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A review by vigil
Grief Is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
this book is more experimental than i’m used too, but the more i read the more it began to work for me.
the portions from the dad’s POV were still written in the abstract style of the rest of the book, but had an easily grasped theme and purpose that it made the delivery easier to understand.
the portions from the boy’s POV is written the same, but because it’s both written abstractly while being tinted with the imagination of young children, it felt jarring with the rest of the book for the first 50 - 60%. as their grief winded down, they played off of the other two POV’s much better. i think their portions are one you have to be patient with, because it comes together in the end.
the crow was complicated. i think more was done with him than what was necessary, and didn’t quite illuminate anything so much as make them more confusing. his monologues contribute to the greater theme of the story obviously, but i think it was really hampered by it’s delivery. the abstractness was the clear intent of the author but unlike for the other two POV’s i think this more harmed than helped for most of it.
the portions from the dad’s POV were still written in the abstract style of the rest of the book, but had an easily grasped theme and purpose that it made the delivery easier to understand.
the portions from the boy’s POV is written the same, but because it’s both written abstractly while being tinted with the imagination of young children, it felt jarring with the rest of the book for the first 50 - 60%. as their grief winded down, they played off of the other two POV’s much better. i think their portions are one you have to be patient with, because it comes together in the end.
the crow was complicated. i think more was done with him than what was necessary, and didn’t quite illuminate anything so much as make them more confusing. his monologues contribute to the greater theme of the story obviously, but i think it was really hampered by it’s delivery. the abstractness was the clear intent of the author but unlike for the other two POV’s i think this more harmed than helped for most of it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent