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Eyes Like Butterflies: A Treasury of Similes and Metaphors
Containing three thousand listings from such well-known authors as Martin Amis, Toni Morrison, and John Updike, Eyes Like Butterflies is a wonderful anthology of similes and metaphors that have appeared in English-language literature from the 1950s to the present. The title comes from a Desmond Hogan simile: “She had eyes like Tierra del Fuego butterflies.” Terence Hodgson spent more than ten years reading thousands of novels and short stories to uncover images such as “a damaged El Greco storm sky.” Some of the author’s other favorites are:
A smile like a torch with a weak battery A baklava of ideas You kissed me like a man crossing out a sentence Twilight ran in like a quiet violet dog
A smile like a torch with a weak battery A baklava of ideas You kissed me like a man crossing out a sentence Twilight ran in like a quiet violet dog
288 pages, Hardcover
First published December 6, 2006
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October 14, 2019
Eyes Like Butterflies by Terence Hodgson is a non-fiction title packed full with similes and metaphors from English literature.
The Cover: The cover is simple and clean looking. I wouldn’t say the design depicts the book as a non-fiction title, as I could just as easily see it working on the cover of a fiction novel. However, it is not a cover that doesn’t work for non-fiction and I think it suits the title quite well.
The Good Stuff: As the book blurb alludes to, this really is a treasure trove of similes and metaphors, from the short and snappy to the longer and poetic. They are indexed from A to Z under headings relevant to the content, such as: eyes, smiles, etc. Whatever your taste, you are bound to find something that resonates with you within the pages of this title.
The Bad Stuff: To me this is more of a reference guide than a read through book. I found myself skimming for content I like, just because there are so many metaphors and similes.
Overall, this is a great book for writers or poets to stimulate their imaginations (or readers who like this sort of thing). It gets a ‘mind-stiring like clothes in a tumble dryer’ 4 out of 5 golden bookmarks from me.
The Cover: The cover is simple and clean looking. I wouldn’t say the design depicts the book as a non-fiction title, as I could just as easily see it working on the cover of a fiction novel. However, it is not a cover that doesn’t work for non-fiction and I think it suits the title quite well.
The Good Stuff: As the book blurb alludes to, this really is a treasure trove of similes and metaphors, from the short and snappy to the longer and poetic. They are indexed from A to Z under headings relevant to the content, such as: eyes, smiles, etc. Whatever your taste, you are bound to find something that resonates with you within the pages of this title.
The Bad Stuff: To me this is more of a reference guide than a read through book. I found myself skimming for content I like, just because there are so many metaphors and similes.
Overall, this is a great book for writers or poets to stimulate their imaginations (or readers who like this sort of thing). It gets a ‘mind-stiring like clothes in a tumble dryer’ 4 out of 5 golden bookmarks from me.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review