Reviews

Grief Is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter

mollybrabham's review

3.0

an odd little book - but nonetheless told a beautiful story of grief, and how we carry it with us. but in doing so, we carry those people that we so dearly miss with us; they live on through our memories of them.

i should probably listen to that myself

jwilding's review against another edition

5.0

"Ghosts do not haunt, they regress. Just as when you need to go to sleep you think of trees or lawns, you are taking instant symbolic refuge in a ready-made iconography of early safety and satisfaction. That exact place is where ghosts go."

"Moving on, as a concept, is for stupid people, because any sensible person knows grief is a long-term project. I refuse to rush. The pain that is thrust upon us let no man slow or speed or fix."

savannah_e_'s review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

feanors's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

voxlunae's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

pixie_d's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? Yes

5.0

Right before I turn to the first page and start reading, a crow caws. Just one of the regular crows hanging out in the big tree, not being violent, aggressive, or weird. They are not at all like Crow in the book, a Mary Poppins/ Trickster Crow that was somehow inspired by Ted Hughes crow poems. I've never been interested in Ted Hughes poems, but the writing in this book -- the dad's grief, the kids' parts done mostly as poetry, and the wild Crow sections -- is all excellent, the word craft and thought-provoking and empathetic storytelling. 

You don't need to read Hughes, or even focus on the grief topic, to like this little book. Is it a novella? It is some kind of prosey/poemy hybrid. You also don't need to be married or have kids. The author does a superb job of describing what it's like to raise boys or be a boy. I wondered if he started out imagining writing what it was like for Hughes and kids after Sylvia died, but very wisely did not go there.

The dad is writing about Hughes, without Plath. He describes a book proposal that he didn't write: "I told him my idea for a complete works of Ted Hughes annotated by Crow.... I explained that Crow would violate, illustrate, and pollute Ted's work. It would be a deeper, truly wild analysis, a critical reckoning and an act of vengeance. It would be a scrapbook, a collage, a graphic novel, a dissolving of the boundaries between forms because Crow is a Trickster, he is ancient and post-modern, illustrator, editor, vandal..."
Well, I'd read that. Are you going to write it, Max Porter? Also, the dad and his kids in this book do a lot of drawing. I wish this book were illustrated.

burgsandbeans's review

4.0

I quite honestly struggle with poetry or poetic prose, but I think this was done in a way that everyone can understand without being overt. A really lovely compact portrayal of what is ultimately a life long emotion. I think the message in here is really positive and encouraging and read at the right time for me. 

celestialempress's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

congressbaby143's review against another edition

4.0

My lack of understanding of poetic language did not hinder me from liking the poetry inside this. Grief. It was a journey with no end in sight and I don’t admit to relating to most of these things but the emotions were too tangible not to feel. I wonder where the self-insert is. I feel for the boys. For dad. For mum. For the crow. It made me remember how grief is so isolating and how people outside of your grief don’t feel real at all. And I felt the anger and annoyance at the people who were there because they felt bad if they weren’t. And I felt the helplessness of being told to be good and move on and can’t you all let me wallow in grief. I will always be in pain, the question will always be how much pain I will be in in a matter of time.... I feel for so much of this. I’m glad I only get to read this now at a time when I’m past my grief being magnified. This would have killed me.

kkdelrey's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0