Romulus, My Father

Passion, deceit and tragedy

Romulus, My Father
Genre: 
THIS EXTRAORDINARY MEMOIR HAS been an enduring hit since its publication in 1998, when it won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award. It’s the remarkable story of Romulus Gaita, who fled his native Yugoslavia when he was just 13. At the end of the Second World War, he came to Australia with his wife Christine and their four year old son, Raimond. Their struggle for survival in the face of a strange country and heart-breaking tragedy is told with a poignancy and simplicity that has captivated thousands of readers.

While sometimes exploring the most turbulent aspects of human life, it is ultimately a story of a father and son, and of enduring lessons that can be passed on even in the most difficult circumstances.

The book has been made into an equally enthralling film starring Eric Bana and directed by Richard Roxburgh.

Share

About the Author

Raimond Gaita

Raimond Gaita is Professor of Moral Philosophy at King’s College, University of London; Foundation Professor of Philosophy at Australian Catholic University and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. His books have been published in many languages. They include: Good and Evil: An Absolute Conception, Romulus, My Father, A Common Humanity, The Philosopher’s Dog, Why The War was Wrong (as editor and contributor) and, Breach of Trust: Truth, Morality and Politics (Quarterly Essay 16).

Related books

Unpolished Gem
NOT ALL CHINESE-CAMBODIAN STORIES begin with killing fields or 500 years of oppression. Some start in the hustle and smells of Footscray markets. Alice Pung, born of Chinese and Cambodian parents in Melbourne, grew up in a family that lived the Australian life. Her father took up a Retravision franchise and her mother was a true battler, an outworker.
Fat, Forty and Fired
YOU DON’T HAVE TO move to the country and take up organic farming to find a meaningful life. Most people take a gap year at age 18; Nigel Marsh had one thrust on him at age forty. With a wife, four kids, a massive mortgage and a high-powered job in advertising, Nigel’s life soon erupts–first, with a fistula on his backside, next…the end of his job.
Head Over Heels
SAM BAILEY THOUGHT HE had his life as a farmer neatly planned out, until a road accident left him a quadriplegic. Remarkably, this turned out to be just a bump in the road to achieving his goals. With determination, rehabilitation and the unwavering support of family and friends, he resumed farming and threw in skiing and solo flights for pastimes. However, the greatest chapter of his story is how he fell in love and captured the nation’s heart. There are many triumph-in-the-face-of-adversity stories, but this one is an absolute stand out.
Marley and Me
WHAT DO YOU DO with a dog that appears to have Attention Deficit Disorder? When John and Jenny fell in love with an adorable Labrador Retriever puppy, little did they imagine it would morph into a 44 kilogram-eating machine, underwear-stealer and furniture-destroyer. Meet Marley, the most adorable bad dog that ever flunked obedience school.
Salvation Creek: An Unexpected Life
YOUR BODY CAN BE more sensible than your mind. Susan Duncan was one of Australia’s high flyers—a magazine editor with an international jet set lifestyle and a life many would envy. Then one day she simply could not get out of bed. It seemed like her body refused to move. That was the first step in a journey that led to the tiny seaside retreat of Salvation Creek.

Susan Duncan’s unflinching dedication to the truth about her own life leads not just to remarkable insights, but to razor sharp observations about herself and those around her.

The Last Explorer
THE FIRST ANTARCTIC FLIGHT, the first submarine navigation under polar ice, the first flight between America and Europe over the North Pole, the only Australian war photographer to be decorated in battle twice…this list of Hubert Wilkins’ extraordinary achievements is virtually endless, and yet today his name is almost unknown.

This superbly written account of Australia’s greatest explorer will change that. The Last Explorer is a fascinating read about a true hero. No one, before or since, has discovered more previously unknown land and sea.