Monday 18 November 2013

Review - Solomon's Tale by Sheila Jeffries

What a delightful story, but it should come with a warning - you may need tissues!
I first read this book last year, but was delighted when I was contacted to say that this beautiful book had been spotted by a top agent (Judith Murdoch) and was bought by Harper Collins for their Avon Books imprint. 
 
It is therefore, with my very greatest pleasure, that I was invited to review a longer copy of this enchanted and magical book. 
 
Solomon is a healing cat from the spirit world who is sent back to earth to be born again with the sole purpose of helping Ellen and her family.  When his soul decides that he wants to be born again, he embarks upon an important and interesting adventure to find and help his precious Ellen who lives with her husband Joe, their son John and their very naughty cat Jessica.  John has a foul temper and gets the family into financial difficulties but Ellen stands by him and when they lose everything they own, they start again in a small caravan. 
Solomon and Jessica have fallen in love and while Ellen works hard so that they all have a nice life, John drinks and feels sorry for himself all the time and can be abusive towards Ellen both verbally and physically.  Solomon is a healing cat and his healing ways bring healing, love and promise to this family but it all gets too much for Ellen to cope with and she becomes very ill.  Solomon is guided by his angel who he sees and hears and who advises him how to deal with particular circumstances.

There was such a lot of emotion in this lovely tale.  The love story between Jessica and Solomon is wonderfully told and Jessica’s appalling behaviour is quite hilarious at times. To talk about a love story between two cats sounds a bit bizarre but it really works well. 

The story is actually told by Solomon which takes a little getting used to, but once I did, I really enjoyed the book and found it extremely emotional in parts with some very upsetting topics throughout, yet it was an absolute pleasure to read how this wonderful healing cat had such an impact on this families lives. 

At the end of the book I cried and cried.  In fact, I have to admit that I sobbed but in a good way and for a nice reason if that makes sense!  What an amazing book!  It covers the topics of reincarnation, spirituality, angels and death beautifully.  I think this would be a good book to help children understand when a pet dies and help them feel a whole lot better about that situation.  In fact the way that she described when an animal dies made me think about that happening when my mom died and that made me feel a whole lot better about that too!

I’m not a massive cat fan yet this book still appealed to me so you clearly don’t have to be a cat lover to get and love this book as much as I did.  It really was a delightful tale of a love story between two cats and a cat and its owner.   Simply beautiful!

Sheila Jeffries the author has a lovely style of writing, very relaxed and enjoyable.   The words flowed well with the pages turning themselves and I read it very quickly.   I can't review this book and not comment on the cover which is just one of the most sparkliest, beautiful covers ever! Matches perfectly the magical story.

This book was inspired by Sheila’s own cats and experiences that have happened in her life and it’s a book that could be read and enjoyed by both adults and children alike. 
Sheila Jeffries wrote four full length children’s novels which were published before she left school. After studying at Bath Academy of Art, she trained as a teacher and taught special needs children.  She started to write again full time in 1982, and had a further eight children’s books published.  

A more recent project was a commissioned Mind Body & Spirit book called Talking to Fairies. Sheila is also an amazing artist and has had exhibitions in London and the West Country.  In the 90’s she moved to Cornwall and had her own studio selling her paintings, cards and books and there she developed her interest is esoteric subjects, particularly healing and sacred geometry.  This led her to discover a new landscape zodiac in Cornwall and to publish three books on the topic. 
Sheila Jeffries has brought up a family, helped to run a small-holding, and planted a fifty acre wood with her husband Ted. In her spare time she likes to study ley lines, Feng Shui, and ecology. She writes and reads poetry and has won a number of prizes including the Southern Daily Echo Poetry Trophy and the Writers Forum Prize. Now living in Somerset, Sheila is writing some new books for children, an adult saga, and two non-fiction Mind Body Spirit books and also runs writing workshops. 

You can learn more about her at her website www.sheilajeffries.com
 
You can buy the book via Amazon UK.

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