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A review by katykelly
Isaac and the Egg by Bobby Palmer
4.0
Grief, friendship, family. Very touching.
It took me a while to feel this was for me. I didn't understand 'Egg' for a while. And then I realised I didn't NEED to.
Isaac doesn't either. He's beyond the understanding of most of us, in the midst of the worst of grief and about to take his own life when his scream is echoed back at him by... a something. An egg.
Is it real? A human? Animal? Alien? In his head? Whichever it is, Isaac doesn't leave it, it comes home with him. Not that an egg is going to be very helpful - it's not a counsellor. It can't hug him. It can't even talk... at least not at first.
This is a 'suspend disbelief' story. But it's also a 'slow reveal' of just what's happened to Isaac, and a very intimate and heart-breaking portrayal of grief and love and loss. Yes, I cried a few times. The love story is rather beautiful, and seeing Issac through Egg's....er... eyes? adds to the confusion of what he/it actually is, but also makes this a unique story.
Mary Poppins is mentioned here, and Egg is almost Poppins-like, it's a fair comparison, and again, maybe real, maybe not. It's whimsical and very much like a sad fairy tale.
Assuredly told, layers are peeled back gradually and movingly. This would make a beautiful film. I read an audio version, and it captured me throughout with the character voices and narrative.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample audio copy.
It took me a while to feel this was for me. I didn't understand 'Egg' for a while. And then I realised I didn't NEED to.
Isaac doesn't either. He's beyond the understanding of most of us, in the midst of the worst of grief and about to take his own life when his scream is echoed back at him by... a something. An egg.
Is it real? A human? Animal? Alien? In his head? Whichever it is, Isaac doesn't leave it, it comes home with him. Not that an egg is going to be very helpful - it's not a counsellor. It can't hug him. It can't even talk... at least not at first.
This is a 'suspend disbelief' story. But it's also a 'slow reveal' of just what's happened to Isaac, and a very intimate and heart-breaking portrayal of grief and love and loss. Yes, I cried a few times. The love story is rather beautiful, and seeing Issac through Egg's....er... eyes? adds to the confusion of what he/it actually is, but also makes this a unique story.
Mary Poppins is mentioned here, and Egg is almost Poppins-like, it's a fair comparison, and again, maybe real, maybe not. It's whimsical and very much like a sad fairy tale.
Assuredly told, layers are peeled back gradually and movingly. This would make a beautiful film. I read an audio version, and it captured me throughout with the character voices and narrative.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample audio copy.