A Song for Issy Bradley

I think this is a brilliant book and a real expose of a religion in totalitarian form - as so many of them seem to be. I have passed it on to my 14-year old DGD, who is an avid reader too, and I am sure she will be fascinated to realise how much freedom her atheist parents allow her, to think and decide for herself what she believes.

May I ask if your own experience of Mormonism changed you into an atheist or agnostic Carys?

I wasn't too sure if I'd finish this book after the first few chapters but I'm totally hooked.
It's a totally engrossing read, and very enlightening.
Loved it!

Like loopylou I wasn't sure I would be able to finish the book. The first few chapters, even up to half way through the book, were so steeped in the Mormon way of life, it felt as though it was just going to continue in the same vein, which to be honest, was getting a bit much. However, I kept reading and ended up really enjoying it. The characters are very real and well portrayed, Ian needed to open his eyes to his families needs rather than "other members" as well as Claire, who must have known how much the children needed her
All in all and good read - different in some ways too. I have learned something about the Mormons.
I should like to ask Carys if she has had any regrets leaving the religion?

Thank you very much for this interesting book i found i
couldn't stop reading once i started it was so sad but yet
so true to life how often have we ignored something and
later wished we hadn't alright the consequences were
very different in this case but added to this the mormon
information i feel i can now see how this religion works
Very good read.Would recomend it

I have finished it at last . I found it very well written with brilliant character descriptions - Jacob especially! I really felt for Claire living with a husband who had such unshakeable beliefs. All members of the family were troubled by the restrictions put upon them by the Mormon faith and I desperately wanted to shake Ian out of his pious beliefs. As you can guess, I am not a religious person which made it even harder for me to sympathize with the Mormon ideals. But the book educated me and brought me to tears. I felt for the guilt that Claire experienced at not noticing that her daughter was so ill - until it was too late. Young Jacob's faith was touching - and of course there was quite a bit of humour too.

Thank you for the book - Gransnet book club always encourages me to read something that I would not normally pick off the shelf.

Thank you for choosing me to receive a copy of A Song for Issy Bradley.

It was a beautiful but poignant story of tragedy, family trauma, doubts about faith and wrestling with faith set amongst a devout Mormon family. It gave a real insight into being part of the Morman religion and you couldn't help feeling for all the members of the family as they struggled with the death of a child in their different ways. Brilliant!

I too have just finished the book and my feelings are identical to nearly everyone elses, in particular Lowslung1, I echo all she has said.
I find some of the Mormon beliefs quite hard to comprehend and they seem so rigid and old-fashioned. It must be so difficult for a child to adhere to them in these very modern times.
I loved the characters, in particular Jacob, and the book was beautifully written.
Some of the comical parts made me laugh out loud, in particular, the 4 B's.
I have no adverse criticism at all, would just like to ask Carys how her parents and her relatives reacted to her rejecting the Mormon religion, and how has it impacted on her own family?
No regrets I'm sure!!
Thanks again for a fascinating and enjoyable book, I hope to read more of hers.

Many thanks for sending me such an amazing book. I found it thoroughly absorbing and fascinating. It was well written and the characters were so well drawn. As well as being fascinated by the insider's insight into Mormonism I found it to be an excellent description of the way that events are seen in different ways by different people. I didn't want the book to end - I was totally absorbed - and have recommended it to several people.

When I saw the book involved the Mormon religion I didn't want to read it as I had read the 19th wife and then notes around that book. Then a novel about a child dying such a sad and difficult thing to cope with. I have only just started the book and will do my best to Finnish it but going to be difficult. I must respect Carys writing as she has been part of the religion and maybe I will get another view. Sorry I requested a copy but it has already stirred emotions in me which is in itself a good thing for a book to do. I will also be sharing it with my book club.

I just could not put this book down,a brilliant read. Once again I have enjoyed a book from Gransnet I would not have chosen for myself.
It told me a lot about the Mormon faith. My first question is did Carys need to do any research into the Mormon faith as it is now or was it from her childhood experience
It was good how it showed the way each member of the family dealt with the grief of loosing a daughter and sister.
Is Carys planning to write another book? Hope so.
Having recently moved to the same town as the author, it made the book very real to me and thanks for the explanation of why the costal road is so bumpy.

A beautifully written moving and funny book, that reaches those dark and personal places in our souls were grief, loss and hindsight linger. Also very informative of the Mormon faith, one I knew very little about. Thank you I enjoyed it very much.

Like many others, I found this book unputdownable. The characters were so cleverly drawn and I cried a lot in parts, much to OH's surprise when he looked up from the TV. The detail about the Mormon faith was fascinating and made me want to read more about their beliefs.
SPOILER ALERT!
I should like to ask Carys if the ending was supposed to be ambiguous? Did we need to believe that Claire would survive or not? Or perhaps that will be revealed in a sequel? I do hope there will be one. A great read!

I enjoyed reading this but found it a bit irritating and couldn't decide why. It has some beautifully realised scenes and well written episodes. I finally decided that what annoyed me most was the passivity of the two main female characters, Claire and Zippy. Neither of them seemed to have any interests, talents or ambitions apart from those connected with the man of their dreams. Claire must have had some other interests before her conversion but these don't seem to impact on her life and Zippy must be affected by the contrasts between the futures her school and friends are planning and her own. Compare this with Al's football and rebellion and it seems totally unbalanced. I wondered at first when it was set as the whole atmosphere (not just the Mormons) seemed to be more 1980s than present day My question for Carys "Do Mormon women experience periods of crisis in their lives when they see other young women pursuing their dreams and ambitions and how many leave the faith because of this?"

I have just finished the book and thoroughly enjoyed it to the end .The characters were all so life-like and so interesting and there was a real depth in it. I would like to ask Carys if Claire's reaction to the death was motivated more by perceived guilt than grief or is that for the reader to decide? I read that you yourself suffered the death of a small child and endured depression after the birth of subsequent children. How much of Claire's reaction mirrored your own?

I enjoyed it, I think. Became increasingly angry with the father who got his priorities wrong, until near the end. If there is a sequel I would be interested to see how the children develop and whether they stay within the strictures of the Mormon church. Is there going to be a sequel?

This was another book that I probably wouldn't have picked off a bookshelf but I really enjoyed it. This is such a sensitive subject, death and grief. The book shows how the family come to terms with Issy 's death ( each in their own way.)
Ian is so concerned about how he will appear to his congregation that he fails to see how Claire is suffering.
Poor Claire is made to feel that her faith wasn't strong enough to save Issy and also the guilt of not noticing how ill Issy was, takes her to the edge.
Beautifully drawn characters take you through the weeks of loss.I loved Jacob's blind faith and Al's pretence of being strong.
I think the female characters were shown as weak because that is how they are perceived in the Mormon faith.They are prepared for marriage instead of going out on a journey like the male church members.
I did not know much about Mormonism before and have been encouraged by this book to find out about it.

Yet again a book I would never have chosen for myself. Thank you Gransnet for widening my horizons. Left to my own devices I don't stray very far from what I am comfortable with.
I was apprehensive about a book dealing with the death of a child but am glad I overcame the doubts as, in common with others it seems, I cried, smiled, wanted to hug Jacob and shake Ian.
I wanted someone to help Claire and support her, she had no one to talk to that seemed capable of just being there for her. I also really felt for the two older children, adolescence is hard enough without having such a different way of life and values from your peers. I did not know much about the Mormon faith before I read this, I have been educated, thank you Carys.

Have you started another book yet Carys?

I finished my copy this morning. As a non-believer I found it hard to identify with the characters, except perhaps Claire. I hope the ending implied that mother and family found the strength to continue as a unit, and were able to move forward despite their grief. What did you intend us to believe, Carys, or was it deliberately left for us to imagine our own conclusions?

I thought this book was beautifully written and completely engaging. I did identify with the themes of loss and faith and the struggles to come through the former without losing or compromising the latter. It was moving without being mawkish and the occasional touches of humour provided a counterpoint to the depths of emotion engendered. I'm glad the ending was left open.

Thank you for my copy of this book, which I have just finished reading. I loved it. You could feel all the emotions of each character especially Claire. I couldn't put it down, it was compulsive reading and I will certainly be passing it on to my friends to read in turn. Thank you Carys Brady, (and Gransnet for my copy) I look forward to reading more of your novels in the future.

I read this book in a couple of days whilst on holiday, not the subject matter I would normally pick for holiday reading.
I knew nothing of the Mormon faith and as I read on I became irritated with Ian's attitude towards his family, always putting others before the needs of his wife and children. I felt very sad when Issy died and Claire became lost in her misery while life had to continue for the children even to the point of returning to school almost immediately after the tragedy. The descriptions of Zippy, Alma and Jacob were so well written that I could see these poor children and feel their anxiety.
There was an amusing incident when the family were sitting down to a meal and the doorbell rang and it was suggested that it might be Jehovah's Witnesses, even the Mormons are not exempt from these mealtime interruptions.
The idea of a second coming and going on a mission made me feel uncomfortable especially as Brother Rimmer had constructed a handcart to transport his worldly goods to Liverpool to board a ship for America and then to walk to Utah, how deluded is that.
At the end of the book, when Claire is standing in the water and turns to look at the shore, I know in my heart that she is saying goodbye to her family and her home.
A well written book and I am pleased I had the opportunity to read it but it left me feeling sad which has not eased in the week since I completed the book.

I wasn't sure which "home" she started to head for at the end. You write your own ending!

I thought this was an excellent book, one of the best I’ve read for a long time. The writing is very accomplished and sensitive, and the themes of love, family, faith and grief are merged so well into a story that I just didn’t want to put down. The insights into the Mormon faith were so interesting, I found myself doing a bit of further research into it (well, okay, Google did it for me). And the shafts of humour were well-placed to lighten the subject matter. I’d love to pass it on to my DD and DIL, but I can imagine them being too deeply affected as young mums by the heartbreaking story of Issy’s death.

SPOILER ALERT At the end, I think Clare is turning towards her family and trying to get back to them. I hope she does, and I hope they work things out. I doubt whether the turning back includes her reconciling with her faith though.

I’d like to thank the author and Gransnet for a great read, and ask Carys which authors she most enjoys reading, and which she feels have been most influential to her work.

I absolutely loved this book. For the first time in years I downed tools and read the whole book in one sitting. Having known friends who have had children pass away, I felt it was very heartbreaking and true to life. The depictions of Mormon faith, were very touching in some parts but at other times made me want to scream and wallop the father/bishop! Nevertheless, there were a lot of laughs in the book too. I loved how the ending left you begging for more. There are no neat solutions to death! Highly recommended!

No other book has ever made me feel so angry and If an author has evoked any kind of feeling they have done their job. Of course it was Ian who made me angry. His total inability to help his family through the worst crisis they have faced and the brothers and sisters of the faith who didn't seem to think he needed to be helping his family and not them.
I didn't know much about the Mormon faith but After reading this book I can't understand how anyone could have such blind faith. It was that blind faith that didn't help poor Jacob in his grieving, the poor wee soul thought faith would bring his sister back. The scene where he sits on the stairs waiting is heartbreaking.
Ian didn't help his wife Claire,non of her sisters in the faith thought of helping her and one just wanted to help herself to Claire's husband. If that is the type of people who believe in the Mormon way of life then thank goodness I don't know any of them.
It was a book I couldn't put down. I do wish we had heard more from Claire about how she was dealing with a faith she didn't really seem to believe in.
I think my question to the author Carys would be, will there be a sequel as I would like to know how the family move on. Also and I know the question has already been asked but just how did her family and extended family react when she left the faith and are they still allowed contact with her. Thanks for the book Gransnet but you have frayed my nerves.