Moon Tiger

Rating:
Summary: Powerful, Moving and Beautifully Wrought
Review: "I'm writing a history of the world. The whole triumphant murderous unstoppable chute-from the mud to the stars, universal and particular, your story and mine", so says Claudia Hampton, in her 76th year, as she lies dying. We all have books we can't put down, this is mine. This is the glorious book that I did not want to end, that I read in one sitting. I could not, absolutely could not put this book down. A ten star book if there ever was one!

Claudia is a character so rich, you feel her in your bones. You want to know her as your own. Claudia Hampton and her brother Gordon born of a comfortable family. Father died in his war, and mysteriously not much is known of him. Mother lived her life, she withdrew from the world. She lived for her roses, tapestry and unchangeable weather. Gordon and Claudia, sister and brother, wild, untamed as children, brilliant and wild and untamed as adults. They were self-involved and never needed an other person when they were together. The important people in Claudia's life are so well defined and characterized- they become the story.

Claudia became a write of books, history, and met her off and on lover, Jasper and father of her child, Lisa, when she was writing a book about Tito. Not one of Claudia's acquaintances or family approved of or liked Jasper, but that made him much more interesting, and, anyway, theirs was a sexual love-sex kept them together. And the fact that Claudia was beautiful and intelligent and such an asset. Men loved her and women approved of her. They never married, but they saw each other many times throughout their lives.

Tom Southern, the love of Claudia's life. She met him while she was a correspondent during the War in Egypt. Theirs was a love like no other. A sweet, short love, and one of the most memorable affairs.

Sheila, Tom's wife. A woman to be put up with. A stable wife who said not much and did little else, but she kept their life together. A woman who mattered not to Claudia- someone to be tolerated.

Lisa, the child of Claudia and Jasper. Like neither her mother nor father and treated as such- like a neither. Shunted off to be brought up by her grandmothers a child who so wanted to be loved by her mother, and was, but the love was not spoken.

Laszlo, the child of a Hungarian, who was left homeless and family less after the Hungarian uprising. Claudia took him in and treated him almost as a son.

These the important people in Claudia's life. This strong, independent woman who had such contentious relations with family and friends. Penelope Lively, won the Booker Prize for this novel. And well she should! What a powerful, moving and beautifully wrought book she has written. Claudia Hampton, a literary figure not to be forgotten. Well done, Penelope Lively !prisrob

Rating:
Summary: Powerful, Moving and Beautifully Wrought
Review: "I'm writing a history of the world. The whole triumphant murderous unstoppable chute-from the mud to the stars, universal and particular, your story and mine", so says Claudia Hampton, in her 76th year, as she lies dying. We all have books we can't put down, this is mine. This is the glorious book that I did not want to end, that I read in one sitting. I could not, absolutely could not put this book down. A ten star book if there ever was one!

Claudia is a character so rich, you feel her in your bones. You want to know her as your own. Claudia Hampton and her brother Gordon born of a comfortable family. Father died in his war, and mysteriously not much is known of him. Mother lived her life, she withdrew from the world. She lived for her roses, tapestry and unchangeable weather. Gordon and Claudia, sister and brother, wild, untamed as children, brilliant and wild and untamed as adults. They were self-involved and never needed an other person when they were together. The important people in Claudia's life are so well defined and characterized- they become the story.

Claudia became a write of books, history, and met her off and on lover, Jasper and father of her child, Lisa, when she was writing a book about Tito. Not one of Claudia's acquaintances or family approved of or liked Jasper, but that made him much more interesting, and, anyway, theirs was a sexual love-sex kept them together. And the fact that Claudia was beautiful and intelligent and such an asset. Men loved her and women approved of her. They never married, but they saw each other many times throughout their lives.

Tom Southern, the love of Claudia's life. She met him while she was a correspondent during the War in Egypt. Theirs was a love like no other. A sweet, short love, and one of the most memorable affairs.

Sheila, Gordon's wife. A woman to be put up with. A stable wife who said not much and did little else, but she kept their life together. A woman who mattered not to Claudia- someone to be tolerated.

Lisa, the child of Claudia and Jasper. Like neither her mother nor father and treated as such- like a neither. Shunted off to be brought up by her grandmothers a child who so wanted to be loved by her mother, and was, but the love was not spoken.

Laszlo, the child of a Hungarian, who was left homeless and family less after the Hungarian uprising. Claudia took him in and treated him almost as a son.

These the important people in Claudia's life. This strong, independent woman who had such contentious relations with family and friends. Penelope Lively, won the Booker Prize for this novel. And well she should! What a powerful, moving and beautifully wrought book she has written. Claudia Hampton, a literary figure not to be forgotten. Well done, Penelope Lively !prisrob

Rating:
Summary: Good ideas, but falls very short
Review: Certainly an interesting premise -- a story shifting through tense and perpsective in order to highlight the fluidity of time and associations. Too bad, then, that in execution the book fails miserably.

The novel is filled with detestable characters, especially the protagonist Claudia Hampton. Of course, one need not like characters in order to enjoy a book. But when the reader stops caring about the characters there is a problem. It's not as much that the characters are detestable as they are inaccessible. The prose becomes merely two hundred pages of self-absorbed nonsense that saps the reader of his or her own life.

Ms. Lively becomes too bogged down in her own rapture of creating a clever book -- any issues or styles that might have been fresh or original with the book become only annoying.

Yes, the novel deals with issues such as time, death, children, parenting, lost love, fate, choices et cetera et cetera. But it offers nothing unique that a better written book does not already offer -- even Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5, though radically different, would be a much better choice.

This novel cannot be recommended to anyone who values both literature and not wasting time on inanity.

Rating:
Summary: Skillfully Rendered
Review: Claudia Hampton is a marvellously waspish old lady, her sting undulled by time.
Her wit and honesty in assessing her life spare no one, starting with herself. The evocation of Claudia's doomed love affair in wartime Egypt far surpasses Ondaatje's novel "The English Patient".
Good luck to adolescents trying to appreciate it, though.

Rating:
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:
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:
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.

Rating:
Summary: Thrilling!
Review: This book was my introduction to one of the truly great writers of our day. Penelope Lively has written ten of the best novels of the last twenty years. This is but one. I recommend it highly. When you have finished you should move on to "Passing On" and then "The Photograph."