Grief is the Thing with Feathers – ‘this accurately portrays the complicated grief of a widower with young children’

Description

‘This is an astonishing book. That sounds like an over-the-top comment, but I have read many books on grief and the grieving experience, and unlike so many churned out by others, this one so accurately portrays the complicated experience of widows/widowers, especially with kids, that I was amazed to read that the author is not himself a widower. It is half-poetry, half-prose, and conveys stunningly well the emotional tsunami of grief’s madness while still having to take care of everyday life as a new parent without your other half. It is not often I read a book in one sitting, but this one I did. ‘ Customer’s review

SUNDAY TIMES TOP 100 NOVEL OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

Winner of the 2016 International Dylan Thomas Prize and the Sunday Times/Peter, Fraser + Dunlop Young Writer of the Year award and shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and the Goldsmiths Prize.

‘Amazing and unforgettable.’ THE TIMES

‘Dazzlingly good.’ ROBERT MACFARLANE

‘Unlike anything I’ve read before.’ GUARDIAN

‘Captivating, poetic, and surprising.’ CILLIAN MURPHY

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 sentimental bird is drawn to the grieving family and threatens to stay until they no longer need him. This extraordinary debut, full of unexpected humour and emotional truth, marks the arrival of a thrilling and significant new talent.