REVIEWS & synopsis from June 2008 to December 2008.
LIFE IN BURROWS AT BROCKDEN & THE HATCHING OF THE ETERNAL NINE BUTTERFLIES. An eternal Flux
by Delphine H. Hollingwood.
ISBN.978-0-9556-0320-4
MY PERSONAL SYNOPSIS
An adult/intellectual fantasy tale about life using animals as the main characters. It is filled with humour, innuendos and nuances but profound in meaning. It is life as seen and lived by the characters complete with love, laughter and tears and great changes through bizarre circumstances due to a dream experienced by Penelope Prickle-Bonnet, the arrival of Filbert Fois Gras, a visiting French duck with a cosmopolitan outlook on life and a penchant for meditation, moderation and balance and believes in the ways of the East and how karma affects everything. He has an eye for the main chance too and works on the Stock Exchange. It is set at the outset in the country side and is then based around a busy pond with many differing animals each with their own personalities and problems. The two areas are interlinked though.
The Owlopathic healing is run by Dr. Hoot, an expert doctor and surgeon and the complementary healing is applied by Nurse Tuffy-Tail, a very caring but unfairly deserted creature.
Penelope Prickle Bonnet is a sweet but feisty creature who fights everyone's battles but is unable to fight her own.
Lizzie LaConic is an abrasive optician feared by one and all
To name but a few.
DETAILS: Paper back. 125 pages. Seven line drawings. Word count circa 43,000.
The stories were written over a period of 8 years. The book itself was conceived from these stories by accident and born under the hardest of conditions with the most amazing sets of coincidences and serendipity involved in the making.
It was printed in India courtesy of Tyrone & Joyce Souza who not only arranged the printing but carried out the design and artwork. Because of its country of birth the book is unorthodox in size/appearance. However, it is easy to handle. The book was born without a Title on the spine and a beautiful jacket was designed by Bien Goverd to cover this shortfall.
+++++++++
+++++++++
A SYNOPSIS by the retired owner of Essentially Oils Limited, Oxford
Delphine Hollingwood (her nom de plume) began writing Life in Burrows at Brockden & The Hatching of The Eternal Nine Butterflies eight years ago Following an operation to cure her epilepsy, she decided to finish it to prove she hadn’t lost her mental facilities as a result of the operation. The book is an intellectual fantasy tale about a year in the life of some endearing creatures.
The book features, amongst many other colourful characters, a couple of care-free badgers, Billy and Benjy Burrowberg, whose laziness brings them an unexpected happy turn of events Nevertheless I was taken particularly with Filbert Fois Gras, a flamboyant duck from France who is a very kind and caring soul whose Stock Exchange work forces him to learn meditation and relaxation. For those of a more holistic bent, the very caring and gifted squirrel with a healing touch which puts her out of favour with the establishment might strike a chord Nurse Tuffy-Tail is always there to help and support all in need, both physically and psychologically, without question.
+++++++
REVIEWS.
Charles, Oxford. Owner of Essentially Oils. A well-travelled, well-respected and highly educated scholar and business man. Also Charles is an informative writer with years of experience in the field of Plant genealogy and Essential oils.
This is a cleverly written book It contains the simplistic ways as well as the high-tech and commercial sides of life The book comprises six stories that link together forming the whole book Published by W J Lennard [ISBN 978-0-9556-0320-4], with charming illustrations of the characters by Joyce Souza, who has never even visited England from her native Goa, it is not only an insightful book for adults but also a series of enchanting tales for children. In fact, the perfect bedtime story for all the family!
My read of the month.
===========
Mrs. G. B., Retired Music Teacher and Choir mistress. Hampshire
"I very much enjoyed reading the book and it is beautifully written. I needed to read a few chapters to get into it. It was very interesting and pleasant reading. The names were most unusual and well fitting to the animals and birds."
"Some parts would be interesting to older children as well as adults. It was better to read a few chapters at a time."
"It was a lovely and amusing book. WELL DONE!"
==========
EDMUND BRIDGEWATER, TOKYO, JAPAN.. Writer, Journalist, Singer and Composer.
To: Wendy ( Delphine Hollingwood ). "Your book is imaginative and excellent. I can visualize it in other formats: ANIME, CARTOON and AUDIO - which I think you should read yourself. Women writers have come a long way. Today two of my favourite authors are the Canadians Alice Munro and Margaret Atwood. I have already added Delphine Hollingwood to my list of preferred writers."
+++++++++++++
==============
Rouen B. Bentota. Sri Lanka. A young Sri Lankan man who is trying to improve his English, conversation, vocabulary and writing. A copy was sent in the knowledge that, as it was written in advanced English, it would expand his vocabulary.
"I have read your book to the end. I learned from it and it was really helpful to improve my English knowledge."
"Thank you."
++++++++
=============
Roumyana Rashkova. A Bulgarian philologist and exceptionally busy Teacher in Bulgaria.
It is a lovely book and is worth reading many times again.
I'll do it by all means during Christmas holidays. Then I'll read it at ease because at this time I could only do that in between classes in bits and somehow I got lost in the numerous names.
Now that I've mentioned the names, I'd like to tell you that this was the funniest thing to me in the book.
You are very inventive and the numerous implications these names prompted provided tremendous pleasure to me.
The constant touch of humour throughout the narration is subtle and very charming
However,it's not only an amusing reading matter but it's also edifying.
Living creatures seem to have so much in common in ancestry, habits and habitats.
I'll recommend your book to my colleagues and pass it on.
++++++
=========
LUZ HANNAI, Teacher of English in the USA to children of several nationalities including Spanish, Lebanese and Italian.
Wendy
I truly enjoyed it. I found it very entertaining and insightful. It was so clever the way you introduced technology into the life of these animals.
Nurse-Tuffy Tail: You have her in such a good standing as her character is such a wise and hard working one.
I gather Delphinium and Darious were based on you and David Since your aka is Delphine.
I found the characters all varied and so real- you certainly have a knowledge of humanity and the different personalities.
It was not only fun and entertaining but also uplifting in its message of how we all must struggle in one form or another....and that people can change for the better like, Lizzie La Connie and Kassandra Quackalot. Congratulations on their names and your sense of humour.
I specially liked the ending. Lots of the characters gathered together at Delphinium and Darius's home - you could just sense the atmosphere of love and acceptance there. It makes you wish you were there with the characters. You remind us of how we all have our trials, yet moments like this among family and friends, makes it all worth while, giving us the hope of a better tomorrow.
A beautiful and promising ending with a toast to "The Province of Nine Butterflies and Eternal Flux."
It is truly a gift and work of love. I feel so very special for having been given the opportunity read your remarkable work of love.
++++++
==========
Mrs. Bien Goverd, an artist, writer, designer and marketing agent from the Philippines, now living in England (The beautiful jacket was designed by Bien.)
In my opinion, it could have been 200 pages instead of 125. However, it is the contents that count. I am very sure this will be found very interesting book and I am sure every reader who is tempted to read the book will enjoy and learn from it.
I have to say that it is wonderful, easy to read, entertaining, the originality of every character is amusing and the humour ever present. I am sure that anybody would be interested to read such a fantastic story
++++++++
==========
Mr. Paul. R, Professional Photographer, owner of a photographic shop and studio, Leeds.
I really enjoyed reading the book.
You have created such wonderful characters like Penelope Prickle Bonnet and Henry Hunnybun. I like the way there are so many different types of animals in the stories and how we are introduced to them as the book unfolds. I also like the mention of the effect we have on their environment and how precious it is. A book is still displayed in the shop
++++++++
==========
Mr. A. Kemeny, Neurosurgeon, who carried out the brain surgery which eabled the conception of this book, informed me that he was delighted to have received it and its existence made his job so rewarding. He also stated that the world created for the animals sounded an ideal place for busy mortals like himself to be in.
===============
