Isaac and the Egg: the unique, funny and heartbreaking Saturday Times bestseller

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I'd been hearing so many wonderful things about this book, the book with the egg, the debut that has everybody talking and ok WOW, I get it: what a special little book this is!

As Isaac comes to grips with what he finds in the forest, and as a result with the lost state of a life brought to ruin by grief, he has to ask himself what it is he wants from it going forward. 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 story is incredible. A tale so beautiful and funny and heart-warming, yet filled with the most evocative descriptions of grief I've ever read. It takes some authorly skill to have a character so bereaved that their mind breaks apart in the same chapter as a hilarious scene of a man and a creature playing baseball with the contents of the fridge. An utter sparkler of a novel... highly imaginative, extremely funny and profoundly empathetic' S UNDAY INDEPENDENT

Dit is een emotioneel, krachtig, kwetsbaar, verfrissend, verrassend en uniek verhaal over liefde, vriendschap, rouw, mentale gezondheid, geheimen, verbinding, hoop en de kleine dingen die het leven zo waardevol maken. Zodra het verhaal je grijpt laat het je niet meer los, het bezorgt je kippenvel, laat je glimlachen en is zeker het lezen waard! I love Bobby Palmer’s writing style and turn of phrase. Being a cinephile, I particularly loved all the film references - they are films that have shaped my life, too. I loved Isaac recounting his relationship with his wife, the films they’d watched and now how he’d watch the same films with the Egg. This is an audiobook about a lot of things - grief, hope, friendship, love. It's also about what you'd do if you stumbled into the woods at dawn, found something extraordinary there, and decided to take it home. One of the most eagerly awaited books of the year . . . an incredibly moving and at times heartbreaking – and sometimes funny – book’ HELLO!

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. An arresting debut novel about grief, but in the most wonderfully oblique way' Reverend Richard Coles First a confession; the love of my life died very recently so this book brought me to tears so very many times. But it also made me snort with laughter. An arresting debut novel about grief, but in the most wonderfully oblique way’ Reverend Richard ColesIsaac Addy is contemplating suicide. While standing on the ledge of a bridge, trying to build up the courage to jump off, he suddenly hears some screaming. In following the noise, he stumbles upon a 2 foot high white egg in the forest. Isaac feels a sudden kinship with the abandoned egg and decides to take it home. Thus begins the unexpected journey of Isaac and his strange companion, whom he decides to name ‘Egg’. ( Yeah, not the most imaginative guy, this Isaac!) This is an out-and-out character-oriented novel. Such stories are tougher to carry out successfully, but the author does a splendid job. I read it in one breath... true and tragic and funny and hopeful and big - big enough somehow to contain all of our stories and all of our lives inside it' JOANNA GLEN 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 listen to.

He eats, he sleeps and makes it through each day with the support of his sister, neighbours and his therapist while the events leading to Isaac's present state are revealed to the reader as Isaac is able to cope with them. As this was the audio book I listened to, I’ll cover the audio aspect first. It was the narrators wonderful voice that captured both my interest in listening to a book for a change, and capturing my interest in the story itself. I listened to a sample first, and by the time the sample had finished I had to know more of what happened next and what this story was about. It sounded so sad and of course by now I was hooked into the brilliant story telling by Johnny Flynn.

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I imagine the portrayal of the characters by the narrator is exactly how the author intended. Johnny Flynn has a soothing, but engaging voice – absolutely perfect for such a touching, tender story. I even wonder would I have enjoyed the book quite so much had I read it myself. I will never know because I can’t unhear it, I’ve been spoilt and if all narrators were this good, I’d maybe never read a book myself again. Isaac and the Egg might be the most wholesome book I’ve read this year. It follows the story of Isaac learning to live in his grief with Egg by his side. I was so enthralled with Isaac and felt his pain from the very start; this book left me in tears, grieving for Isaac and Mary and all that could and would never be but hopeful of a different sort of life to come. Beautifully written, told and tasted. A truly good and wholesome book. Mercury, NSW, 5 Stars This is a deceptively complex novel; a skillful sleight of hand which charms us so fully with its accessible and hugely sympathetic two-hander that we become unaware of what it’s doing under the surface. One of the hallmarks of timeless, classic fiction is to make the specific universal, and stripped of its outer eccentricities this is exactly what Palmer’s novel does. For Isaac is both himself and all of us: in our particular capacity to both love and lose what we love and to grieve its absence in absolutely human ways.

Measured, comic and moving… A sad, funny and original novel about grief, loss and embracing change’ DAILY MAIL I read it in one breath… true and tragic and funny and hopeful and big – big enough somehow to contain all of our stories and all of our lives inside it’ JOANNA GLENWhat a remarkable story. It is one that will stay with me for quite a while. Isaac Addey is grieving. He is lost and hopeless. We meet him on the worst day of his life when he stumbles across Egg in the woods and decides to take him home. The story follows Isaac’s journey through the stages of grief with Egg by his side, trying to make sense of his companion. It is at times heartbreaking and difficult, but always compelling. It is a story with a big heart. Melissa, QLD, 5 Stars First things first. This book won’t work for those who take the written word literally. There is a fair amount of suspension of disbelief, and a plot that veers between the fantastical and the outrageous. If you want a straightforward storyline that calls a spade a spade, better avoid this book. It’s for those who would enjoy allegorical takes on pragmatic conundrums. I had no idea what to expect from this book, I went into it completely blind not knowing anything about it - and to be honest that was perfect. I don’t think anyone could have described this book to me anyway, if I had to tell you what this book was about I’d be lost for words. It’s a tale that might seem familiar. A broken man and an unexpected guest, who can’t stay forever. But real life isn’t a story. Heartbreaking and heart-stealing, this bestselling modern-day fable is an unforgettable novel about sorrow, joy, friendship and love.