A Thousand Paper Birds - Softcover

Tor Udall

Softcover

ISBN 10: 140887864X ISBN 13: 9781408878644

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2017

Synopsis

'A masterful exploration of love, loss and the healing power of the natural world. Heartbreaking and uplifting in equal measure' Observer LONGLISTED FOR THE AUTHORS' CLUB BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2018 Jonah roams Kew Gardens trying to reassemble the shattered pieces of his life after the death of his wife, Audrey. Weathering the seasons and learning to love again, he meets Chloe, an enigmatic origami artist who is hesitant to let down her own walls. In the gardens he also meets ten-year-old Milly, and Harry, a gardener, both of whom have secrets of their own to keep - and mysteries to solve.

About this title

About the Author

After studying theatre and film, Tor Udall co-founded a dance-theatre company and spent most of her twenties directing, writing and performing. A Thousand Paper Birds is her first novel and was longlisted for the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award 2018. She lives in London with her husband and young children. @TorUdall

Review

A masterful exploration of love, loss and the healing power of the natural world. Like Max Porter's Grief is a Thing With Feathers, it uses fable, mystery and a poetic sensibility to get at the nub of loss ... Heartbreaking and uplifting in equal measure * Observer * Abundant and richly suggestive ... Udall weaves a complex story about the mysterious ways a life can linger, like a scent, and how grief and love can sometimes feel so vast and overwhelming that no earthly landscape can contain them * Daily Mail * A rich and intricate debut, at once subtle and powerful, intent and reflective, lyrical and visceral, expertly cultivating an abundance of life from all that remains after death * James Hannah, author of The A to Z of You and Me * A moving story as intricate and elegant as the origami birds that Chloe, one of the characters, folds. I loved this whimsical debut novel * Red, Summer Reads * Unputdownable fiction ... Poetic and finely wrought * Eithne Farry, Sunday Express * A story of death and its aftermath, which lingers long after the last page * Independent * An extraordinary, enchanting book. Writing as fine and precise as a botanical sketch, gorgeously arty themes, powerful yet fragile imagery and a brilliant story - this is a book to love and treasure * Tracy Rees, author of Amy Snow * This novel is all about seeing a "scarred loveliness" in a damaged world * Psychologies * A poetic exploration of those most difficult of topics, grief and love, against the backdrop of Kew Gardens ... Udall deftly leads the reader through the tangled web of relationships binding each of these four people to Audrey, whose own story comes to be revealed through her diaries * Scotsman * Magical, memorable and one I will treasure * Ali Land, bestselling author of Good Me, Bad Me * I've fallen in love with this outstanding, eloquent book ... It's sublime. It's one of the most beautiful books I have EVER read. It touches your soul * Nina Pottell, Books Editor for Prima Magazine * A delicate and beautiful unfolding of grief, loss, love and the way that lives intersect. Insightful and inventive * Ann Morgan, author of Beside Myself * What a joy it was to read A Thousand Paper Birds, a lovely clockwork of a novel ... May it FLY! * Shelley Harris, author of Jubilee * A Thousand Paper Birds brings Kew Gardens, and the people who meet each other there, to life with vivid language * Yorkshire Post * Absolutely wonderful. It has the emotional integrity of One Day and the complexity and character depth of Cloud Atlas ... An incredible achievement * Deborah Install, author of A Robot in the Garden * Outstanding ... This book is packed with phrases and dialogue that took away my breath, and occasionally brought tears to my eyes. It is so, so intricate, so perfectly balanced. A beautiful novel that should be savoured and treasured, and will be remembered for a long time * Random Things Through My Letterbox *

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 140887864X
• ISBN 13: 9781408878644
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336