Faith, Hope and Carnage

I related to this book on many levels and it gave me almost a companion whilst I was also grieving the loss of my son and the trauma of this.
The opportunity to explore another's journey through the grief process and whilst navigating this myself. The reality of fame and fortune does not give you anonymity to the up and downs of life. The internal conversations had by both writers and how their relationship developed on and off the page.
I read and listened to this book and it inspired me to recognise that whilst things don't pass they find… show more.

I love reading books about creativity and learning from other writers and artists how they approach their work. I didn’t know much about Cave or his music, and I came across this book after reading a newspaper interview he gave to Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury.

I was impressed by the intelligence, passion, and honesty of Cave’s conversation. A man willing to talk about Jesus, the Bible, faith, religion, grace, the sacred, and defy the dreadful silence surrounding bereavement, loss, and grief was someone who was surely worth finding out more about.

He was. Faith, Hope and Carnage is… show more.

I’m a huge fan of Nick Cave’s music over the years, and believe he’s broken through into a new creative upland in recent years.

On top of that, his writings in “The Red Hand Files” are staggering in their wisdom and humanity. This long-form interview with him by the Irish journalist Sean O Hagan is a masterful assessment of a life lived to the full, in music and beyond it. It deals with the tragic death of his son, creativity, the responsibilities of an artist and so much more. All human life is contained herein.

I found this book uplifting… show more.