Featherhood

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Featherhood by Charlie Gilmour is a deeply moving memoir that weaves together themes of nature, parenthood, and personal transformation. Set against the urban backdrop of London an d the picturesque Cornish countryside, this captivating narrative explores the unexpected bond between a man and a bird, and how this relationship provokes profound reflections on his own life. This is a story about a young magpie that falls from its nest in a Bermondsey junkyard and into Charlie's world. With its relentless demands for care, the magpie disrupts his life in the most whimsical ways—begging for worms, rummaging through his wallet, sharing his baths, and perching in his hair. This bond forces Charlie to confront his own fears, past traumas, and the fractured relationship with his biological father. Charlie, the son of Heathcote Williams—a renowned poet, anarchist, and magician—was abandoned by his father, who disappeared in the dead of night. Growing up with this void, Charlie inherits a legacy of both brilliance and emotional turmoil. The magpie becomes more than just a companion; it acts as a catalyst for Charlie's journey towards understanding and reconciling with his past. It is a story about the eerie repetition of generational patterns and the struggle to break free from them. The narrative seamlessly transitions between wild escapes and tamed existences, sanity and madness, freedom and captivity. It delves into the shifts from life to death to new beginnings, against the unusual occurrences in a mental asylum, a prison, and the intimate space of a magpie's nest. Ultimately, Featherhood is a poignant tale of love and redemption. It's about the potent, emotional bond between a man and a magpie, and how this relationship leads him to build a new nest of his own, filled with understanding, forgiveness, and hope. 'The best piece of nature writing since H is for Hawk, and the most powerful work of biography I have read in years' - Neil Gaiman 'Wonderful - I can't recommend it too highly' - Helen Macdonald 'One of those rare, enchanted books' - Isabella Tree 'Beautiful - it made me cry' - Simon Amstell 'I was entranced' - Cathy Rentzenbrink Show more