Strongly recommended to those looking for an unusual story that combines literary fiction, magical realism, and contemporary drama. It’s simultaneously weird and wonderful! If you are an audiobook aficionado, please opt for the audio version. From the bright yellow cover to the creative use of fonts, this book is something out of the ordinary. It is one of those books where it’s better not to know anything about it and just go along for the ride, and what a ride it is. Suspend disbelief and rational thought and embrace incredulity, madness, and mayhem, and you will “find hope in the unexpected”. Little by little the story of how Isaac has arrived in this particularly murky pit of despair is imparted to the reader with aha moments coming as a relief. The story revolves around a tragic incident and the arrival of an unexpected guest who is an absolute delight, incredibly quirky, but showing great compassion and sensitivity. Knowing that this kindly presence cannot stay forever adds a bittersweet element which makes you want to proceed slowly and at times hold your breath. Film buffs will also find much to enjoy and will nod and smile at the mention of family favourites and well-known quotes. Isaac and the Egg is a story of love and loss and heart-wrenching grief, but it simultaneously shines with a mesmerising mash-up of hope, fun, humour and wonder. Michelle, VIC, 4 Stars Truly one of the most beautiful stories you’ll ever read, written with generosity and warmth, and such perception. What’s it about? I’d love to have a stab at explaining, but I can’t. You’re just going to have to find out for yourself. I can tell you one thing: it’s a story for anyone who has ever lost somebody, or has ever lost their way

A tender, funny and surprising meditation on grief and hope . . . like nothing I've ever read before' STYLIST When we first meet Palmer’s protagonist Isaac Addy he has already reached critical mass, staring into the abyss from a bridge after the death of his beloved wife, Mary. When a chance echo of Isaac’s own scream - similarly feral in its desperation - is heard in the nearby forest, Isaac is compelled to investigate. Whether what follows is real or simply a manifestation of his fractured psyche is a moot point. As readers we are already on board, equally compelled to discover whether even in the darkest of circumstances hope can be found. I have avoided the recent trend of books about grief and have issues with audio so this was another choice that perplexed me in hindsight – that was until I started listening. That’s a tough question to ask in such a place because it involves examining what has been lost (desperately painful), what is left (diminished and uncertain) and what might lie ahead (honestly, does anything?) and dragging yourself, with the help, love and support of others, to the beginning of the rest of your life.Powerful, hopeful and utterly extraordinary, this is a truly original tale of love and loss, told with warmth and imaginative humour, from an unforgettable new voice in fiction. Isaac stands alone on a bridge and screams into the river below. And then, an answer. Measured, comic and moving... A sad, funny and original novel about grief, loss and embracing change' DAILY MAIL Isaac and The Egg was not the type of writing I am used to reading, as such, I did find it a bit unusual and abstract at the beginning, however, it does all start to come together and make more sense as you move through it. The story looks at grief and the range of emotions, thoughts and actions a person experiences with grief. As a person who has experienced grief myself, I could relate to the feelings. I am not exactly sure that I loved this book, but that is certainly more about my personal reading likes as I think it was a well written and interesting book. Sue, WA, 3 Stars

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. I was worried that the ending would shatter me. But it is heartwarming and hopeful, and more importantly, proceeds logically from the story. Isaac And The Egg is a charming story about Isaac and the egg he meets in a forest at a terrible point in his life. It’s funny, sad and makes for an engrossing read. Isaac’s story involves grief and despair but also hope. It would be a good book for bookclubs as there is a lot to discuss and plenty of themes to explore. It’s a wonderful debut novel. Julie, NSW, 5 StarsThis is an out-and-out character-oriented novel. Such stories are tougher to carry out successfully, but the author does a splendid job. 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.

What 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 So, what do you do when you read (and listen) to a book that you want the whole world to read, but you don't want to tell them too much about it, because this book is one of the most personal books that I have come across in a long time and it is a book that is best started with absolutely no preconceived ideas. 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. 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. My thanks to Headline Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of “Isaac and the Egg”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.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 If that sounds like a lot, it is, and for all its magicality and whimsy and sheer endearing funniness at times, Isaac and the Egg doesn’t attempt, not once, to sugarcoat how utterly hard that whole journey is, and how even if something happens to you to begin reshaping things, which it most certainly does to Isaac Addy, that it’s not some overnight fix.

It's a tale that might seem familiar. But how it speaks to you will depend on how you've lived until now. Isaacs rouwproces wordt indringend en levensecht beschreven, je wordt helemaal meegenomen in zijn ellende en zijn gevoelens zijn confronterend, realistisch en intens. Wanneer de radeloosheid alles over lijkt te nemen ontmoet hij Egg, en deze onvoorwaardelijke vriend is alles wat Isaac op dat moment nodig had. De exacte rol van Egg blijft lastig te duiden, maar of hij nu een wezentje is, een hallucinatie, een metafoor voor het rouwproces of een soort gids die Isaac telkens een extra stapje laat zetten, je moet je uiteindelijk maar gewoon aan zijn bestaan overgeven en zijn rol in dit verhaal accepteren. En hoewel de fantasie voor mij op sommige momenten net te veel botste met de aangrijpende gebeurtenissen, waardoor het geheel dan iets té absurd werd, zorgt Egg ook voor ontwikkeling, een zekere luchtigheid en humor en sluit je hem alleen daarom al in je hart. Maybe he will finally understand why he went there that morning. Maybe he will find a way to tell the truth. 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. The two are unlikely companions. But their chance encounter will transform Isaac’s life in ways he cannot yet imagine.

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A modern-day fairy tale full of charm, innocence, pain and humour that is deeply satisfying and wonderfully surprising This book was completely bizarre in the best way. At first I was extremely sceptical, I thought the events in here were a tad silly but I really warned to the odd nature of it.There were several times in here that I actually laughed out loud. It was extremely well written and I had no idea where it was going, but the journey was completely worth it. When you get to the end of the book and things start unfolding so you get the full picture of what happened, I was utterly amazed. It was so well done and hit me right in the heart. 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 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. 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.