Reviews

Shooting Butterflies by Marika Cobbold

aklev13's review against another edition

I remember this broke my heart - like chest aching sobs. I was young though so would be curious to see how i would feel reading it now.

mikia's review against another edition

5.0

"Lots of people don't get it. I have friends who never even take a camera on holiday because they feel it comes between them and the experience. For me, it's the opposite. To me, everything is floating, unreal, until I've got my shots."
- Grace

canadianbookworm's review

4.0

Very good, as are all her books.
Good story, but a lot of sadness and reflecting as well.

apostrophen's review

4.0

This was a beautiful book. First off, the main character, Grace, has a supremely strong will and wit, sarcasm and there's much to be said for the staggering lack of that in most literature. Grace's life is hard - most of those she has loved in her life are gone. At one time, Grace was a photographer with extreme merit - a woman at the edge of art, where her shots of darkness and death (often at the edge of life) won her one of the premier rewards of photography - and then she simply stopped.

The strength of this story is the "why" of it. Then, a striking catalyst - a painting arrives, chosen by her lover for Grace. It arrives on her birthday, with a note. And her lover has been dead two years... who sent it? Why? Who is the artist, and why did it appear to her, after all this time.

Superb story. Fabulous characters, and a mystery twist to boot. Cobbold's ability to interweave various characters is a refreshing change, and nothing seems forced or over-the-top. Solid bit of work.