Reviews with content warning for Death - Grief Is the Thing with Feathers

I’ve never been one for annotating books but this is a book I really want to take a pencil and highlighter to because there’s just so much to it - a lot of which I’m sure went right over my head (particularly anything regarding Ted Hughes). Beautifully written with lots of feeling, it treads the line between poetry and prose.

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chriscarvell17's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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fanni_b22's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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sunn_bleach's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

My favorite thing about this book is it shows how messy grief is. Grief is not a neat package of sadness -> anger -> acceptance, or however many stages there might be. Grief is disgusting, indulgent, and (occasionally) violent. This book shows that - from the cursing to the despondency to the piss and shit. And it's interwoven with absolutely heartrending statements on what it is to lose someone and the mess they leave behind. As stated early on in the book, it's an apartment of "no-longer hers", and it doesn't have the care that comes with slow illness.

Now what? I'm just supposed to go on with my day? Crow would laugh at that but also agree - both in literal and in intent.

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lkawulicz's review

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dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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readingtotravel's review

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emotional reflective sad

4.5

Insanely good.

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parasihir's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

The first thing I thought of about the crow is death. Probably more like a proof that someone is dead in their house. And then I also think about ghost. The crow will take form of the memories, the places, the words, and everything that you grieve. Some are confusing, some are beautiful, but everything is sad. And heavy. But the crow will be gone one day. Because even if someone was dead in that house of a family, life goes on. The grief will be there, forever, but it is simply a part of their life. Not ghost nor death. It is life.

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florenceassetto's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

i LOVE the way porter writes about emotions in a way that they are so human when they quite literally are portrayed in such a different way! reading grief reminded me of lanny (which i will be reading again) but it is so haunting in such a beautiful way? i don't know i just feel like it was touching and moving but also heartbreakingly raw and real at all times! a GEM

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