Faith, Hope and Carnage

Illuminating . . . a great deal of beauty in Cave's descriptions of the "strange reckless power" that comes when the worst has happened . . . if it meets a need for Cave, it also feels like a gift to the reader * * Sunday Times * * An extraordinary, uplifting book . . . This is a book you could dip into if you had no knowledge of Cave at all, just to find someone unafraid to ask all the big questions: what is grief? What is forgiveness? . . . Everyday carnage has brought forth a book of hope and freedom and life * * Daily Telegraph * * This beautiful book is a lament, a celebration, a howl, a secular prayer, a call to arms, a meditation & an exquisite articulation of the human condition. It will take your breath away -- RACHEL CLARKE * * Observer * * An absolutely wonderful book. I don't think I've ever read so integrated and searching an engagement with how faith works, how creativity works, and how grief is bound up with both -- ROWAN WILLIAMS A fascinating read . . . O'Hagan is skilled at drilling down to discover the most interesting conversational nubs, but it is Cave's words that are the star of the show. The man talks like he is writing poetry and the manner in which he describes making music is sure to delight both fans and casual listeners * * Independent * * Ultimately enriching . . . suffused with love, teeming with ideas * * Guardian * * Remarkably candid . . . the culmination of a prolonged and moving period of reflection . . . One of Cave's greatest skills is to bring a secular eye to the religious and a religious eye to the secular, the sacred and the profane intertwined * * New Statesman * * Immensely eloquent and wise . . . a tender guide to the transformative potential of grief * * Telegraph, Best Music Books of 2022 * * Faith, Hope and Carnage redefines the potential potency of a memoir, creating a bold, brave and brilliant book that deserves to be read, reread and cherished as an illuminating reflection of how we haven't developed the vocabulary to adequately explore death and its aftermath * * Irish Times * * The most compelling book of the year - raw pain and struggle thought through and explored with rare courage * * New Statesman, Books of the Year * *

Nick Cave has been performing music for more than forty years and is best known as the songwriter and lead singer of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, whose latest album Ghosteen was widely received as their best work ever. Cave's body of work also covers a wider range of media and modes of expression including film score composition, ceramic sculpture and writing novels. Over the last few years his The Red Hand Files website and 'In Conversation' live events have seen Cave exploring deeper and more direct relationships with his fans. Sen O'Hagan is an award-winning journalist who has interviewed many major artists, writers and musicians over the last four decades. He currently works as a feature writer for the Observer and is photography critic for the Guardian.