Moon Tiger

I am fascinated by stories that encapsulate a whole life, usually from the perspective of a character looking back, assessing, wondering, and coming to terms with all that has transpired, both personally and globally. I am particularly fascinated by multi-dimensional female characters.

I was taken from page one by how well this story transitioned through different perspectives to offer a kaleidoscopic view of a life lived by a strong, unapologetic, complicated woman. 

Penelope Lively won the Booker Prize in 1987 for this novel, but I’m glad I finally discovered it.

I lost my mother a few years earlier and found myself reflecting on decline and death, which Lively explores through one Claudia Hampton. Claudia knows she’s dying, and she and the important people in her world look back at their relationships and foibles in a swirling timeline.

Claudia is a strong, sometimes abrasive, woman, but she has an unswerving eye. She helped me understand how, even though each person is bound by their own idiosyncratic perspective, “We all survive in the heads… show more.

Penelope Lively is a rock star in England, but she’s never been quite as known in the U.S. I love all her work, but this one is my favorite. 

We meet Claudia Hampton towards the end of her life. She’s a historian, razor-sharp, fascinating and fascinated, and even at her most self-absorbed, it’s impossible not to love her. I’d name her as one of the greatest female characters of all time, just as complex and shapeshifting as we all are in real life. Every sentence is a gift. If you like Elizabeth Strout or Ann Patchett, you should give this… show more.

Penelope Lively is one of my favorite British authors. She has a way of perfectly capturing her characters’ complex relationships and emotions in a quiet, understated manner. Moon Tiger won the Booker Prize in 1987, and is set mostly in Egypt during WWII, where Claudia, a strong, independent woman working as a war correspondent, falls for Tom, a British tank commander involved in fighting off the German offensive led by Rommel. This little-known part of the worldwide conflict becomes the backdrop for a passionate love affair that continues to haunt Claudia when she reflects back on her life in old… show more.