Grief is the Thing with Feathers - Max Porter - 5 stars

[[deleted user]]

Before I start my review, a note to the moderators: This was not my original book for this tag but as it was quite a chunkster and I'm going on holiday next week I didn't want to take my original choice with me so this one is being used just for JUNE'S tag & not the Decathlon.

Blurb: 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.

In this extraordinary debut - part novella, part polyphonic fable, part essay on grief, Max Porter's compassion and bravura style combine to dazzling effect. Full of unexpected humour and profound emotional truth, Grief is the Thing with Feathers marks the arrival of a thrilling new talent. 

Review: I really enjoyed this book. Equal parts are sad and the other humurous, the reader really gets to understand the grief the father and children go through after losing their wife/mother. I especially enjoyed the interactions between the Dad & the crow - these parts often made me smile and laugh - but the interactions between the Dad and his children seem just as realistic as the ones with the imaginary crow.

Would I tag this as magical realism? Probably not, but I can understand why 129 others have - I would probably classify it as a fable.

[Susie]

I LOVED this special little book. I’m so glad to see another 5 star review.

[Jen]

I loved the book too!

[Nicole R]

Jenny, you can use the same book for the monthly tag AND the decathlon if you like (assuming the book fits the decathlon challenge)! Just cross post your review to the decathlon thread.

We highly encourage using a single book for as many challenges as you can reasonably make it fit!

[[deleted user]]

Nicole R wrote: "Jenny, you can use the same book for the monthly tag AND the decathlon if you like (assuming the book fits the decathlon challenge)! Just cross post your review to the decathlon thread.

We highly..."

Thank you Nicole, but it's definitely not going to work with the Decathlon task as I need it to be set/written in the 18th century and preferably gothic! None of which fits Grief is the Thing with Feathers!!!