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Baker & Taylor
A recently widowed father of two has difficulty dealing with his grief and the overwhelming sadness of his children, until they are visited by Crow, an actual crow, who serves as an antagonist, protector, therapist and babysitter and helps them heal.
McMillan Palgrave
A recently widowed father of two has difficulty dealing with his grief and the overwhelming sadness of his children, until they are visited by Crow, an actual crow, who serves as an antagonist, protector, therapist and babysitter and helps them heal.
McMillan Palgrave
Here he is, husband and father, scruffy romantic, a shambolic scholar--a man adrift in the wake of his wife's sudden, accidental death. And there are his two sons who like him struggle in their London apartment to face the unbearable sadness that has engulfed them. The father imagines a future of well-meaning visitors and emptiness, while the boys wander, savage and unsupervised.
In this moment of violent despair they are visited by Crow--antagonist, trickster, goad, protector, therapist, and babysitter. This self-described "sentimental bird," at once wild and tender, who "finds humans dull except in grief," threatens to stay with the wounded family until they no longer need him. As weeks turn to months and the pain of loss lessens with the balm of memories, Crow's efforts are rewarded and the little unit of three begins to recover: Dad resumes his book about the poet Ted Hughes; the boys get on with it, grow up.
Part novella, part polyphonic fable, part essay on grief, Max Porter's extraordinary debut combines compassion and bravura style to dazzling effect. Full of angular wit and profound truths, Grief Is the Thing with Feathers is a startlingly original and haunting debut by a significant new talent.
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Publisher:
Graywolf Press,, 2016
ISBN:
9781555979379
1555979378
1555979378
Characteristics:
1 online resource
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Alternative Title:
Axis 360 eBooks
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Add a CommentThis broke and soothed my heart in equal measure. So many relatable moments and helpful lines for grief. A very personal book. Exceptional.
Exceptional. I'm so grateful this found me.
Pair with the Phil Elverum (aka Mount Eerie) album A Crow Looked at Me for the full plunge
A delight to read despite its subject matter. The words kept alight the continuum of his verse. Cleverly written.
An astonishing and brilliant book. I put a hold on it after reading an early review because I like Ted Hughes' poetry and I like crows (as animals and tricksters); and I especially like writers who are not afraid to play with the novel as narrative. I think this is an amazing debut, and look forward to reading much more by Max Porter.
A haunting, beautiful read about grief. Porter's language is poetic and playful and the intrusion of the Crow on their family is a fantastic embodiment of the emotional effects of bereavement.
A prose poem about grief written by a Ted Hughes fan. Not maudlin. Can be read in an hour.
Not quite a novel, not quite short stories, not quite poetry. It is sad and funny and moving and thoughtful.
Loved the style of this book - lyrical and quick read. Found myself empathizing and smiling along. A triumph of a debut.
amazingly i laughed in places; a wonderful book
Beautiful. Strange.