It is early. A young man stands on a bridge and lets out a heart-wrenching scream. From deep in the woods, something screams back.
It sounds improbable. But this is how Isaac meets the egg.
The two are unlikely companions. But their chance encounter will transform Isaac’s life in ways he cannot yet imagine.
Maybe he will finally understand why he went there that morning. Maybe he will find a way to tell the truth.
Sometimes, to get out of the woods, you have to go into them.
The novel Isaac and the Egg is my latest book purchase. I read so many wonderful reviews about this novel when it came out that I had the title on my wishlist since it was pushlished and I felt it was time to read something more profound.
Unique and quirky are certainly the key words for this novel, but the best part is that it totally works. I know it sounds totally insane that a man encounters an egg in the woods and you’re probably wondering what the deal is. Did he find a real egg, his very own humpty dumpty or what? I can put you at ease, it’s the or what 😛. The situation is pretty simple: it’s some sort of never-seen-before creature and because of the initial sighting Isaac stuck to calling it Egg.
There is some magical realism in this novel but I was totally on board because it was put together and explained really well. I was totally fine with Egg, even though at times he sounded a wise creature and at other times he seemed like a toddler who can’t eat properly. He’s very very odd but lovely, he’s a bit of everything. The discrepancy felt a little unbalanced, but the further into the novel the more he was attuned to Isaac and he helps him with his grief in ways that no other person could. I felt it was good for Isaac that he starts to care for Egg too and I hoped he could deal with his loss eventually. He struggles, he falls but Egg is so weird and funny that it makes it all a little more bearable to read. I did wonder why one of Isaac’s rooms was locked though and what he was hiding, and where he was going sometimes. Isaac has a secret and I couldn’t figure out what it was, I was imagining the worst scenarios but it was something else entirely!
The novel is about dealing with one’s grief of course, it was sometimes a little confusing at first what is going on with Isaac but everything falls into place eventually and there was a special aha-moment that was very satisfying. For such an unconventional novel I never expected to like it this much but everyone who has experienced loss will connect to it I think.
I bought a paperback copy of this novel. This is my honest opinion.