 700 $aPorter$b Roger J.$f1936-$01547052 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910781327703321 996 $aBureau of missing persons$93803072 997 $aUNINA