My heart adored this book, partly I must admit because the life of the ('hippie') community called Lothlorien is exactly the environment which I wish I could have a) had for myself when I was growing up and b) provided for my son during his time home educating.

The title references a ballad which was composed to honour the birth of Curly Oswald - not in a hospital, nor a bed or a birthing pool as we know them, but into a pond on the land the community is built upon....and so begins the story of an 'alternative', unconventional upbringing outside of The System.

I loved all of the main characters (particularly Curly himself, Tiger Lily, Neat Pete and Jelly Bean), enjoyed the author's humorous writing style, laughed and cried at the events described - and desperately wanted the story to continue, at least far enough to explain why Curly never returned to his community after he left for a trip to London.

I could see why this book might not be everyone's cup of tea, plus it's maybe not the most impressive or beautifully written work (it's not bad, just not exceptional), but if you have any remnants of hippie sensibilities within you, as far as I'm concerned this story comes wholly and highly recommended.

A fascinating look at a (very) unorthodox upbringing in a "hippie" commune. I enjoyed the author's writing style - it was humorous while maintaining the edge of tragedy where applicable. Recommended.
My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately I don't think this one is for me. I wish there was a "return book" feature with NetGalley.

I got about 5% through the book and realized that Curly Oswald will be speaking about his time in what others have called a "hippie commune" and that's not really something I'm interested in reading about. I didn't find his character or the other characters described in the book interesting. I also couldn't confirm if this was a fiction or non-fiction as NetGalley lists it as a non-fiction but Goodreads has it as a fiction.