Book Review: Head of Household by Oliver Munday

Head of Household by Oliver Munday
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 17, 2026
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

A powerful, singular collection of short stories depicting the evolving role of fatherhood in contemporary society—perfect for readers of Jamel Brinkley’s A Lucky Man and Phil Klay’s Redeployment.

From stories about a father who shows up hungover to chaperone his daughter’s kindergarten bowling trip, to another who rediscovers his love of graffiti, and a father who pays for his legal fees and apartment through his OnlyFans earnings, Head of Household is a short story collection that reckons with divorce, financial anxiety, and sexuality to create a collage of the beleaguered father, a man on the frontlines of a masculinity in crisis—stories of men salvaging the shreds of their identities while staging puppet shows and pretending to be ponies for their children.

Head of Household is a short story collection centering around the theme of fatherhood. The father in each story is having some sort of existential crisis. For instance, one is struggling with being both newly divorced and an addict. He tries to be a good dad by chaperoning his daughter’s kindergarten field trip but shows up hungover and makes some poor choices while he’s there. Another dad tries to connect with his teenage daughter by taking her on a vacation to the beach and ends up disappointed. And also makes some poor choices. That’s a reoccurring theme in these stories – the poor choices of the fathers.

The stories in this collection were fairly bleak. They made me appreciate my husband, who is also the father of my four children, more than I already do for being a well-adjusted human being. I did appreciate that it spoke to how being a father can be tough. Usually, the books I read that are about parenthood center around the mother and her struggles. Being a parent is hard period.

I think this book is for everyone. Even if you’re not a parent, you are somebody’s child and may relate to the children in these stories.

(I received a complimentary copy of this book for review.)