Reviews - Sarah Coyne

An astute author, Sarah Coyne, has offered us what is really a philosophical and spiritual self-help book in the guise of a novel. A novel that explores many of life‘s dilemmas - health, career paths, ageing parents - A lot of the things that we all have to deal with which is what makes this book so very relevant. The cast of characters is clever, because the very names give you a hint of what you might expect, from father, Zeus and all that that name implies to boss from hell, Loki, the shapeshifting Norse god. Father Zeus imparts his wisdoms to his daughter, Thalia and it is these that really form the meat of the novel. The story revolves around these. How Thalia acts, given the situations she is unwittingly forced into at times, is in part dictated by the trust and faith she has in her father’s philosophies. I found the title a little enigmatic. I understood Solomon to be King Solomon who has wisdom, but Solomon’s Pond seems to be a location in a video game! I’d love to know the derivation of the title, and whether I’ve missed something significant in my interpretation. I thought the book was also the author commenting upon the world we live in today, and there’s very little you can argue with. Although there are some challenging and quite negative incidents in the book, ultimately it’s a tale of optimism and upliftment. It’s full of lessons that we can contemplate and hopefully apply to her own lives. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Solomon's Pond: A Spiritual Journey in Three Acts by Sarah Coyne | LibraryThing