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My Father's Shadow A Portrait of Justice Peter Mahon ISBN: 9781877460173 Release: 08-2008 Subject: NZ Non-fiction, Biography Format: Paperback RRP: NZ$39.99 |
'My father communicated best from a distance, in an exchange of letters, and even then we had to work to find him between the lines.’
Described often as ‘a man for all seasons’, Justice Peter Mahon is perhaps best remembered for his role in the Erebus Inquiry: an inquiry into the worst air disaster in New Zealand’s history.
In My Father’s Shadow, his eldest son, artist Sam Mahon, draws a composite portrait of Peter: a rational, moral, astute and complex character, but a father whom the author hardly knew.
In poignant lyrical prose, an expansive story emerges, operatic in scope, of Peter Mahon’s life – through his war years and the Senio offensive, his distinguished legal career, to the insult keenly felt by a proud man when the Court of Appeal questioned his immortal line ‘an orchestrated litany of lies’ – as soldier, lawyer, judge, naturalist, father, colleague, husband. He was at the time of his death ‘one of the ten most admired New Zealanders’.
Artfully woven throughout, the memoir exposes the dynamic and the ongoing legacy between these two strong personalities – the rebellious artist-in-the-making, and his tolerant, distant and revered father.
Written with a spirited clarity, startling honesty, and humour, My Father’s Shadow is a captivating and extraordinary New Zealand story.
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Reviewers Comments ...
‘Mahon succeeds wonderfully in presenting an insightful picture of the complex person who was his father...' - Otago Daily Times, 2008 |
