Novels about families in the stranglehold of religion have a way of ending badly. Madness, dysfunction, and apostasy are often followed by death. In Carys Bray’s touching first novel the usual order is reversed. A death precedes the collapse of a family, bringing in its wake madness, dysfunction and so forth. Issy Bradley, the youngest of four children, dies aged four. The death of a child is a particular tragedy for any family. It is a particularly significant tragedy in the case of the Bradleys because they are Mormons. Alongside the isolation and guilt that follow the death of a child, there are some nice surprises. From the undergarments for Eternity given to newly weds, to sin illustrated by cottonwool balls, and tinned food laid in for the Second Coming, Mormonism is, you migh
04 September 2014, The Tablet
A Song For Issy Bradley
Kept in the family
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