Moon Tiger
Encyclopedia
Moon Tiger is a 1987 novel by Penelope Lively
which spans the time before, during and after World War II
. The novel won the 1987 Booker Prize . It is written from multiple points of view
and moves backward and forward through time. It begins as the story of a woman who, on her deathbed, decides to write a history of the world, and develops into a story of love, incest and the desire to be recognized as an independent free thinking woman of the time.
, and of the summer of 1920, when she was 10 and competing with her 11 year old brother Gordon for fossils.
Claudia and Gordon are, at times throughout their lives, rivals, lovers, and best friends to each other. When the two are in their late teens they begin an incestuous relationship and find it hard to relate to almost any other person their own age. Soon, however, their college careers and other events allow both to open up to the outside world, and look outward for companionship.
At the outset of World War II
, Gordon, a would-be economist, is sent to India
, whereas Claudia sets aside her studies in history to become a war correspondent. Independent and enterprising, Claudia talks her way into a correspondent's post in Cairo, where she meets Tom Southern, a captain of an English armoured tank division, who sweeps her off her feet.
Tom and Claudia spend a long weekend together while he's on leave from the front, which culminates in both of them falling in love with each other and making plans for a seemingly far future. But their future together is never to materialize: shortly after their time together, the English are called to defend Egypt
from Erwin Rommel
's offensive at the First Battle of El Alamein
, and Tom is declared missing. Later on, Claudia receives news that he has died.
Shortly after Tom's death, Claudia finds out she is pregnant, and decides that she will have the child, even though she would have to go it alone. It isn't to be: Claudia miscarries, and is never told whether the child she had carried was a boy or a girl. That uncertainty, along with her fear that Tom died a horrible and painful death, will haunt her for the rest of her life.
After the War, Claudia and Gordon reunite, but the encounter is more friendly than passionate. Each of them has obviously been changed by the War, but they are both sparse on actual details during their conversations. Gordon marries a girl named Sylvia, who Claudia finds insipid and boring. Claudia meanwhile met Jasper, a well connected young man who she goes on to have an on and off, rather stormy relationship with, and one that Gordon is openly disapproving of.
In 1948 Claudia finds herself pregnant again, this time by Jasper, and while she has no intention of marrying him, she decides to have the child, Lisa. While Claudia loves Lisa, she finds she has little patience and time to care for a child, and so Lisa ultimately ends up being raised by her maternal and paternal grandmothers, who share her custody and dictate her upbringing. Not surprisingly, Lisa grows up sullen and indifferent to Claudia, and marries off at a young age to a respectable (boring) man.
Throughout her travels abroad, Claudia comes in contact with an Hungarian
functionary who becomes implicated in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution
. Knowing that persecution is forthcoming, the functionary decides to ask Claudia to make sure that his son Lazlo, who is in England at college, does not attempt to return to Hungary. So Claudia becomes a sort of surrogate mother to Lazlo, who she grows to love and admire over the years, recognizing that he is drastically different from anyone else she knows: an open, painfully honest, sensitive, self-destructive artist.
Claudia writes several books that attempt to popularize history for the masses, earning her accolades from the public, and scorn from other professional historians. She also briefly becomes a consultant for a movie based on her history of Cortez, which leads to a personal scandal, when she ends up in a car accident with the star of the movie, and the press suspects there is more to the relationship than just friendship. The event earns scorn from Jasper, who refuses to see her when she's in the hospital. Gordon, on the other hand, visits her to let her know that she's not alone.
At some point in time, Claudia decides to travel to Egypt alone, to try and see Cairo
again, but she finds things much changed. The only thing that has not changed is that the desert has become forever etched in her memory as synonymous with her pain at everything she experienced during the war, a pain that she's still unable to share with any other living soul even after all the years that have passed.
When Claudia turns 70, she receives a package containing Tom's diary, one of the few personal effects of Tom's recovered from the war. It had been sent to Claudia by Jennifer Southern, Tom's sister, who decides that Claudia should have it upon realizing that Claudia is "C.", Tom's often referred to girlfriend. Claudia cannot muster the courage to read beyond the note accompanying the diary, and so sets the book aside.
Shortly thereafter, Gordon dies, and leaves a gaping void in Claudia's life. A few years later, when she is diagnosed with cancer, and knowing death is imminent, she tries to tentatively reach out to Lisa, to apologize for having been a cold and distant mother. Lisa accepts the apology, but is not sure how to feel about it: it is the most unlikely thing Claudia (who to Lisa seemed to revel being an almost omnipotent figure), has ever done for Lisa.
Right before dying, Claudia finally musters the courage to ask Lazlo to fetch her Tom's diary. Poring over the short entries in the diary, Claudia allows herself to reflect on her bitterness about having been left behind and having become wholly different from the woman he knew and loved, and to make peace with the fact that she too will soon become nothing more than a set of imperfect memories as recalled by those who knew her. The next day, Claudia passes away.
Penelope Lively
Penelope Lively CBE, FRSL is a prolific, popular and critically acclaimed author of fiction for both children and adults. She has been shortlisted three times for the Booker Prize, winning once for Moon Tiger in 1987.-Personal:...
which spans the time before, during and after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The novel won the 1987 Booker Prize . It is written from multiple points of view
Point of view (literature)
The narrative mode is the set of methods the author of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical story uses to convey the plot to the audience. Narration, the process of presenting the narrative, occurs because of the narrative mode...
and moves backward and forward through time. It begins as the story of a woman who, on her deathbed, decides to write a history of the world, and develops into a story of love, incest and the desire to be recognized as an independent free thinking woman of the time.
Plot summary
Claudia Hampton, a 76 year old English woman and a professional historian, is terminally ill and is spending her last remaining moments in and out of consciousness thinking of writing a history of the world with her life as a blueprint. Her first, primordial recollections are of a father that died in World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and of the summer of 1920, when she was 10 and competing with her 11 year old brother Gordon for fossils.
Claudia and Gordon are, at times throughout their lives, rivals, lovers, and best friends to each other. When the two are in their late teens they begin an incestuous relationship and find it hard to relate to almost any other person their own age. Soon, however, their college careers and other events allow both to open up to the outside world, and look outward for companionship.
At the outset of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Gordon, a would-be economist, is sent to India
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, whereas Claudia sets aside her studies in history to become a war correspondent. Independent and enterprising, Claudia talks her way into a correspondent's post in Cairo, where she meets Tom Southern, a captain of an English armoured tank division, who sweeps her off her feet.
Tom and Claudia spend a long weekend together while he's on leave from the front, which culminates in both of them falling in love with each other and making plans for a seemingly far future. But their future together is never to materialize: shortly after their time together, the English are called to defend Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
from Erwin Rommel
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
's offensive at the First Battle of El Alamein
First Battle of El Alamein
The First Battle of El Alamein was a battle of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, fought between Axis forces of the Panzer Army Africa commanded by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, and Allied forces The First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942) was a battle of the Western Desert...
, and Tom is declared missing. Later on, Claudia receives news that he has died.
Shortly after Tom's death, Claudia finds out she is pregnant, and decides that she will have the child, even though she would have to go it alone. It isn't to be: Claudia miscarries, and is never told whether the child she had carried was a boy or a girl. That uncertainty, along with her fear that Tom died a horrible and painful death, will haunt her for the rest of her life.
After the War, Claudia and Gordon reunite, but the encounter is more friendly than passionate. Each of them has obviously been changed by the War, but they are both sparse on actual details during their conversations. Gordon marries a girl named Sylvia, who Claudia finds insipid and boring. Claudia meanwhile met Jasper, a well connected young man who she goes on to have an on and off, rather stormy relationship with, and one that Gordon is openly disapproving of.
In 1948 Claudia finds herself pregnant again, this time by Jasper, and while she has no intention of marrying him, she decides to have the child, Lisa. While Claudia loves Lisa, she finds she has little patience and time to care for a child, and so Lisa ultimately ends up being raised by her maternal and paternal grandmothers, who share her custody and dictate her upbringing. Not surprisingly, Lisa grows up sullen and indifferent to Claudia, and marries off at a young age to a respectable (boring) man.
Throughout her travels abroad, Claudia comes in contact with an Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
functionary who becomes implicated in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution
1956 Hungarian Revolution
The Hungarian Revolution or Uprising of 1956 was a spontaneous nationwide revolt against the government of the People's Republic of Hungary and its Soviet-imposed policies, lasting from 23 October until 10 November 1956....
. Knowing that persecution is forthcoming, the functionary decides to ask Claudia to make sure that his son Lazlo, who is in England at college, does not attempt to return to Hungary. So Claudia becomes a sort of surrogate mother to Lazlo, who she grows to love and admire over the years, recognizing that he is drastically different from anyone else she knows: an open, painfully honest, sensitive, self-destructive artist.
Claudia writes several books that attempt to popularize history for the masses, earning her accolades from the public, and scorn from other professional historians. She also briefly becomes a consultant for a movie based on her history of Cortez, which leads to a personal scandal, when she ends up in a car accident with the star of the movie, and the press suspects there is more to the relationship than just friendship. The event earns scorn from Jasper, who refuses to see her when she's in the hospital. Gordon, on the other hand, visits her to let her know that she's not alone.
At some point in time, Claudia decides to travel to Egypt alone, to try and see Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
again, but she finds things much changed. The only thing that has not changed is that the desert has become forever etched in her memory as synonymous with her pain at everything she experienced during the war, a pain that she's still unable to share with any other living soul even after all the years that have passed.
When Claudia turns 70, she receives a package containing Tom's diary, one of the few personal effects of Tom's recovered from the war. It had been sent to Claudia by Jennifer Southern, Tom's sister, who decides that Claudia should have it upon realizing that Claudia is "C.", Tom's often referred to girlfriend. Claudia cannot muster the courage to read beyond the note accompanying the diary, and so sets the book aside.
Shortly thereafter, Gordon dies, and leaves a gaping void in Claudia's life. A few years later, when she is diagnosed with cancer, and knowing death is imminent, she tries to tentatively reach out to Lisa, to apologize for having been a cold and distant mother. Lisa accepts the apology, but is not sure how to feel about it: it is the most unlikely thing Claudia (who to Lisa seemed to revel being an almost omnipotent figure), has ever done for Lisa.
Right before dying, Claudia finally musters the courage to ask Lazlo to fetch her Tom's diary. Poring over the short entries in the diary, Claudia allows herself to reflect on her bitterness about having been left behind and having become wholly different from the woman he knew and loved, and to make peace with the fact that she too will soon become nothing more than a set of imperfect memories as recalled by those who knew her. The next day, Claudia passes away.