Faith, Hope and Carnage

A BOOK OF THE YEAR, ROLLING STONE, NPR, PITCHFORK, THE TIMES (LONDON), TELEGRAPH

"An astoundingly intimate book-length conversation on art and grief spanning the duration of the pandemic years . . . As with Cave's music, you might flinch, but you will feel alive."
― Pitchfork

Faith, Hope and Carnage is a book about Nick Cave's inner life.

Created from more than forty hours of intimate conversations with the journalist Seán O'Hagan, this is a profoundly thoughtful exploration, in Cave's own words, of what really drives his life and creativity.

The book examines questions of belief, art, music, freedom, grief and love. It draws candidly on Cave's life, from his early childhood to the present day, his loves, his work ethic and his dramatic transformation in recent years.

Faith, Hope and Carnage offers ladders of hope and inspiration from a true visionary.


About the Author

Nick Cave has been performing music for more than forty years and is best known as the songwriter and lead singer of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, whose 2019 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 Red Hand Files website and "Conversation with" live events have seen Cave exploring deeper and more direct relationships with his fans.

Seán O'Hagan 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 the photography critic for The Guardian.