A 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."
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