Moon Tiger
£9.00
A superb read! - Moon Tiger has been one of my favourite books for twenty years. The quality of the writing and the universal themes of the book (life, death, love and the fact that no two persons see or experience the same events in the same way) has more than stood the test of time. In Claudia Hampton, Penelope Lively has created a heronine as interesting and moving as she is egotistical and irritating. As a historian Claudia realises that history is not linear, and as she reflects on her own life we see it through her eyes and through the eyes of those close to her - brother Gordon, lovers Tom and Jasper, daughter Lisa, and so on. But is their remembrance and history the same as Claudias? Even when it is shared history? It is not. The essential solitariness of the human condition comes strongly to the fore in this account of a many faceted life. Are we ever truly known? Even by those closest to us? And do we have a core that all else revolves around, unbeknowst to the outside world? Perhaps, read, see and experience your own story.
The best book in the history of the world - I read this book for A-Level and the memory has stayed with me forever. I hope when I am 76 I will be like Claudia but without the regrets. An incredibly powerful journey interweaved with so many different lives. I love this book and have yet to find another book with such a clever storyline. Penelope Lively is amazing.
UNFORGETTABLE. - I taught this book for many years, because to me, it was one of the most perfect books which I had ever read.The fact that the main character, Claudia, is dying is contributed simply because that is the only way that we can see Claudia still at last.Her life, like the Moon Tiger- a mosquito coil which burns itself down to ashes, burns down till the end of the book, and duing that book, we meet all the characters who have had an effect on Claudia. They are her brother Gordon whom she loves more than anyone except her lover Tom Southern, Gordon s wife, Sylvia (not Sheila, and certainly not a wife to Tom who has no wife), Jasper the father of Claudia s child, Lisa,and Lazlo, a surrogate son.We examine the mercurial temperament which is Claudia and whether we love her or hate, (and sometimes we do both) we are fascianted by her.This is a book which stays in your memory for ever.
Powerful, Moving and Beautifully Wrought - 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
Wonderful imagery and heartfelt emotions - I read this book because it was a Booker Prize winner. I love this book because it s deep beyond words. I found it incredibly moving. The lyrical way Ms. Lively blends the past with the present is amazing. In the end you feel you ve lived life right along side the main character, Claudia. She has become at once a relative you never knew you had. Her thoughts and fears take hold of you and despite your feelings about her choices in life, you care about her and are moved. The detailed historical references and incredible imagery are not to be missed.