Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - Moon Tiger

Moon Tiger opens with Claudia lying in a hospital bed. She’s dying, but also determined to write a history of the world from her viewpoint. This is very much a character driven book, and Claudia is a great character. She was determined to live her life on her terms rather than be restricted to the roles and behaviour society deemed appropriate for women at the time. She is strong-willed, intelligent, unconventional and uncompromising; compelling rather than likeable. Her story unfolds in a nonlinear jumbled fashion and she often returns to key events. While Claudia’s is the main voice we also hear from other significant people in her life , including her brother (talk about a complicated relationship), and her daughter (again complicated). These perspectives act as a counter to Claudia’s and allow the reader to form a more complete and accurate picture of her. Great writing and some interesting themes but it was Claudia that made this book a winner for me.

Content Warnings

flara's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Moon Tiger is written in a language rich on associations that seemingly have nothing in common. Fragments of different timelines are scattered across the book. The opening is slightly difficult to follow because out of the blue you will get bombarded by different character names, historical references and other things you never heard off. Lively's sentences are rich, I think that's the best way to describe it. She joins mythology, politics, geographical places and feelings in lengthy and elaborate sentences. If your attention slips away for just a couple of these (somewhat) pretentious references, you will miss the point of the sentence all together. First it took me some getting used to. But once I finished the book and tried to read another one, no matter which one, it seemed bland in comparison. The events that take place in the book are captured only fleetingly, but Lively's writing gives them dimension. I would like to see Moon Tiger adapted for screen, I think it would make for an interesting film.

Claudia, the main heroine, is not a likeable character. I found her privileged and self-absorbed, but at least she never pretended to be any other way. I liked that about her. She was realistic, deeply flawed, but at the same time she was self-aware and unapologetic. Claudia's story is a myriad of regrets and revelations. There is incest, miscarriage, loss, war trauma, affairs. I didn't expect to like the book at the beginning, mainly due to how annoying I found Claudia to be. But as the story untangled, so did my scepticism.

Content Warnings

ameliasbooks's review against another edition

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challenging reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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