Grief Is the Thing with Feathers

2015 book by Max Porter

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Grief Is the Thing with Feathers is the debut book by Max Porter, a novella about grief, published in 2015.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Details

Grief Is the Thing with Feathers is a "book about death and its grief-stricken consolations – love and art" through the story "of a grieving writer and father of two young boys, who is coming to terms with the death of his wife while writing a book about Ted Hughes". It uses text, dialogue and poetry.^[4] The book is narrated from rapidly alternating perspectives: the Dad, the Boys, and Crow—a human-sized bird that can speak, "equal parts babysitter, philosopher and therapist" to the family.^[5]^[6]

The title refers to a poem by Emily Dickinson, ""Hope" is the thing with feathers".^[7] Crow is the Crow from Ted Hughes' 1970 poetry book.^[8]

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Result	Ref
2015	Guardian First Book Award	—	Shortlisted	^[9]
2015	Goldsmiths Prize	—	Shortlisted	^[10]^[11]^[12]
2016	Books Are My Bag Readers' Award	Fiction	Won	^[13]^[14]
	Dylan Thomas Prize	—	Won	^[15]^[16]
	Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award	—	Won	^[17]
2017	Europese Literatuurprijs	—	Won	^[18]

Adaptions

Grief Is the Thing with Feathers was adapted into a play of the same name, directed by Enda Walsh and starring Cillian Murphy.^[19]

In 2024, a film adaptation starring Benedict Cumberbatch, titled The Thing with Feathers, began production. Principal photography was underway by early 2024.^[20]^[21]

References

^ Kitamura, Katie (1 July 2016). "Their Grief Counselor Is a Crow. It's Fiction". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
^ Hulbert, Ann (17 May 2016). "Exploring the Facets of Grief". The Atlantic. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
^ Wade, Francesca (22 September 2015). "Grief Is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter, review: 'deeply comic, hopelessly sad'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
^ Gunn, Kirsty (18 September 2015). "Grief Is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter review – words take flight". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
^ Devers, A. N. (3 June 2016). "Review: Max Porter's debut 'Grief Is the Thing With Feathers' soars with complexity". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
^ East, Ben (11 September 2016). "Grief Is the Thing With Feathers review – a fable of magic and mourning". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
^ "Grief Is the Thing with Feathers, by Max Porter - book review: In". The Independent. 13 September 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
^ "Ted Hughes' 'Crow' provides backbone for 'Grief Is the Thing With Feathers'". Chicago Tribune. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
^ Lea, Richard (25 November 2015). "Guardian first book award 2015 goes to poet Andrew McMillan". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
^ "Goldsmiths Prize 2015 Shortlist". Goldsmiths Prize. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
^ "The Goldsmiths Prize 2015 shortlist". New Statesman. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
^ Armitstead, Claire (1 October 2015). "Goldsmiths book prize shortlist: Lennon, Jesus and life at the edges". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
^ "Books Are My Bag Readers' Award 2016". Books Are My Bag. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
^ "Books Are My Bag Reading Awards". National Book Tokens. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
^ "Dylan Thomas Prize 2016 Winner". Dylan Thomas Prize. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
^ Flood, Alison (14 May 2016). "Dylan Thomas award goes to Max Porter's 'extraordinary feat'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
^ "Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award 2016 Winner". The Times. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
^ "Europese Literatuurprijs 2017 Winner". Europese Literatuurprijs. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
^ Lukowski, Andrzej (29 March 2019). "'Grief Is the Thing with Feathers' review". Time Out London. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
^ Yossman, K.J. (16 November 2023). "Benedict Cumberbatch Says Participating in His 'Letters Live' Stage Show Is 'An Immediate Shot in the Arm for a Performer'". Variety. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
^ "Benedict Cumberbatch transforms into a grieving father as he films sombre scenes with two child actors for his new role in The Thing With Feathers". whatsnew2day. 24 February 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.