The Girl Who Became a Tree

Download or read book The Girl Who Became a Tree written by Joseph Coelho and published by Otter-Barry Books Limited. This book was released on 2020-08 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Award-winning poet and author Joseph Coelho breaks new ground with his first novel in verse. The Girl Who Became a Tree is a powerful and mezmerising exploration of grief and renewal. Daphne is unbearably sad and adrift. She feels the painful loss of her father acutely and seeks solace both in the security of her local library and the escape her phone screen provides by blocking out the world around her. As Daphne tries to make sense of what has happened she recalls memories of shared times and stories past, and in facing the darkness she finds a way back from the tangle of fear and confusion, to feel connected once more with her friends and family. The Girl Who Became a Tree sees Joseph Coelho deploy a wide variety of poetic forms with consummate skill in its narration of events. He seamlessly but searingly weaves together the ancient legend of Daphne, who was turned into a tree to avoid the attentions of the god Apollo, and a totally modern tale, mixing real-life and fantasy, in which a latter-day Daphne seeks her own freedom. This a heart-stoppingly imaginative story told in poems, at times bleak and even tragic, which is layered, rich, and ultimately a tour de force of poetic skill and energy.