As a child, Peter Birkenhead desperately wanted to understand his father. He reasoned that if he could pinpoint what kind of man his father was then he’d understand himself. However this was a difficult task. Peter’s father was a puzzling study in contradictions. He was a violent man, a respected economics professor, a passionate theater owner, a wife swapping nudist, an obsessive gun collector, and an anti-war protestor... who would frequently launch into full character as Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead, English war hero, from his favorite movie: Zulu. Peter wishes for a more lasting appearance of "good dad," the one who transforms himself into entertaining dad at the zoo or the tender man who cries when the family dog dies.

Desperate to be a normal kid, Peter would escape into his imagination, trying to tune out his parents’ fights and find superhero powers, like manipulating time. Peter remembers a time he became a superhero flying down a stairwell, always slowing down to miss handrails. The event seems more real than his other imaginary adventures. As an adult, his mother reveals his superhero flight was actually her scooping up Peter and his brother to escape from their father. The family teeters with the unpredictable moods of his father, who would brag about Peter to friends but solve his sons’ sibling rivalry by beating Peter’s brothers.

Peter tries to control the family’s normalcy by taking on the role of taskmaster to his younger siblings. Yet, no matter what roles he adopts, the outside world seems to know what troubles lie beneath the family surface. Peter soon finds that acting is the only role that makes him feel safe and confident. When he’s on stage, Peter knows exactly what to do, say, or feel. As an adult actor, Peter seems to attract and flourish in roles of sons angry at their fathers.

Author, actor, and journalist Peter Birkenhead generously opens childhood wounds and examines them in his memoir Gonville. Though the events are frequently dark, Birkenhead captures readers’ attention with both humorous flair and painful introspection. He analyzes his feelings, motives, and misbehaviors and shares the journey of his growth and success. More than retelling childhood abuses, Birkenhead sifts through his family’s relationships and the effects of his father’s actions on each of them.

Highly recommended.