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The Child Who Sells His FatherAuthor: Makino Shinichi

Original Title父を売る子
Author牧野 信一
GenreModern Short Fiction
Author TypeMale Author
SummaryIn a small coastal town, a young writer navigates a turbulent relationship with his aging father, their bond frayed by resentment and alcohol-fueled clashes. After a bitter quarrel, the son channels his anger into fiction, weaving their fractured dynamic into stories that provoke his father’s outrage. Yet they still find themselves drinking together in dimly lit rooms, trading barbed jokes and half-hearted attempts at connection—discussing unborn grandchildren, mocking family traditions, and airing grievances neither fully means nor forgets. The writer’s literary ambitions clash with his father’s disdain for “worthless” pursuits, even as both men mirror each other’s flaws: performative bravado, petty jealousies, and a shared knack for self-sabotage. When tragedy strikes abruptly, the son abandons his manuscript—a raw exploration of their relationship titled *The Child Who Sells His Father*—leaving questions unresolved. Haunted by guilt and the weight of inheritance, he grapples with legacy in a family where love masquerades as contempt, and every attempt at understanding slips like sand through drunken fingers.