What a charming and joyous book. How rare to read something totally different and refreshing, but thoughtful and thought provoking at the same time. Everyone should read it!

Reading the first few pages, I thought "This is going to be tough going!" but by about the fifth page I was totally hooked. The author finds new ways of describing the mundane bringing everyday occurrences to life, A bit of a mystery thrown in for good measure too. I laughed, a lot, I even cried but the relationship between Isaac and Egg is enchantingly written and leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling by the time you, all too soon, reach the final page.

Thankyou for giving me the chance to read this in advance. Still thinking about it now. So touching snd pulls at the heart strings

A beautifully crafted exploration of loss and grief, this book stays in your mind long after you have finished it. Extraordinarily accomplished for a debut novel. I'd like to thank the publisher Headline and netgalley for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The start of this held me nicely. Isaac is stood on the bridge and considering suicide. Within that he remembers nothing, he screams and then hears a scream that is not his coming from the forest alongside the river. Despite the state he is in - and the engine is still running on his car at the end of the bridge - he heads into the forest to find the source of the scream. There he finds Egg.

This book narrates Isaac's time with Egg. Without giving things away it's actually quite hard to say a lot more about the detail of this book. Personally I think it's one to be enjoyed "fresh". I think I can safely say that it is about grief and love and very powerful if you are engaged with the story. Isaac's life is one that really has unravelled and almost terminally so. The question really is does he have a way out.

There was much I liked about this book. It was certainly different and I was engaged with it. The picture painted of Isaac's life - out of control as it was - convinced me. The Egg intrigued me even if I never really examined what I thought about it until almost the end. There was some humour here though mostly rather dark. And yet... somehow it didn't completely fully click with me. Having said that I would recommend it to anyone at all interested as a worthwhile read. 3.5/5 and rounded up for originality.

Isaac and the Egg is so different to anything I have read before, at once surreal, touching, funny and heartbreaking. The visceral descriptions of grief are portrayed so originally and powerfully. It's a truly wonderful novel

The dominant thoughts I had through the majority of this book were, ‘this is bizarre’ and ‘what on earth am I reading?’. Definitely not in a bad way, it was super intriguing!

Ultimately, this ended up being a very moving story about grief. The writing is stunning and very imaginative. It was touching and emotional, but there is also A LOT of funny moments. I am likely to think about this any time I eat beans on toast!!

Feel like this would make a fabulous book club book, there is so much to discuss and interpret. I love when there is an element of ambiguity about how much is real…

Definitely one you should really go into fairly blind. A very unusual and captivating read! Will definitely pick up any future books by this author!

Issac has lost his wife and is standing on a bridge about to end it all when he hears a scream to echo his own thoughts. He climbs down and looks around and to his surprise finds a giant egg. For reasons unknown to him he takes it home. He develops a sort of relationship with the egg, despite it being unable to communicate with him and this is their story.
This is a totally ridiculous story, bear with me. So ridiculous that it drew me in hook, line and sinker and I loved it. There's just something about this that drew me in and made me smile. We have all been in that frame of mind where all we wanted to do was beat the wall and whether we did it physically or metaphorically we get where Isaac is mentally. It's enchanting, it's magical, it's tragic and it's uplifting. One I highly recommend. All there is to say is “wawooo”. If you know, you know.
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Issac is a man going through some sort of breakdown. In a moment of great despair he encounters a small alien creature that needs him to look after him. The creature offers a distraction and helps Issac heal from the things he’s avoiding. This is a very sweet book and I don’t want to spoil it but it’s definitely worth a read.

Beautiful book, hard to believe it is a debut. Deals with a very emotive topic in a sensitive way while also being hilarious - a very difficult balance to strike

I was simply attracted/intrigued by the title. This book is so much more than a great story. Wawooo. X (this will be a best seller).

I love it when an author crashes onto the literary scene with a debut novel and just blows your mind.

The book is indeed about Isaac. And an egg. No, not a chicken egg, or duck or goose egg, or even an ostrich egg. It's actually two-feet high and quite white and fluffy. And now everyone's going to think that this is either a children's story or something plucked from the sci-fi shelf.

Oh no, it isn't. Whilst this is a story of deep love, loss and the most intense grief, Palmer injects humour and wit and writes with perception and depth. He is without doubt an extremely talented author who manages to paint the most realistic picture with his words.

It is a most charming, poignant, tragic but heart-warming novel written with outstanding skill. I sincerely hope this exceptional writer is intending to write more, but in the meantime, someone has, just has to make a movie of this.

A phenomenal book. An excellent debut. A remarkable author.

A beautifully written book about a young man named Isaac and how he deals with grief after his world falls apart, with the help of Egg.

I always give a detailed explanation of the story, but to do so for this book would just spoil your enjoyment.

Heartbreaking, funny, thought provoking, this book will touch your heart and have you smiling through your tears.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I will update the review with a link to our blog closer to publication date.
I'd like to thank the publisher Headline and netgalley for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

THIS… THIS is the book that everyone should read. Original, brutal, beautiful, inquisitive, dark, hilarious, warm, touching, emotive, heartbreaking, clever and tangible. Every sentence meant something. Every one of Egg’s mannerisms was REAL. Every one of Isaac’s perfectly described emotions resonated. The grief, the hope, the mental breakdowns. The humour, the memories he has of his relationship with Mary… So clever, so brilliant. I’d love and hate a sequel in equal measures. It is a treasure all by itself but my hearts wants more of Isaac and Egg!!

I cannot wait to see what this intriguing author writes next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Issac Addy was married to Mary Moray, sadly Mary was killed in a car crash, and the book follows Issac's grief of losing his wife.

Egg appears ... an alien? Or a figment of Issac's distraught imagination,

Living on a life of baked beans, this book is very touching, emotionally and funny.

What a beautiful, strange, sad, uplifting and poignant story. Isaac Addy is a lost man, who may be losing his mind, but then finds the most unlikely friendship with a large furry egg shaped creature who helps him brave the world again. This is quite unlike anything I've read before, but quite brilliant too!

Isaac and the egg is definitely a book that will stay with me for some time. Emotional, warm, tragic. I laughed and cried my way through the whole book. I didn’t want it to end.

NO SPOILERS:
Bobby Palmer’s Isaac and the Egg is a wonderful, insightful, empathetic portrayal of all consuming grief. It is also funny, observant, magical and utterly charming. Oh, how I loved Egg so, so much!

Palmer’s writing is easy, comfortable and honest. This sentence particularly struck a chord: “He walks as if injured, constantly having to prop himself up”, in fact sentence after sentence struck a chord; it all felt so real. There’s also the added visual delight of the occasional text layout reflecting the children’s books written by Isaac and his late wife.

But, and for me there is a but – and it’s big one. The “reveal” comes with about a quarter of the book remaining (it wasn’t a surprise, I saw it coming) and from there, the writing loses all its magic. I realise this a book about hope and resolve but it was the magic which set it apart from other such books.

Having said all that, the first three quarters are worth it. It’s beautiful and Isaac and the Egg will be a huge success, and rightly so.

The style of the prose really enchanted me, I loved Isaac’s turns of phrase and thought processes. How he discovers the egg and how he tries to recover from his phenomenal loss is quite endearing. Isaac is really struggling to survive, and doesn’t really want to, but he knows he must. At about 50% The Egg determined to find out where Isaac was going to when he disappears, and to discover Isaac’s secret.
I was filled with dread as I knew that worse was to come.

This is a very relatable book about loss, existing and survival..
Isaac’s pain is palpable. His responses are truly believable. It a painful and beautiful read.

I am fortunate to have been granted access to the audiobook which I am now beginning. For me a re-read is rare. For Isaac and the Egg, I look forward to this enriched experience.
Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for an honest review