The Tank Man's Son
A Memoir
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
In the tradition of The Glass Castle and Angela's Ashes comes the most unforgettable memoir you'll read this year!
"What did it mean to be the Tank Man's son? To grow up overwhelmed by my father's presence and personality? It was as if I didn't exist, as if I was just something else for my father to crush."
So begins the haunting memoir of Mark Bouman as he recounts the events of his childhood at the hands of his larger-than-life, Neo-Nazi father in brilliant, startling detail. From adventure-filled days complete with real-life war games, artillery fire, and tank races to terror-filled nights marked by vicious tirades, brutal beatings, and psychological torture, Mark paints a chilling portrait of family life that is at once whimsical and horrific—all building to a shocking climax that challenges even the broadest boundaries of love and forgiveness.
An epic tale of redemption and reconciliation, The Tank Man's Son is a literary tour de force that is sure to become an instant classic.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In a memoir as weighty, heartbreaking, and shocking as Pat Conroy's The Great Santini, Bouman opens up about his childhood of being abused by his maniacal father in central Michigan. The book's opening line suggests a dark tale ahead: "What did it mean to be the Tank Man's son? It was as if Mark Bouman didn't exist as if I were simply another object for my father to crush." And the opening scene shows Bouman's father crushing a tree with his tank on their secluded property. Obsessed with the tools of war and possessing all the maturity of a boy playing with models, Bouman's father abuses his children while the mother supports the family financially. The story progresses chillingly from Bouman's childhood until the moment in his teens when his older brother coordinates a risky getaway plan. Redemptive turning points in the book are jolting and often disorienting. When Bouman realizes how his abusive childhood prepared him for a difficult missionary job later in life (which serves as this book's religious/spiritual element), there are only a few thin pages for readers to come to terms with this abrupt turn. Bizarre and unpredictable, Bouman's memoir transcends the normal tropes of the redemption tale and becomes a testament to the power of human fortitude and forgiveness.
