Song for My Father

June M. Blurton is a retired speech/language pathologist.

During their early childhood, Sarah and Nissa were happy in their
east-end Montreal home. As they got older, their father started drinking
heavily and feuding with their mother. When their mother could no longer
stand the shame of it, she threw him out. Then Uncle Max moved in
part-time, and used the nights to sexually molest the teenage Sarah.

By the time Sarah is 35, her marriage has failed, her beloved mother is
dead, she carries the guilt for Uncle Max’s actions, and she blames
her father for the family breakup. She immerses herself in the care of
the elderly in a chronic-care facility, but feels bad about what she has
done with her life. It is not until her father goes missing, and she and
Nissa desperately hunt for him, that Sarah realizes just how much he
means to her: “I had forgotten [the] good times; the bad times are
more vivid in my head.”

Using Sarah’s voice to tell the simple story makes it come alive. The
novel’s characters are fully drawn, and the dialogue—always relevant
and often witty—makes the love between the sisters evident, even when
they are fighting. Especially memorable are the vivid scenes of Montreal
in earlier days, of summer camp, and

of the Jewish mourning rituals where all the visitors remember the good
things about her father. Song for My Father is a very readable book.