Moon Tiger

by Penelope Lively | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0140099956 Global Overview for this book
Registered by symphonicca of Ottawa, Ontario Canada on 11/3/2004
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1 journaler for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by symphonicca from Ottawa, Ontario Canada on Wednesday, November 3, 2004
Picked this up for a euro and a half at the VIC booksale--- yahoo! It won the booker prize, so i assume it should be a good read. From the back:

"Caludia Hampton-- beautiful, fameous, independant-- is dying. Meanwhile, she tells her nurses, "I am writing a history of the world", the whole triumphant murderous unstoppable chute. As memories crowd in, Claudia recreates the richly patterned mosaic of her life and times, from childhood just after the first world war to the present day." etc...

Sounds intriguing--- will get to it soonish.

Journal Entry 2 by symphonicca from Ottawa, Ontario Canada on Thursday, November 18, 2004
I have been slowly digesting this book--- moving slowly because i have been tired lately so am falling asleep earlier, but also slowly because it is a beautiful book---- what wonderful writing! So vivid and alive and complicated!

Claudia is an interesting character--- brazen, controversial, proud--- and her character is made even more interesting by the shifting of perspective that happens in various scenes. I especially liked the shifts between claudia and her daughter, and between claudia and her ex---- really well done.

And this kind of shifting really adds a richness to her character--- we not only see a situation from her perspective, but also from the perspective of those around her, who are as captivated and as frustrated with her as the reader can be.

Good good good stuff! Right now i am about half way through, travelling through the deserts of Egypt during the war. Again, the images and storytelling are wonderful. Am looking forward to getting to the end.

PS: While i like this book a lot, i never would have picked it up at a bookstore (if i were not desperate for books and grab anything english i can find here!). The cover art is pretty cheezy, and the title doesn't really capture the content or richness of what's between the covers.

I'm not complaining though---- I am happy to have been mistaken by the outward appearances of this book.... :)

Journal Entry 3 by symphonicca from Ottawa, Ontario Canada on Monday, November 22, 2004
Well I really liked this book! Frankly, for a puported 'history of everything', it was pretty focused. But then the point was that people have their own histories and context--- which can have different interpretations and perspectives (and consequences sometimes), depending on the actors and observers.

The story is touching and sad and slightly manic all at the same time. The way Claudia avoids her very real sadness after the significant shift in her life (I am not going to give it away)is, of course, an unhealthy way of dealing, and it was interesting to see how that avoidance permeated and influenced her relations with everyone else around her, especially her daughter.

There were a few twists thrown in at the end which, i thought, would or could have figured more significantly, but were very interesting nonetheless. Actually they were partly as interesting as they were because they came into the picture so late in the game really.

Anyway, I would definately recommend this book. Vivid descriptions, an interesting story told in an interesting way, a brash and brazen main character struggling with her inner demons and painful past--- what's not to love?!

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Dec. 6: Passed on to a friend--- we'll see if she journals!

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