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Grief is the thing with feathers - Max Porter


In a London flat, two young boys face the unbearable sadness of their mother's sudden death. Their father, a Ted Hughes scholar and scruffy romantic, imagines a future of well-meaning visitors and emptiness.

 In this moment of despair they are visited by Crow - antagonist, trickster, healer, babysitter. This self-described sentimental bird is attracted to the grieving family and threatens to stay until they no longer need him. As weeks turn to months and physical pain of loss gives way to memories, this little unit of three begin to heal.

What a different read. I’d recommend this to anyone on this basis alone. I got this book after a salesman at Waterstones sang its praises and sold it as a novella of poetry - obviously I'm an avid Waterstones customer and don;t need much persuasion but, i’m so glad i picked this up. I think if you just picked this up you’d put it back down after the reading the somewhat bleak premise of it and that’s why i’m hoping you ignore those niggles and open its cover. I also read this at a time where a friend of mine lost their mum to a battle with cancer and maybe that’s a reason i was more open to browsing these pages than i may have normally been. But it really resonated with me and i hope Max Porter will have more to offer us soon!

The use of language is simply stunning. With a story which changes narrator every few paragraphs, you’re never stuck in one place for long and i think that’s what made it interesting and engaging to read. The story is nothing like i’d read before - let’s be honest, a story of two children losing their mum isn’t your usual bedtime pick-up but this didn’t make me feel sad; it made me intrigued by the characters, especially that of Crow.

 I won't spoil anything but please please purchase this next time you’re looking for something different. It won’t disappoint…i hope!

One extract which has stuck with me - 
“I will stop finding her hairs.
I will stop hearing her breathing.”

Simple, stunning, devastating.

 Check it out here

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