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zubatus's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
krysa_'s review
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
jasannalise's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
4.25
poignant! loved the decision to combine “the boys” into one entity and the chaotic essence of crow was perfect allegory for struggling through grief.
(also this was read sipping peppermint tea beside a toppings & co bookstore window in edinburgh which didn’t necessarily affect my perception but i would like to preserve the memory)
(also this was read sipping peppermint tea beside a toppings & co bookstore window in edinburgh which didn’t necessarily affect my perception but i would like to preserve the memory)
sarah_kirby98's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lrebecca's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
fast-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
alpha_build's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
arao's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
4.0
I kept putting off this book because I thought it would be triggering and traumatic to read about grief & the loss of a mom after having lost mine.
But I picked it up today without giving it much thought (which I've realized is the best way to get things done, don't think about them too much) and within an hour I was done.
The writing is curious, sometimes jarring, sometimes lyrical, sometimes heartbreaking but mostly just raw. The characters have no names and it's perhaps for the best because grief haunts everyone dealing with a loss. You can be dad or boys, singular or plural what does it matter. The person you loved most in the world is dead.
Porter uses Crow as a way to pepper the prose with truth and hope and cruelty and arrogance, irreve ence and humor. Perhaps all the reactions one faces from society right after the death. Crow is a figment of the intense & agonizing grief the family faces.
There's a version of Crow those of us who've lost someone all have. There's no plot but this book doesn't need one. Life has no meaning, no plot, no direction after a loss. Everything is colored with a shade of grey as they/you navigate a cold world.
There's no format to Porter's writing. The book is entirely 1 page chapters, sometimes written as Paras, as poems, as prose as a jumble of known and unknown words and all I could think about what 'this is how life feels like all the time since I lost mom'.
It is one of the truest depictions of grief I've read so far. Porter writes: "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."
I think of the anger and ire I felt everytime someone told me that I should move on, she would want me to move on & it's time and all kinds of crap statements that only made it worse because clearly if you can say that to someone, you don't know what it's like to be broken & grieving.
Grief, it ebbs and flows, drowning you, stabbing you, overwhelming you, disappearing completely sometimes till you wonder about it and it slams you all over again. Don't EVER tell someone to move on. It's the cruelest thing you can do.
I realize this is moving between a review & a recalling of real events but that is perhaps the mark of success of a book to evoke such strong emotions that you alternate between you and the words the you've read.
The imagery throughout the book is vivid and evokes visceral reactions as you read it. I will be re-reading this book because there's a lot I'm sure I can take away the second time, or perhaps a lot more I can feel.
But I picked it up today without giving it much thought (which I've realized is the best way to get things done, don't think about them too much) and within an hour I was done.
The writing is curious, sometimes jarring, sometimes lyrical, sometimes heartbreaking but mostly just raw. The characters have no names and it's perhaps for the best because grief haunts everyone dealing with a loss. You can be dad or boys, singular or plural what does it matter. The person you loved most in the world is dead.
Porter uses Crow as a way to pepper the prose with truth and hope and cruelty and arrogance, irreve ence and humor. Perhaps all the reactions one faces from society right after the death. Crow is a figment of the intense & agonizing grief the family faces.
There's a version of Crow those of us who've lost someone all have. There's no plot but this book doesn't need one. Life has no meaning, no plot, no direction after a loss. Everything is colored with a shade of grey as they/you navigate a cold world.
There's no format to Porter's writing. The book is entirely 1 page chapters, sometimes written as Paras, as poems, as prose as a jumble of known and unknown words and all I could think about what 'this is how life feels like all the time since I lost mom'.
It is one of the truest depictions of grief I've read so far. Porter writes: "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."
I think of the anger and ire I felt everytime someone told me that I should move on, she would want me to move on & it's time and all kinds of crap statements that only made it worse because clearly if you can say that to someone, you don't know what it's like to be broken & grieving.
Grief, it ebbs and flows, drowning you, stabbing you, overwhelming you, disappearing completely sometimes till you wonder about it and it slams you all over again. Don't EVER tell someone to move on. It's the cruelest thing you can do.
I realize this is moving between a review & a recalling of real events but that is perhaps the mark of success of a book to evoke such strong emotions that you alternate between you and the words the you've read.
The imagery throughout the book is vivid and evokes visceral reactions as you read it. I will be re-reading this book because there's a lot I'm sure I can take away the second time, or perhaps a lot more I can feel.
ciarazard's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Ehhhh, the idea was there, but it was boring execution-wise.
shimmery's review
4.0
An imaginary bird comes to live with two young boys whose mum has recently died, and their Dad, a scholar stunned by his grief.
Grief Is The Thing With Feathers is a beautiful, sad, lyrical little book, examining its age old themes of loss and mourning in a really innovative way.
Grief Is The Thing With Feathers is a beautiful, sad, lyrical little book, examining its age old themes of loss and mourning in a really innovative way.