As June rolls around again, we all prepare to celebrate fathers and all that they do for their children. But Father’s Day can be a challenging day for those who have complicated relationships with their dads.

Literature is full of those complicated pops. Everyone’s got family drama; but, from poor parenting to torrid affairs, these guys take daddy issues to a new level.

Here are 10 books featuring some of the most dysfunctional dads in fiction.

Conroy_GreatSantini

The Great Santini, by Pat Conroy

One of the most iconic dysfunctional dad stories of all time (and the basis for the Robert Duvall movie) follows Ben Meechum as he desperately tries to live up to the image of his heroic but distant and abusive father, a Marine pilot who nicknames himself “The Great Santini.”

Download on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iTunes.

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Penmarric, by Susan Howatch

Mark Castallack is the kind of dad that inspires awe…and murder. After he takes on a mistress to supplement his failing marriage, he ends up with two families that hate each other. By the time he reaches his silver years, half his sons want him dead and he presides over a family estate rife with strife and greed.

Download on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iTunes.

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The Man Who Loved Children, by Christina Stead

A book that Jonathan Franzen calls “one of the great literary achievements of the twentieth century,” The Man Who Loved Children features one of our most odious fathers yet. Sam and Henny fight constantly, and had too many children. But while Henny aims her venom at Sam, Sam turns his bitterness towards the kids—manipulating his children’s blind love to dominate and abuse them, and stroke his own ego.

Download on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, nd iTunes.

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Under the Dog Star, by Joseph Caldwell

Lots of fathers get desperate, but not all of them get obsessed with buying land and start holding up gas stations to get the funds. When his actions ends in a predictably tragic fashion, his wife Grady and their three children must fend for themselves and deal with the consequences of his crime spree.