Reviews of Goldin: A Tale A novel by Michael Cope

"A Manichaean eco-thriller set in Cape Town! Mystical, mythical, but rooted in a real compassionate concern for the planet. I can't wait for the movie."

Gus Ferguson - poet, cartoonist, publisher, literary saint and pharmacist; author of countless books of poems and cartoons.

"It's probably one of the best novels of its genre I've read for ages, and is certainly one of the nicest I've read for years. I would like many more people to see it. The story is coherent, consistent, exciting, informative, intriguing heartbreaking and happy-making... what more can you ask of a tale? I literally couldn't put it down, and - when I did - wanted nothing so much as to get back to it."

Mike Dickman - musician and translator; translator/author of Sayings of Old Cheng and A Treasure-Trove of Blessings and Protection

"This novel skilfully weaves together different worlds and genres to reflect on the current ecological crisis."

Sharon Hughes - Publisher

"The stories within the story enchant with their own myths and magic forms."

Prof. Wendy Woodward - poet & literary critic; Author of Séance for the Body

What I liked most about the book was the individual telling of tales - these were so rich in imagery and each tale was a story all on its own. I found this to be a very novel way of weaving together the story, and I could not wait to get back to the next tale.

"Mike Cope is one of South Africa's most technically and artistically accomplished poets. He is also a brilliant jewellery designer. These talents have combined in the writing and design of his novel Goldin, a narrative that expresses itself at many different levels of metaphor and perspective, seamlessly folding its magic, its mythological exploration, into the more prosaic worlds we all inhabit. Alan Goldin is a jeweller who has been chosen by the gods to make a ring for one of their own. In consequence of the integrity of his craft, the gods turn to him for advice: should they interfere in the deepening ecological and spiritual crises of the world, or should they allow it to stumble on towards apocalypse? The jeweller's reluctance to meet their request is justified - the price of this honour could be too steep to bear - but then who can resist the gods? Goldin moves through stories told by the gods themselves, and through the tales of those mortals who are sucked into their wake. This is an intriguing and original novel."

Ken Barris - Prize-winning novelist & poet; Author of Evolution and Summer Grammar etc.