Head of Household

by Oliver Munday

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.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

224 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication February 17, 2026

Reviews

[Vmndetta ᛑᛗᛛ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5. Such an interesting book! I usually see a lot of books about motherhood from a mother's point of view, but this one's from a father's instead. I read it all in one day. A great collection of short stories about fathers, each with their own struggles and issues. I gave this book 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4) because not all the stories were my favorite, but I'd still recommend it if you're looking for something new and different to read!

[jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Head of Household” is a collection of stories with a common throughline of fatherhood and masculinity, contained to the household and within modern society as a whole. I was eager to dig into these stories because I’ve read a lot of works centering motherhood in the past, so I wanted to get a look into the opposite side of the spectrum. This collection was fine. There wasn’t anything wrong with any of these stories, but I found that—besides a couple of them—most of them lack sticking power for me.

I also found that the stories didn’t push boundaries in the way I was hoping they would. With most of the stories I’ve read about motherhood, there’s some aspect or other that pushes the envelope of things, but that wasn’t present here. As I was reading, there were a handful of stories that I anticipated moving in a different direction than they actually did.

Motherhood-centric stories can be quite subversive, while these stories focused more on the mundane; there’s nothing wrong with that, but I wanted more. I also find that in stories centering mothers, if the central character is unlikable, it tends to be because the author is using her as a vessel to rally against patriarchy and societal expectations, whereas, in this collection, if a male character was unlikeable it was typically just because he was an ass. There’s nothing wrong with having unlikeable protagonists, but a couple of these main characters seemed to lack that underlying layer of complexity and nuance I want to find in an unlikeable character. In addition, some of these stories had emotional subplots, but the collection as a whole lacked the emotional punch I was hoping for.

If you’re like me and familiar with contemporary literature depicting motherhood and want to explore the opposite side of things, “Head of Household” is a decent place to start. Like I’ve said, there’s nothing wrong with these stories, and I liked the depictions of certain themes related to masculinity, such as the desperation to maintain desirability and the complexities of aging. It was cool to read about these themes from the male perspective. Despite wanting more, these stories allowed a glimpse into (as well as societal/cultural/political/sexual analyses of) the domestic life of modern-day men and their unique struggles. It didn’t deliver everything I wanted in terms of testing the limits of gender roles and societal expectations, but I can definitely see this acting as a stepping stone for future works that will. The stories were quick to read and did contain little gems of commentary on contemporary men.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the advance copy!

[Remi · Rating 3 out of 5]

it’s refreshing to read a short story collection centred on fatherhood, especially since so many contemporary domestic stories focus on mothers. seeing the pressures, insecurities, and quiet emotional burdens from the father’s point of view felt new, and that perspective alone gives this collection an interesting angle.

each story is solid and readable; none of them are bad. the situations are varied and the author captures snapshots of modern masculinity with sincerity. several pieces offer a gentle, almost understated melancholy that works well.

however, while the collection as a whole is nice, it never quite gave me the feeling of clever or special. nothing stands out in a memorable way once you remove the fatherhood lens. the concepts are good, but the execution doesn’t always rise to something that lingers or surprises. i liked the perspective shift, but i didn’t come away feeling deeply moved or impressed. it’s good for readers interested in fatherhood and quiet domestic moments, just not the kind of collection that leaves a strong afterglow for me.

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to-read:

read so many stories from mothers' pov, i think it'll be refreshing to read from fathers'

*thank you to Simon & Schuster for the ARC*

[Michael Busse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this! This thoughtful short story collection takes fatherhood as its central subject, but the stories are really about the layers surrounding fatherhood: aging, responsibility, sacrifice, and the complicated ways children can reflect, repel, and reveal parts of a parent.

What stood out most was how often the characters find themselves jealous of children (not necessarily their own, but children in general) for their youth, freedom, and open-endedness, and also how the insecurities of young adulthood continue to persist into parenthood. These recurring notes felt sharp, especially as a counterpoint to the cultural narrative that parenthood is purely fulfilling or redemptive.

I had some mixed feelings about the form. Half or more of stories ended abruptly, without a clear emotional pivot or moment of change for the character. I don’t read a ton of short story collections, so this may be more a problem with my expectations than a flaw of Munday’s writing, but I frequently wanted more narrative resolution.

Overall, “Head of Household” is a perceptive and insightful collection. Even if not every story fully landed for me, I enjoyed being along for the ride.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the advance reader copy!

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Head Of Household by Oliver Monday is short stories about situations from a dad‘s point of view whether a new dad a dad who’s mourning the loss of their child and many other situations. I found all these books to be really good some are better than others but none or bad whatsoever. I love short stories and rarely do we get a group of stories all told from this point of view I found it refreshing entertaining in at times very insightful. From a man who is trying to stay sober after the loss of his child to a brand new dad who sees his relationship with his own dad differently my favorite was the one I think it’s called pizza party where the man is making pizza waiting for his daughter and her fiancé to come over it’s way much more than that it’s him telling the ingredients of the pizza how to make it at the same time reflecting on their relationship it was really good this book is thoughtful and well written. I really enjoyed the stories and I absolutely recommend them. #NetGalley, #TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview,

[Daniela · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting a book of short and funny, or even poignant stories from the point of view of fathers. Instead, what I wasted my time reading was a compendium of some of the worst examples of men who happen to have fathered children.

It definitely reminded me that fathers are, first and foremost, men. And unfortunately for all of us living in this present time, that is, generally speaking, no great thing to be. I obviously know that there are wonderful men and dads, but at least in this collection of short stories, all of them were awful examples.

What’s worse is that I could not even see the point that the author was trying to make in his chosen stories. Am I just the wrong audience for this sort of storytelling? I’d love to know if a male reader connected to this book differently. As for me, this was 100% not my thing. 2⭐️

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Shuster for the opportunity to read and review this short story collection!

I was very excited to read a short story collection, particularly about fatherhood, as I thought it could enlighten me a bit more on this perspective. While I did think the stories had a great variety of explored topics of fatherhood and they flowed nicely together, unfortunately, this did not work for me. At the end of every story, I would ask "So?" or "Why?" or worse, "What was the point?" I never understood if I was supposed to sympathize or see that the fiction matched the reality - that fathers are "typically dubious men" as the author writes. I think the reader will have to decide for themselves.

[Janine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book of short stories about men navigating the world of masculinity - some are divorced, some married but all are silly and not great examples of being a father. I’m not sure what this author intended in writing these but they are absurd and definitely not good examples of men (I have two sons and if either of them did anything close to some of the things in these stories they’d be barred from supper - permanently (I’m sure their wives would support me on this).

While the men in these stories are trying to figure out their lives - a good thing - they sabotage themselves in the doing - ego wins out! In “Fists,” the father is more wondering why no one appreciates his body (though he does turn out to rescue his daughter - I think this was the only story I liked).

Some stories are based on ridiculous premises. In “Gutter Ball,” the dad is on a cocaine hangover chaperoning children at a bowling party. In “Hide and Seek,” a divorced dad works as a submissive to a dominatrix. But in all the stories these men have reached some point in their lives where they are willing to do dumb things. Maybe that ‘s the nature of the beast but I’d like to believe men are made of better stuff.

My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for allowing me to read this ARC.

[Sherie Carnegie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well that was interesting! There are good dads, deadbeat dads, and then these dads. 10 short stories give you a glimpse of some other versions of fatherhood. Quite honestly I felt they were all trailer park trash and Im surprised the author, who is a dad, wrote this book! It doesn't put fathers in a good light, but it needed to be said. Less vulgar parts would still have made this collection effective, but I guess we were going for shock value. It was an uncomfortable read but definitely gave a new perspective. Thank you for the Netgalley ARC.

[Tara Cignarella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Head of Household by Oliver Munday
Writing: B
Stories: C
Best Aspect: Very different than what I typically read. Male POV of life was interesting.
Worst Aspect: I was not into these stories. Short stories are not my favorite, but these really didn’t work over all for me.
Recommend: Yes. May be best for males who enjoy short stories.

[JXR · Rating 4 out of 5]

uniquely plotted set of stories about fatherhood, kinda, but really about absolutely wild actions. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

[Gigi Ropp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, haunting, ordinary, and needed. Head of Household shares stories of fatherhood in a literary world really missing the voices of fathers. Absolutely stunning.