It can’t be completely definitive of course because grief is wholly and utterly different for every person, which includes the book’s protagonist Isaac Addy, a late-twenties illustrator of children’s books and other things, who suddenly finds his world upended when tragedy befalls him.

A great deal of this control is achieved through the novel’s humour which is threaded throughout. Sometimes it’s with the wry, easy smile of a film reference, or the excellently positioned epigraph, but at other times it’s via the perfectly timed punchline, such as that which comes after Isaac and Egg’s shopping trip to town which had me laughing out loud. Make no mistake, this level of calibration - this pitch-perfect tone of the confessional - is HARD to achieve, but when done well it is masterful in its subtlety. An arresting debut novel about grief, but in the most wonderfully oblique way' REVEREND RICHARD COLES This is the story of Isaac and the Egg, a grieving young man and his unforgettable new friend, who meet at exactly the right time. Isaac has no idea where the egg has come from or what it’s doing there but he’s overcome with the need to protect it, so he bundles it up and takes it home.

Customer reviews

When we meet Isaac he’s not in a good place: he’s intoxicated, dishevelled, and thinking about throwing himself off a bridge. He’s reached the absolute bottom until he hears an unnatural, pained scream that pulls him out of his own pain. The scream, he discovers, has come from an egg which ‘sits resplendent in the middle of a clearing, bathed in a heavenly light which seems to defy the darkness of the night before’. Sometimes, to get out of the woods, you have to go into them. Isaac and the Egg is one of the most hopeful, honest and wildly imaginative novels you will ever read.

This is beautifully written, it’s captivating with a delightful blend of humour and the heart breaking. Some scenes are so vivid, so well described you feel like a fly on the wall observing the frequent chaos. Many of the incidents make me smile and I doubt I’ll ever open a tin of beans or look at a toaster in the same way ever again!!!! It’s creative in a myriad of ways, it initially seems straightforward but it’s a more complex tale than it appears at first glance. I love the clever use of film to make pertinent points and the delightful originality of some of the language. Measured, comic and moving… A sad, funny and original novel about grief, loss and embracing change’ DAILY MAIL An arresting debut novel about grief, but in the most wonderfully oblique way’ REVEREND RICHARD COLES Isaac's emotional distress is expressed through the quiet as he struggles to live through his grief, shunning all company except that of Egg. Many books leave their mark; how can they not? You journey with characters through events big and small, all the time privy to their hopes, dreams, fears and loss, and come out the other side with a resolution good or bad that re-defines life for that character forever after.The two are unlikely companions. But their chance encounter will transform Isaac's life in ways he cannot yet imagine. I don’t think anyone other than Johnny Flynn could have read this book. His dulcet tones made the book even more magical and I’ll certainly listen to it again in the future. Isaac and the Egg by Bobby Palmer is not a book I would normally read. It is different but it was entertaining. It has moments of sadness where you can feel the pain that Isaac is feeling. The struggle is so real, in dealing with loss, of trying to survive. You are taken on a journey of grief, from denial to anger and finally acceptance. The story is well-written, poignant, and a little quirky. Lisa, QLD, 4 Stars There are so many wonderful moments in this book seamlessly joined by metaphor and subtext. The idea of grief as an incommunicable language, for example, finds voice in Issac’s initial attempts to understand Egg which gradually evolves through the novel as Isaac begins to emotionally emerge.