My Father and Other Animals

Book excerpt: Winner, Prime Minister's Literary Award for Non-fiction 2023 ‘My Father and Other Animals is a warm, surprising and beautifully crafted book.’ —Billy Griffiths, author of Deep Time Dreaming Sam Vincent is a twenty-something writer living in the inner suburbs, scrabbling to make ends meet, when he gets a call from his mother: his father has stuck his hand in a woodchipper, but ‘not to worry – it wasn't like that scene in Fargo or anything’. When Sam returns to the family farm to help out, his life takes a new and unexpected direction. Whether castrating calves or buying a bull – or knocking in a hundred fence posts by hand when his dad hides the post-driver – Sam's farming apprenticeship is an education in grit and shit. But there are victories, too: nurturing a fig orchard to bloom; learning to read the land; joining forces with Indigenous elders to protect a special site. Slowly, Sam finds himself thinking differently about the farm, about his father and about his relationship with both. By turns affecting, hilarious and utterly surprising, this memoir melds humour and fierce honesty in an unsentimental love letter. It's about belonging, humility and regeneration – of land, family and culture. What passes from father to son on this unruly patch of earth is more than a livelihood; it is a legacy. ‘Sam Vincent probes deeply into some of the biggest issues of our time ... This book is a celebration of the love of land and builds bridges of understanding that will appeal to a broad cross section of readers.’ —Judges' comments, Prime Minister's Literary Awards ‘My Father and Other Animals is a beautiful tale of legacy, family, and a millennial finding his place in the world.’ —Samuel Bernard, The Weekend Australian ‘Notable Books’ ‘For any reader desiring to understand contemporary rural Australia, this entertaining and important book is a must-read.’ —Charles Massy, author of Call of the Reed Warbler ‘Bloody hilarious and salt-of-the-earth heartwarming, My Father and Other Animals is an absolute treasure of a book.’ —Anna Krien, author of Act of Grace, Night Games and Into the Woods