Grief is the Thing with Feathers is the debut novella of Max Porter. Published in 2015, it lead Porter to win the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award. The magic of this short book lies in its form. Written in what could be described as prose poetry with intermittent verse, this book is easy to read and shockingly well paced considering the weight of the themes, namely loss, and all the pain and questions it carries.
Lee Child, (whose real name is actually Jim Grant!), was born in 1954 in Coventry, England. In later years his parents moved him and his three brothers to Birmingham, seeking the option of a better education. In 1974, at the young age of 20, Jim attended Law school at Sheffield University, whilst also working backstage at a theatre. After graduating, he joined Granada Television as a presentation director in what turned out to be an eighteen-year career.