Initially I thought the author had confused the names of the main character's wife and mistress, then I realised that it was his writing style. I do enjoy good Afrikaans writing, and it was a good read for the long weekend.
I remember first reading this book in Std 5 (grade 7) and it was absolutely magical. It was the first time I had ever come across the name Penelope and the idea of a phoenix. I had been looking for it in all the second-hand bookstores to no avail, and could also not find it on Takealot. After a recent visit to the local Hout Bay library, I found it! It was such fun to reread it.