Home :: Books :: Audiocassettes  

Arts & Photography
Audio CDs
Audiocassettes

Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Investing
Children's Books
Christianity
Comics & Graphic Novels
Computers & Internet
Cooking, Food & Wine
Entertainment
Gay & Lesbian
Health, Mind & Body
History
Home & Garden
Horror
Literature & Fiction
Mystery & Thrillers
Nonfiction
Outdoors & Nature
Parenting & Families
Professional & Technical
Reference
Religion & Spirituality
Romance
Science
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Sports
Teens
Travel
Women's Fiction
Moon Tiger

Moon Tiger

List Price: $54.95
Your Price: $54.95
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 3 4 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I am a person who usually finds it hard to find any fictional books that I enjoy. I really did enjoy this book! The way the book is written makes you feel very close to the characters and very close to their lives. The way that all of her (Claudia's) history exists in a single moment as she replays them makes the readers think about how experiences, however insignificant they are, make lives. I thought this book was really great!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An unforgettable story
Review: I had to read this book as part of my A-level English course. I found it very difficult to get into the book to start with, but as we read on, I found the tale of Claudia Hampton very inspiring yet annoying and frustrating in places. Despite this, I did find the book interesting and I am glad we had to read it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: It's OK
Review: I had to read this book for my english class. Hard to Understand

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: ONE OF THE BEST!
Review: I taught this book to 15-16 year old girls for 6 years, and it was an unforgettable experience. They constantly referred to Claudia's character, the character of poor Sylvia (her sister-in-law) and the mother-daughter relationship between Claudia and her daughter, Lisa, for a year or two after they had studied the book. The philosophy in this book, though difficult to understand at first reading, is so profound as to challenge the reader constantly. We dealt with relationships, death, characters, how we influence people and they influence us: Claudia's concept of being a part of everything, and everything being a part of her. It was wonderful. I think that this book should be read and re-read until it forms part of one's own character, and congratulations to Penelope Lively for the best book she has ever written.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Skillfully Rendered
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this story and did not find the writing overly clever, as some reviewers have indicated. My book group will be discussing it next month and I'm sure there will be ample themes (aging, loss, independence, regret) to ponder. I'm also certain that the non-linear nature of the novel will elicit widely different responses from the group.

My patience as a reader was challenged a bit at the end by the inclusion of Tom Southern's journal. I was not quite engaged enough by the story of his final days to want to read its details. Perhaps Ms. Lively intended this as a challenge to the reader's dedication.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: It is fantastic!
Review: Lively does things that any other author could be crucified for! Such as inconsistant tenses, changing the POV from first to third person omniscient and having the same scene told from different viewpoints. She does it all so well, that you honestly don't care how it's written.

Althought most of the characters didn't do too much for me, even if they were interesting, Claudia and Tom just remain with you. She is intelligent, strong, humerous and honest with herself. Tom is...well, the same way, only a tad more cynical. Not that he should be blamed for being that way. You get a real feel for what the war was like and even though Ms. Lively is very crisp in her prose style, you cannot help but have tears in your eyes in certain scenes.

Overall, it's beautifully written. I'd recommend it to just about anyone. Especially for those who LOVE history.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Highly intelligent and moving
Review: Lively not only captures the essence of humans in war but in life. One of the most intelligent writers I've encountered.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Moon Tiger
Review: Moon Tiger is thoughtfully written but on the first read it is easy to miss many of the subtilties. There are many themes raised throughout the novel and the reader is left at the end of the novel with a sense of loss that Claudia has left us and that history now has to carry on without her. It was a thoroughly enjoyable read and one that the reader will learn and pick up on new things with every new read

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The World According to Claudia
Review: On her deathbed, Claudia Hampton decides to write "the history of the world" from her own quirky and selective point of view, stirring fact, fiction, myth, and dreams into an eclectic stew. Without a clear chronology, there are points of confusion as Claudia moves through time and space in the retelling of her life, but who can fail to admire this woman as she bares her soul, admits her flaws and foibles, her private and public sins and loves?

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A novel of self-discovery, and reflection
Review: Perception. That is the major theme that occurs throughout the novel. The way we see and interpret events may not necessarily be the way others perceive them. One woman's "History of the World" can only be based on subjective interpretation.

Claudia Hampton has lived a full, rich life. At the age of 76, she's now on her deathbed, recalling a myriad of poignant moments she had experienced in her long life. Many people have made an impact upon her life: her brother Gordon, for example, who was a mirror image of Claudia, and who shared in their borderline-incestuous relationship. Her daughter Lisa, as different from her mother as could be. Her lover of many years, Jasper, who served his purpose, but who never truly won her heart. The love of her life, Tom, who she only knew for a short period of time but loved deeply and powerfully. They all play a part in what she calls "Claudia's History of the World". The bits and pieces of her life come rapidly, with no chronological order to bind them together, and Claudia takes the time to muse over everything that has made her who she is.

MOON TIGER is extremely powerful at times and always eloquently written. The love story between Tom and Claudia is breathtaking. Selfishly, I wish it had been longer. I yearned for more character development and depth in Tom, although as readers, we know as much about him as Claudia herself did. Their romance was brief, but passionate, and it left me yearning for more right along with Claudia.

A word of warning: although the book is relatively short (at 200 pages), it feels lengthy and drawn out at times. Again, this only serves to highlight Lively's skill at writing Claudia's last experiences. Of course, being a dying woman's memoirs, the book is short on plot and long on self-discovery, and reflection.

A must-read for lovers of literary fiction - but those with a taste for more adventurous plot lines would probably not find their desired reading material in MOON TIGER.


<< 1 2 3 4 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates