• Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2016 May #1
  *Starred Review* After the death of Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes published Crow: From the Life and Songs of the Crow (1970), a book of poetry that invoked world mythologies and folklore and is largely considered to have ushered in an important second stage in his career. Drawing on the myth of Crow, Porter delivers a staggering tale of a father grappling with the sudden loss of his wife in this sharply poetic and darkly stunning debut novel. Dad, a Hughes scholar, struggles to tend to his sons and complete his next manuscript, all the while plagued by the talkative, awful, and hilarious Crow. The embodiment of grief, Crow speaks in nonsense singsong that becomes increasingly eerie in its relentless humor. The Boys narrate from various points in their lives, uncomprehending children one moment, compassionate adults the next, never one or the other speaking, always both together, undifferentiated. This masterful ploy unhinges the story from any singular point of view, enabling the novel to float, unfixed in time. The result is a truly exceptional work of fiction, published in the UK last year to widespread acclaim. Readers will not soon forget Porter's distinct style, which evokes the excruciating intimacy of American novelist Justin Torres (We the Animals, 2011). Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

Max Porter works in publishing. He lives in South London with his wife and children. Grief Is the Thing with Feathers is his first book.