Moon Tiger

I did get involved in the characters and liked the take on history but I’m glad it was a quick read. Maybe it’s just not my style of book.

Claudia looks back on her life as she lies dying in a hospital bed. Hardly an original concept, and in fact this would be an ordinary book, except for the writing, which is terrific. Lively proves equally fine in describing a trip behind British front lines in the North African desert, and a walk in the woods by a mother and her young child. The novel is rather unusual in that while it is almost entirely written in Claudia's... Read Full Review

An exotic novel about a love that haunts us from the grave to our own. Claudia's rendition of her affair in Egypt during a war, resulting in the loss of her great love and their unborn child, is depicted with an Englishwoman's genius of grammar, prose, and Latin-based mastery of the English language. Told through Claudia's story on her death bed between periods of consciousness, Penelope Lively distinguishes herself with the... Read Full 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... Read Full 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... Read Full Review