Extra-ordinary miniature stories about the ordinary process of becoming a father.
The most precious gift of all is one of those books men write after becoming (mostly for the first time) a father to a child (mostly a daughter). These are notes about everyday life, about experiencing reality anew with children. According to Philip K. Dick, this is »the most precious gift of all: reality«!
The text is written in a strict, mathematical form which accommodates all the themes and motives of the author and young father: language, writing, first words (and deeds), getting older and getting bigger, friendship, book fairs, readings, and the complicated circumstances of patchwork families. With relentless honesty, he notes gains and losses of this new situation, as well as the shifted loyalties and challenges, and finishes the book with the two chapters »Book of Discourage« and »Book of Courage«.
»He is still the same as the one he had become practically overnight, then, at the age of 17, he thinks.« An impressive, linguistically and psychologically precise account of a very banal situation – which, caught by Andreas Unterweger’s intelligent, original and funny eye, turns into a joyful and entertaining read!