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10th out of 76 books
—
28 voters
Sunset Over Chocolate Mountains
Susan Elderkin's brilliant Sunset Over Chocolate Mountains explores our places in the lives of our loved ones and in the universe. Theobald Moon lives in a lonely corner of the Arizona desert, tending his spectacular cactus garden, his tiny mobile home, and his astounding appetite. He has fled a stifled, cardigan-and-tea-cozy life in south London for this unfamiliar countr...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
April 10th 2001
by Grove Press
(first published June 1st 2000)
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Oh my goodness...saw this in a bin at Strand Books in NYC and had to have it. The story is about an odd Englishman who moves to Arizona to live in a trailer and has his life turned upside-down by a pregnant Slovakian shoemaker and her ice cream man lover. My name, Zmrzlina, means ice cream in Slovak and Slovakia is one of my favorite places in the world. [return:][return:]Well, I can't say this is a favorite read, but I did enjoy most of it. Theobald Moon leaves England for life in the Arizona d...more
This is a tale of mysterious boxes of shoes, a desert and a lot of desserts.
the story of two lovers on the run from the law in Slovakia, who come to the Arizona desert. It's about the British man Theobald Moon, who leaves home when his mother dies (he's been living with her all his life and is either slightly retarded or massively overprotected) and also moves to Arizona, where he buys a trailer and a ton of candy and decides to live in the desert.
It's about the baby girl Josephine, whom he rais...more
the story of two lovers on the run from the law in Slovakia, who come to the Arizona desert. It's about the British man Theobald Moon, who leaves home when his mother dies (he's been living with her all his life and is either slightly retarded or massively overprotected) and also moves to Arizona, where he buys a trailer and a ton of candy and decides to live in the desert.
It's about the baby girl Josephine, whom he rais...more
This is a strange story and the principal character is not very likeable. The story runs on two tracks which intersect. Theo Moon is an overweight Englishman, who after the death of his mother, sells everything and moves into a caravan in the Arizona desert. In Slovakia a worker in a shoe factory falls in love with an icecream seller. They elope and go to America in his van to make their fortunes. They end up in the Arizona desert; she is pregnant. These two stories run in parallel with a presen...more
This is a strange story. It will not be for everyone. However, I loved it for it's descriptions of the Arizona desert and skies. Those images brought back vivid memories for me of visiting my English grandfather...who was also living in the middle of the Arizona desert in a trailer, planting apple trees, and trying to get them to survive.
Jul 14, 2009
sisterimapoet
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to sisterimapoet by:
Mew
Shelves:
fiction-2009
Given to me by a friend as part of our seasonal reading challenge.
My kind of story. Odd people doing odd things in odd places. Lots of lovely contrasts - hot and cold especially made this a very sensory read.
I didn't find it that confusing, as suggested by other reviews, in fact I found the divisions of chapters between different character perspectives flowed quite smoothly.
I liked the way there was ambiguity throughout, and the way it built to a climax, but that the climax itself probably occu...more
My kind of story. Odd people doing odd things in odd places. Lots of lovely contrasts - hot and cold especially made this a very sensory read.
I didn't find it that confusing, as suggested by other reviews, in fact I found the divisions of chapters between different character perspectives flowed quite smoothly.
I liked the way there was ambiguity throughout, and the way it built to a climax, but that the climax itself probably occu...more
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Elderkin is such a complex writer, and while this her first book is a bit easier to read, it still packs a very hardy punch in the guts as you finish. I'm still contemplating the characters and circumstances in this novel, and wondering how anyone ever comes up with such ideas and complications. I found it an interesting journey to read, but I would only recommend it to serious readers who aren't afraid to be confused and aching after finishing a book.
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Task 5.9
Apr 28, 2013
Brittaney Sherwood
marked it as to-read
Mar 25, 2013
Melanie Ullrich
marked it as to-read
Mar 13, 2013
Hayley Alexis
marked it as to-read
Feb 10, 2013
Angela
marked it as to-read
Jan 02, 2013
Henrieke
added it
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