Birds and Ghosts

by Jess Richards

Jess Richards's beloved father died suddenly at the age of sixty-seven in Scotland. Three months later, she travelled to Aotearoa New Zealand, to a new relationship. This is the story of her grief and her love, of a place lost and a place found, of a memory-packed past and a poised present.
Birds and Ghosts was written during the Covid-19 pandemic when international travel was impossible. In this achingly empty space, away from her family and her father's grave, Jess reconstructs her early life and ponders the self who is lonely, different, and invisible. A late diagnosis of Autism adds a conventional label to a uniquely personal portrait.
This intimate story edges the boundaries of fiction and nonfiction, poetry and prose, confident in its experimental style. It is memoir in a pure, unconstrained form, brave and beautiful, moving and utterly compelling.
From the author of Snake Ropes, Cooking

304 pages, Paperback

Published February 14, 2023

About the author

I was born in Wales in 1972, and grew up too fast in south west Scotland where I lived with my English parents and three brothers, watching the ferry boats going to and from Northern Ireland. I left home at 17, went over the border to England, and lived for a year in Carlisle, before moving to Devon. I gained a first class degree from Dartington College of Arts when I was 21, then after brief stints busking and carrying on in both Leeds and London, I moved to Brighton aged 23 where I grew up a bit slower, and have lived ever since.

I have always written, probably on just about every day of my life, and from 2008-10, I studied Creative Writing at Sussex University. I had a number of short stories published and more shortlisted and longlisted as a result of competitions I entered while on the course, and my first novel, Snake Ropes started as a short story which wouldn’t stop growing.

Snake Ropes was published by Sceptre in 2012, and was shortlisted for the Costa first book award 2012. My second novel, Cooking with Bones, was published in 2013.

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It's about Jess Richards' reaction to the death of her father and to separation from her family, through love and Covid. A mixture of creative non-fiction and poetry, the book develops recurring themes and motifs in a similar way to the author's daring and innovative novels, and couples them with emotional directness.

In "Birds and Ghosts", the author walks down streets I've travelled and visits places I know well. But even if you've never spent time in Scotland, or Brighton, or Wellington, NZ, the emotional contours of the story are both very specific and familiar to many of us from the last few years. Excellently written, moving and - for me at least - a deeply resonant and satisfying book.

[Kelly Rosalyn Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunning depiction of grief through the symbolism of birds and ghosts. Richards' blended approach to form really captured the disorienting atmosphere of losing a loved one; her grasp on controlling metaphor was invaluable for my diss.
5 stars !