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jakepasseri's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
As someone who has recently experienced the loss of a close loved one, I don't understand how this book is supposed to help in grief other than just observations of how people react to grief and how it shapes them?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Gun violence
morganthecarrot's review
dark
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death of parent
sbookreader's review
dark
emotional
4.0
The image of the boys trying to build the best fake mother to receive the reward of their real mother coming back to tuck them into bed one last time won't be leaving my mind anytime soon. There was an odd hopefulness to the ending, although their grief wasn't fully resolved, which is true to life. The Emily Dickinson poem that inspired the book title is apt.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Grief
daniellekat's review against another edition
dark
reflective
3.0
This was strange, not quite poetry but not quite anything else. I'm not much of a poetry reader and am unfamiliar with the works of Ted Hughes so I think a lot of this was lost on me. I typically enjoy reading about grief and there were certain sections I found powerful, but too much of this was too experimental and abstract for me. I'd give the author's work another shot but suspect that I'm just not their audience. 10/10 for the title and cover art, though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
elizaob's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Grief
imogenlj's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
I reached 12 pages in and said ‘this book is special’. What a reading experience!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Animal death and Death of parent
hanne842's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
luananki's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I need to go back and read this once more but definitely an interesting little book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Death
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I might be late to the works of Max Porter but I went in for a deep dive and came up as a major fan of his imagination, his innovative structures, his fragmentary poetic style and special way with words, plus his ability to capture and portray so much in so few words. I listened and read simultaneously which let me appreciate these visually and aurally.
I left the first until last. Grief is the Thing with Feathers follows a newly widowed man who happens to be a Ted Hughes scholar, and his two young boys in the weeks, months and years that follow. They are visited by a crow who promises to stay until they no longer need him. Porter does a beautiful job capturing love and grief in all their many guises. But it was the voice of the wise-cracking crow that stole the show for me and made this much funnier - albeit often darkly funny - than I expected a book about grief to be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Grief
leoniwo's review
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Death of parent