Scan barcode
A review by djc16
The Weight of a Thousand Feathers by Brian Conaghan
5.0
Bobby Seed has the weight of being an almost full-time carer to his debilitated Mum, and essentially carer to his brother Danny.
He’s got so much going on with caring for his family that we, as the readers, and Bobby himself barely know who he is. He isn’t sure what he likes to do apart from relax with his friend Bel. He constantly dodges the question of what he wants to be, dismissing it with a witty reply rather than confiding in anyone.
The narrative shifts between two very different spheres of Bobby’s life, two that he likes at first to keep apart. One is the world where he is his mother’s primary carer, the other is his involvement in a social carer’s group that he joins with recommendation from his school.
In this new setting for Bobby, along comes a bunch of young people with similar experiences, but with little respect for the format of group that has to play games and talk about themselves. Lou emerges as a friend for Bobby, another teenage carer with a mysterious air and a hidden past. Bobby finds himself drawn to the other boy, as someone to lean on and confide in.
While the story of a young carer might not seem like the most obvious of choices for a YA novel, Brian Conaghan said recently in a literature festival event in Dublin that he was motivated and interested to write about a character on the margins of society.
As always, Brian Conaghan deals in biting and casual dialogue to develop his characters. Bobby’s dynamics with the small cast of characters is carefully crafted and his relationships with Lou, Bel and his Mum all have their own nuances. There’s a lot of humour throughout, dark and sometimes caustic, but usually well intentioned, especially between Bobby and Mum, sniping yet full of love.
In Bobby Seed and in this story, the author has created and heartbreaking and tough to read narrative, but one that makes you feel for the characters and feels grounded in very true to life situations. Highly recommended.
He’s got so much going on with caring for his family that we, as the readers, and Bobby himself barely know who he is. He isn’t sure what he likes to do apart from relax with his friend Bel. He constantly dodges the question of what he wants to be, dismissing it with a witty reply rather than confiding in anyone.
The narrative shifts between two very different spheres of Bobby’s life, two that he likes at first to keep apart. One is the world where he is his mother’s primary carer, the other is his involvement in a social carer’s group that he joins with recommendation from his school.
In this new setting for Bobby, along comes a bunch of young people with similar experiences, but with little respect for the format of group that has to play games and talk about themselves. Lou emerges as a friend for Bobby, another teenage carer with a mysterious air and a hidden past. Bobby finds himself drawn to the other boy, as someone to lean on and confide in.
While the story of a young carer might not seem like the most obvious of choices for a YA novel, Brian Conaghan said recently in a literature festival event in Dublin that he was motivated and interested to write about a character on the margins of society.
As always, Brian Conaghan deals in biting and casual dialogue to develop his characters. Bobby’s dynamics with the small cast of characters is carefully crafted and his relationships with Lou, Bel and his Mum all have their own nuances. There’s a lot of humour throughout, dark and sometimes caustic, but usually well intentioned, especially between Bobby and Mum, sniping yet full of love.
In Bobby Seed and in this story, the author has created and heartbreaking and tough to read narrative, but one that makes you feel for the characters and feels grounded in very true to life situations. Highly recommended.