🦁 Book Review: The Lion’s Den by Anthony Marra (Kindle Edition, Inheritance Collection)
A darkly humorous and emotionally layered short story about betrayal, legacy, and the complicated bond between father and son—Anthony Marra delivers a compact literary gem that’s as biting as it is poignant.
🧠 Overview
Published in December 2019 as part of Amazon Original Stories’ Inheritance Collection, The Lion’s Den is a 24-page literary short story by Anthony Marra, acclaimed author of A Constellation of Vital Phenomena. The story follows Michael, a thirty-something man who returns home after publicly exposing his father’s past in a tell-all memoir. His father, once a notorious government whistleblower, is now dying of cancer—and Michael must confront the man whose secrets he sold, and the fallout that fractured their family.
What unfolds is a tense, intimate reunion filled with sharp dialogue, buried emotions, and the slow unraveling of long-held assumptions.
✨ Key Themes & Highlights
- 🧬 Family and betrayal: Michael’s memoir was meant to be righteous, but it left scars—especially between father and son
- 🧠 Moral ambiguity: The story explores the gray areas of truth, loyalty, and personal gain
- 💬 Dark humor: Marra’s prose is laced with wit, even as it tackles serious emotional terrain
- 🪞 Reconciliation and reckoning: Michael begins to see his father not as a symbol, but as a flawed human being
“He was a treasonous felon, a folk hero, a validated patriot, or a national disgrace. To his son, he’s the father who threw his family into upheaval.” — Goodreads summary
💬 Reader Reception
- ⭐ Goodreads rating: 3.41/5 from over 4,400 ratings
- 📖 Readers praise the story’s emotional nuance, sharp writing, and topical relevance
- 🧾 Some found the brevity limiting, but most appreciated its depth and character insight
- 💬 “Marra once again demonstrates his enviable talent for breathing life into the grey zones.” — Booklover Book Reviews
⚠️ Considerations
- 📄 Short format: At under 30 pages, it’s a quick read—best approached as a character study rather than a full narrative arc
- 📚 Part of a collection: One of five stories in the Inheritance Collection, each exploring secrets and revelations within families
- 🧾 Subtle storytelling: No dramatic twists—Marra favors quiet emotional shifts and layered dialogue
🏁 Final Verdict
The Lion’s Den is a thoughtful and quietly powerful short story that examines the cost of truth and the complexity of familial bonds. Anthony Marra’s writing is sharp, empathetic, and laced with irony, making this Kindle edition a standout for fans of literary fiction and introspective storytelling.
