A Song for Issy Bradley

2014 | Fiction & Poetry

This is the story of what happens when Issy Bradley dies. It is the story of Ian - husband, father, maths teacher and Mormon bishop - and his unshakeable belief that everything will turn out all right if he can only endure to the end, like the pioneers did. It is the story of his wife Claire's lonely wait for a sign from God and her desperate need for life to pause while she comes to terms with what's happened. It is the story of the agony and hope of Zippy Bradley's first love. The story of Alma Bradley's cynicism and reluctant bravery. And it is the story of seven-year-old Jacob. His faith is bigger than a mustard seed, probably bigger than a toffee bonbon and he's planning to use it to mend his broken family with a miracle. Incredibly moving, unexpectedly funny and so sharply observed it will make you feel as if you could pick the woodchip off the bedroom wall, A Song For Issy Bradley explores the outer reaches of doubt and faith. But mostly it's a story about a family trying to work out how to carry on when their world has fallen apart. "A terrific book...I loved A Song For Issy Bradley. It's wry, smart, human, and rather miraculously, avoids mawkishness. And, ultimately, it's moving and comforting in a way that makes sense even to the agnostic". (Nick Hornby, The Believer).

Carys Bray (Author)