Grief Is the Thing with Feathers

A SUNDAY TIMES TOP 100 NOVEL OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY WINNER OF THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE WINNER OF THE SUNDAY TIMES/PFD YOUNG WRITER OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNER OF THE BOOKS ARE MY BAG READER AWARD WINNER OF THE EUROPESE LITERATUURPRIJS SHORTLISTED FOR THE GOLDSMITHS PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE GUARDIAN FIRST BOOK AWARD '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. 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. As weeks turn to months and the pain of loss gives way to memories, the little unit of three starts to heal. Max Porter's extraordinary debut - part novella, part polyphonic fable, part essay on grief - marked the arrival of a thrilling new literary talent. Ten years on, readers continue to discover and fall in love with Grief is the Thing With Feathers. Read more