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xiraetx's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
„He knows that it only takes a gentle tap to break its shell.“
•••••
this book broke me. I bawled my eyes out while reading some of the scenes. its depiction of loss and how Isaac dealt with it couldn‘t have been more realistic. I felt like I was right there with him, feeling everything he was feeling. I‘ll definitely need some time to get over this beautifully sad and cute book.
•••••
this book broke me. I bawled my eyes out while reading some of the scenes. its depiction of loss and how Isaac dealt with it couldn‘t have been more realistic. I felt like I was right there with him, feeling everything he was feeling. I‘ll definitely need some time to get over this beautifully sad and cute book.
p.s. everybody needs an Egg in their life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Mental illness
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Blood and Self harm
anxiousbookclub's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Mental illness, Car accident, and Alcohol
Moderate: Alcohol, Suicide attempt, Medical trauma, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, Blood, Addiction, Mental illness, and Alcoholism
ellbsrh's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-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? Yes
5.0
A book that deals with so much through the imagination, emotion and subtleties of a child’s story. Dealing with so much meaning syrrounding what it means to be human, how to love, how to lose and how to feel, through the lens of a sweet and childlike innocence. a humane urge to care for others im absence of yourself, and in turn confronting and re-finding yourself. i am crying.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Grief
isobel_laura's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-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? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
mybestfriendsarefictional's review
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
courtnetto's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-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
5.0
Omg. When I tell you this book is so emotional, I’m not even lying. It took me a chapter or two to get into it but once I was passed those I just couldn’t put it down.
The book follows Isaac on a journey with “Egg” which is believed to be some sort of Alien? however, the more you read on, you realise that maybe Egg was sent to him from his wife, Mary to help him through his grief.
Egg is a loveable character and you really see how he helps Isaac to get better and you see progress with Isaac the more you read on.
The way I saw Egg was like Nanny McPhee, when you don’t want him then he must stay but when you want him but no longer need him then he must go - this pretty much sums up Egg, which you will discover why if you read this book.
I was hooked when reading this from Chapter 3 onwards and would totally recommend this to anyone who is wanting to read it!
Here are some notes I’ve made when reading the book - until I got really into it and stopped making these notes😂
“He knows this place, and he knows he didn’t walk here. He can’t have. He’s in the middle of nowhere. He’s been drinking, which is a bad sign, because he’s clearly been driving. He knows he’s been drinking because his tongue is carpeted with the taste of hours-old alcohol and he knows he’s been driving because he can still see his car at the end of the bridge, headlights still on, driver’s door still open.”
“An oval of blankness cut out of a pristine sheet of paper with children’s scissors, or an oval cut from that same pristine paper and pasted on to the clearing with a stick of children’s glue.”
“What inside? Will it be dangerous? Will it hatch anytime soon? Should I have left it in the forest? Should I take it back to where it was? Would going back just make things worse? Is it a crime to find an egg and take it home? If so, what’s the likelihood of being caught? Do I really need to go to prison over this? If so, what’s the custodial sentence? Should I dispose of the egg? Should I cook the egg? Boiled or fried?”
The book follows Isaac on a journey with “Egg” which is believed to be some sort of Alien? however, the more you read on, you realise that maybe Egg was sent to him from his wife, Mary to help him through his grief.
Egg is a loveable character and you really see how he helps Isaac to get better and you see progress with Isaac the more you read on.
The way I saw Egg was like Nanny McPhee, when you don’t want him then he must stay but when you want him but no longer need him then he must go - this pretty much sums up Egg, which you will discover why if you read this book.
I was hooked when reading this from Chapter 3 onwards and would totally recommend this to anyone who is wanting to read it!
Here are some notes I’ve made when reading the book - until I got really into it and stopped making these notes😂
“He knows this place, and he knows he didn’t walk here. He can’t have. He’s in the middle of nowhere. He’s been drinking, which is a bad sign, because he’s clearly been driving. He knows he’s been drinking because his tongue is carpeted with the taste of hours-old alcohol and he knows he’s been driving because he can still see his car at the end of the bridge, headlights still on, driver’s door still open.”
“An oval of blankness cut out of a pristine sheet of paper with children’s scissors, or an oval cut from that same pristine paper and pasted on to the clearing with a stick of children’s glue.”
“What inside? Will it be dangerous? Will it hatch anytime soon? Should I have left it in the forest? Should I take it back to where it was? Would going back just make things worse? Is it a crime to find an egg and take it home? If so, what’s the likelihood of being caught? Do I really need to go to prison over this? If so, what’s the custodial sentence? Should I dispose of the egg? Should I cook the egg? Boiled or fried?”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Car accident
novelshire's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Mental illness
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Death of parent, Car accident, and Panic attacks/disorders
basil_touche's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I ended up being sold on this book after reading the first page. It's bizarre premise and absurd sense of humor really appeal to my own sensiblities when it comes to fiction, while also having an emotional core that holds no barred to it's subject. The style of the writing was clear and kept my attention and the fun quirks with the typography where words move or even form the shape of an egg really added to the experience.
Egg was probably my favourite character, I kept imaginging him as being a puppet from the Jim Henson Company and the erratic wiggling of his absurdly long arms made for quite the humourous image. But, he's also essential to the darker subject matter in helping Issac acknowledge and remember the full extent of his wife's death. It's a fine balance that I think the book does with flying colours. Whether Egg was real or a memory of Mary's last book project is left for the reader to decide. I like to think it's a little of both.
I do think that the big reveal near the end of the book was obvious and that it felt a tad rushed at the end, but I still found the conclusion to be an emotional and satsifying one (I even got a little teary eyed). Really glad I read this one
I do think that the big reveal near the end of the book was obvious and that it felt a tad rushed at the end, but I still found the conclusion to be an emotional and satsifying one (I even got a little teary eyed). Really glad I read this one
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Alcoholism, and Car accident
annatroughton's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide attempt, Death, and Suicidal thoughts
foxo_cube's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I have started recommending this book to basically anyone who will listen. It was great, and to think I impulse-bought it without really expecting much in particular!
It does one of my favourite things that a story can do, which is to wrap sad, serious issues in absurdism in just the right way to emphasise the message. Isaac, our protagonist, is going through some terrible mental health issues after becoming a widower at a young age. I felt that the depiction of the depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, etc. was sympathetic and pretty accurate to my experience, at the very least. In general, I think he responds to the situations he finds himself in pretty much how you'd expect, really. I loved when he found the egg in the forest and is panicking while driving home because, aside from the fact he'd been drinking, which was bad enough, what if he's arrested for... having a large unidentified egg in his car? what if the egg is secretly full of drugs or something? Isaac would definitely be the sort of guy to hate taking toilet paper home from the supermarket because he's sure everyone is looking at him and going "Ha, look at that idiot, I bet he shits".
I think the pace at which we learn about the egg and see the development of its relationship with Isaac is brilliant. They are mysteries to each other (and, although the egg <i>seems</i> like far more of a mystery to us as the reader than Isaac does, that's not as true as it appears), and seeing them try to work each other out - both when they succeed and when they don't - is wonderful. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes sad, sometimes sweet. Along with that, we get a bit more insight into Isaac's relationship with his wife and where he was in life before her death kind of threw him into stasis. I really want to go into significantly more detail here but the way that all of these things are hinted at and foreshadowed, and how it all comes together, is almost certainly far better to experience when you have as little idea where the story is going as possible.
Basically, read this book. I cannot stress this enough.
It does one of my favourite things that a story can do, which is to wrap sad, serious issues in absurdism in just the right way to emphasise the message. Isaac, our protagonist, is going through some terrible mental health issues after becoming a widower at a young age. I felt that the depiction of the depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, etc. was sympathetic and pretty accurate to my experience, at the very least. In general, I think he responds to the situations he finds himself in pretty much how you'd expect, really. I loved when he found the egg in the forest and is panicking while driving home because, aside from the fact he'd been drinking, which was bad enough, what if he's arrested for... having a large unidentified egg in his car? what if the egg is secretly full of drugs or something? Isaac would definitely be the sort of guy to hate taking toilet paper home from the supermarket because he's sure everyone is looking at him and going "Ha, look at that idiot, I bet he shits".
I think the pace at which we learn about the egg and see the development of its relationship with Isaac is brilliant. They are mysteries to each other (and, although the egg <i>seems</i> like far more of a mystery to us as the reader than Isaac does, that's not as true as it appears), and seeing them try to work each other out - both when they succeed and when they don't - is wonderful. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes sad, sometimes sweet. Along with that, we get a bit more insight into Isaac's relationship with his wife and where he was in life before her death kind of threw him into stasis. I really want to go into significantly more detail here but the way that all of these things are hinted at and foreshadowed, and how it all comes together, is almost certainly far better to experience when you have as little idea where the story is going as possible.
Basically, read this book. I cannot stress this enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis