Miracles are like birds, they zip through the gap between heaven and earth on hollow-boned wings. You can't catch them with traps or nets or special glue, you have to use words.
It’s autumn and things are dying everywhere. Flies speckle the windowsills in the school toilets and the leaves on the hedge in the back garden are as crispy as Bran Flakes. There’s a big, dead spider in Jacob Bradley’s bedroom, all folded up like a hairy umbrella and Mum is there too, lying in the bottom bunk, silent and still like sleeping beauty. The bit about Mum is a secret. Dad says people wouldn't understand, so it’s best not to tell. Jacob is good at keeping secrets, he has one of his own; as soon as he has found the right words and grown enough faith he is going to perform a resurrection miracle like the ones in the Bible stories Mum used to read aloud at bedtime. Dad says believing that everything will turn out all right in the end is the best kind of faith. But the end is ages away and Jacob can’t wait that long. His miracle will send things back to how they were and then Mum will get up and make the tea and put the clothes away in the right places. And they will all live happily ever after.
Told by each member of the Bradley family, during a time of particular sadness, A Song For Issy Bradley is a keenly observed, story of doubt, faith and longed for miracles, amid the enduring and sometimes chafing bonds of family.
I loved A SONG FOR ISSY BRADLEY. It's wry, smart, human ... it's moving and comforting in a way that makes sense even to the agnostic.
- Nick Hornby, The Believer
An astonishing lightness of touch.
- The Sunday Express
Bray is empathetic as she dissects the messier aspects of religious faith.
- The New York Times
A compassionate, wise and original new voice.
- The Independent
A skilful and empathetic dramatisation. The fact that it deals with such distressing subject matter without falling prey to sentimentality makes it all the more admirable.
- The Guardian
I couldn't leave it alone. Bray writes with such clarity, intelligence and authenticity that it feels as if an old friend is telling you the story, that the characters are people you know.
- The Times
Bray is empathetic as she dissects the messier aspects of religious faith.
- The New York Times
Bray demonstrates the comforts of faith – the magic, hope and imagination - as well as its restrictions. This is an impressive debut from a compassionate, wise and original new voice.
- The Independent
An astonishing lightness of touch and real humour woven into the sadness... A stunning, unmissable debut.
- The Sunday Express
A Song For Issy Bradley is a wonderful novel... undeniably heartbreaking, it is also compassionate, funny and enriching.
- The Independent on Sunday
Bray explores the healing power of religion with rare assurance in one of the year’s most impressive debuts.
- Mail on Sunday
An intensely powerful, even-handed look at death and the uncertain consolations of faith.
- The Sunday Times
Funny and vividly written.
- The Sunday Mirror
A brilliant debut, compelling and profoundly moving.
- Nathan Filer, author of Costa-winner THE SHOCK OF THE FALL
Carys Bray is a strikingly original new voice in fiction. I loved this tender, moving, funny and deeply truthful story about a family and a faith tested to breaking-point.
- Helen Dunmore, author of THE LIE and Orange-shortlisted THE SIEGE
Quite simply, A SONG FOR ISSY BRADLEY took my breath away.
- Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author of ORPHAN TRAIN
I loved A SONG FOR ISSY BRADLEY: such courage, warmth and intelligence. Carys Bray sweetly and subtly breaks your heart. It's an incredible debut.
- Charlotte Mendelson, author of Booker-longlisted ALMOST ENGLISH
A SONG FOR ISSY BRADLEY is that rarest of things—a book that is beautiful, tender and a page turner. Carys Bray made me fall hopelessly in love with each and every one of the Bradleys.
- Carol Rifka Brunt, New York Times bestselling author of TELL THE WOLVES I'M HOME
Such strong writing, with so much fine imagery. It sings. The characters are completely believable and their grief is conveyed with a truly admirable, unsentimental, lightness of touch, which brought laughter between the tears.
- Emma Henderson, author of Orange-shortlisted GRACE WILLIAMS SAYS IT LOUD
Carys Bray's first novel is an intimate portrait of grief and faith – but it's also sharply funny.
- The List
Bray’s powerful work immerses you in the Bradleys’ battle to carry on but far from marooning you in despair you are left realising that there are many routes back to the solid ground of hope.
- The Express
An early contender for book of the year.
- The Sun
Sometimes the stories which move you the most are the ones that stay with you forever and we're tipping debut novel, A SONG FOR ISSY BRADLEY as one of those tales.
- Woman and Home
In places it is devastating, but it is also unexpectedly funny, even joyful, a hugely impressive novel about what it means to grieve - and to be part of a family.
- The Bookseller
Prepare not only to be moved but also, perhaps, to question your own belief system.
- NewBooks
Carys Bray tells a stunning heart-warming story about loss that is brave, even funny and so heartbreaking in its sincerity that you'll need to keep that tissue box handy.
- BookFabulous
A tribute to the trials and rewards of community, and to the enduring bonds of family life – in all its messy wonder.
- Maria Dickenson
- Nick Hornby, The Believer
An astonishing lightness of touch.
- The Sunday Express
Bray is empathetic as she dissects the messier aspects of religious faith.
- The New York Times
A compassionate, wise and original new voice.
- The Independent
A skilful and empathetic dramatisation. The fact that it deals with such distressing subject matter without falling prey to sentimentality makes it all the more admirable.
- The Guardian
I couldn't leave it alone. Bray writes with such clarity, intelligence and authenticity that it feels as if an old friend is telling you the story, that the characters are people you know.
- The Times
Bray is empathetic as she dissects the messier aspects of religious faith.
- The New York Times
Bray demonstrates the comforts of faith – the magic, hope and imagination - as well as its restrictions. This is an impressive debut from a compassionate, wise and original new voice.
- The Independent
An astonishing lightness of touch and real humour woven into the sadness... A stunning, unmissable debut.
- The Sunday Express
A Song For Issy Bradley is a wonderful novel... undeniably heartbreaking, it is also compassionate, funny and enriching.
- The Independent on Sunday
Bray explores the healing power of religion with rare assurance in one of the year’s most impressive debuts.
- Mail on Sunday
An intensely powerful, even-handed look at death and the uncertain consolations of faith.
- The Sunday Times
Funny and vividly written.
- The Sunday Mirror
A brilliant debut, compelling and profoundly moving.
- Nathan Filer, author of Costa-winner THE SHOCK OF THE FALL
Carys Bray is a strikingly original new voice in fiction. I loved this tender, moving, funny and deeply truthful story about a family and a faith tested to breaking-point.
- Helen Dunmore, author of THE LIE and Orange-shortlisted THE SIEGE
Quite simply, A SONG FOR ISSY BRADLEY took my breath away.
- Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author of ORPHAN TRAIN
I loved A SONG FOR ISSY BRADLEY: such courage, warmth and intelligence. Carys Bray sweetly and subtly breaks your heart. It's an incredible debut.
- Charlotte Mendelson, author of Booker-longlisted ALMOST ENGLISH
A SONG FOR ISSY BRADLEY is that rarest of things—a book that is beautiful, tender and a page turner. Carys Bray made me fall hopelessly in love with each and every one of the Bradleys.
- Carol Rifka Brunt, New York Times bestselling author of TELL THE WOLVES I'M HOME
Such strong writing, with so much fine imagery. It sings. The characters are completely believable and their grief is conveyed with a truly admirable, unsentimental, lightness of touch, which brought laughter between the tears.
- Emma Henderson, author of Orange-shortlisted GRACE WILLIAMS SAYS IT LOUD
Carys Bray's first novel is an intimate portrait of grief and faith – but it's also sharply funny.
- The List
Bray’s powerful work immerses you in the Bradleys’ battle to carry on but far from marooning you in despair you are left realising that there are many routes back to the solid ground of hope.
- The Express
An early contender for book of the year.
- The Sun
Sometimes the stories which move you the most are the ones that stay with you forever and we're tipping debut novel, A SONG FOR ISSY BRADLEY as one of those tales.
- Woman and Home
In places it is devastating, but it is also unexpectedly funny, even joyful, a hugely impressive novel about what it means to grieve - and to be part of a family.
- The Bookseller
Prepare not only to be moved but also, perhaps, to question your own belief system.
- NewBooks
Carys Bray tells a stunning heart-warming story about loss that is brave, even funny and so heartbreaking in its sincerity that you'll need to keep that tissue box handy.
- BookFabulous
A tribute to the trials and rewards of community, and to the enduring bonds of family life – in all its messy wonder.
- Maria Dickenson