Grief Is the Thing with Feathers

Author: Porter, Max (Author)

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

Published on 5 June 2025 by FABER & FABER in the United Kingdom.

Hardback | 128 pages
136 x 205 x 17 | 276g

In a London flat, two young boys face the unbearable sadness of their mother's sudden death. Their father, a Ted Hughes scholar and scruffy romantic, imagines a future of well-meaning visitors and emptiness. In this moment of despair they are visited by Crow - antagonist, trickster, healer, babysitter. This sentimental bird is drawn to the grieving family and threatens to stay until they no longer need him.

As weeks turn to months and the pain of loss gives way to memories, the little unit of three starts to heal.

Max Porter's extraordinary debut - part novella, part polyphonic fable, part essay on grief - marked the arrival of a thrilling new literary talent. This stunning hardback replicates the author's personal first edition to celebrate ten years of a contemporary classic.