Title: Isaac and the Egg
Author: Bobby Palmer
Publisher: Hachette, 2022; RRP: $32.99


The Author
Bobby Palmer is a freelance journalist writing for publications such as Time Out, GQ, Men’s Health and Cosmopolitan. Isaac and the Egg is his first novel.


The Book
Billed as an uplifting story, Isaac and the Egg opens with the main character, Isaac Addy, perched on the edge of a bridge, willing himself to end it all by jumping into the freezing water below. When you are that low the only way is up.

In quintessential English eccentricity, Palmer sets about showing the reader the disturbed state of Isaac’s mind and his journey to ‘redemption’.

Isaac’s maudlin deliberations are interrupted by a scream emanating from the nearby woods. He investigates and finds a two-foot-high egg. For Isaac this is the beginning of his redemption.

The characters of Isaac and Egg drive the story in this novel, hence the title. Other characters include Isaac’s wife, his sister and mother-in-law. Despite the small parts these later two characters play, they come across as well developed, suggesting a depth to Palmer’s writing skills.

This is an interesting debut novel. It does require a suspension of reality, especially when it comes to Egg. Palmer has used the absurdity of Egg to give the reader a sense of Isaac’s traumatised mind. For those who need a more rational explanation, Isaac is probably suffering from trauma-induced hallucinations, and the Egg is a metaphor or substitute for…SPOILERS. Perhaps the term found in Victorian-era novels, “brain fever”, would be an apt description of the state of Isaac’s mind.

It is difficult to describe this story and not give away the plot. Suffice to say, Isaac has recently experienced the unexpected loss of his wife, the love of his life and inspiration. His adequacy to deal with life is on the line.

Egg is vulnerable and Isaac is its only hope for survival. Is this a last opportunity for Isaac to cope with responsibility – to grow up? This is essentially the underlying theme to Isaac’s story.

Palmer slowly peels away the layers to Isaac’s life, building the tension, gradually bringing the reader and Isaac back to reality with an emotionally charged ending.

This is an engrossing story. I found myself rushing through it, wanting to get to the resolution for Isaac.

There are a couple of useful lessons in this story. The grief we feel after loss can be dealt with, but we are changed. Our connections to others are important to helping us find our way, to make good decisions about how we change.

Regardless of how you like your eggs, this one is worth the effort, even if, at times, it feels a bit scrambled.

Reviewed by: Frank Thompson

Ballarat Writers Inc. Book Review Group

Review copy provided by the publisher