Darkly witty, deeply moving – Jackie Polzin’s Brood is a startlingly original debut novel about motherhood, marriage and grief, full of sorrow, joy and unrelenting hope.

Over the course of a single year, our nameless narrator heroically tries to keep her small brood of four chickens alive despite the seemingly endless challenges that caring for another creature entails – and all the while struggling to confront her own recent loss. From the forty-below nights of a brutal Minnesota winter to a sweltering summer which brings a surprise tornado, she battles predators, bad luck, and the uncertainty of a future that may not look anything like the one she always imagined.

‘Full of surprise, humor, grief, and wisdom.’ – Karen Joy Fowler, author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves

‘The most vibrant and compelling slice of life I’ve been privy to in a great while.’ – Claire Lombardo, author of The Most Fun We Ever Had

‘Splendidly unsentimental, quirky, witty, smart and a complete one-off.’ – Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures