Grief is the thing with feathers : a novel / Max Porter.

By:

Porter, Max [author.]

Material type: Text

text

Media type:

unmediated

Carrier type:

volume

ISBN:

9781555977412 (pbk.)
1555977413 (pbk.)

Subject(s):

Genre/Form:

DDC classification:

823/.92 23

LOC classification:

PR6116.O76 G75 2016b

Summary: 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. 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.-- Source other than the Library of Congress.

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Average rating: 0.0 (0 votes)

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
BOOK	Meaford Public Library Fiction	Fiction	FIC Porte (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Available		64486

Total holds: 0

"First published in 2015 by Faber & Faber Ltd., London"--Title page verso.

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. 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.-- Source other than the Library of Congress.

Patron comment on 01/17/2017

I thought this novella, written somewhere between prose and poetry, truly brilliant. It is a bizarre account of the grief of a widower and his young boys between the busy days following mum’s funeral till the time when they can cope with what has happened. A metaphysical crow assigns itself to the family to ensure they make it through. Crow is wondrously capable: strong, wise, evil, cagey, loyal, tricky, an exhibitionist, and more! The vignettes that make up the story are both very sad and often quite funny. The title is taken from Emily Dickinson’s poem ‘Hope is a Thing with Feathers’, and the character of Crow is drawn from poet Ted Hughes ‘Crow: from the Life and Songs of the Crow’.

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