Shadow of the Moon in Retro Reads

Feb 11, 2014 Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, i-own, india

4.5 stars. Shadow of the Moon is a great historical epic, with love and hate, treachery and courage, set in India during the Sepoy Rebellion in the 1850s.

description

Lucknow, India

M.M. Kaye takes her time setting up the story, beginning it with the parents and grandparents of the main character, a half-English, half-Spanish girl with the unlikely name of Winter. Winter spends her first six years contentedly living in India, but when her parents die, she is sent to live with her English relatives. It's not ...more

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Feb 04, 2017 Christine PNW rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: vintage-women

This was the second to the last remaining novel in my M.M. Kaye reread. I saved The Far Pavilions for last.

This book was fantastic. Epic, consuming and deeply romantic. Winter and Alex are a heroine and hero for the ages. The last 200 pages is unputdownable.

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Sep 24, 2013 Dorcas rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller, favorite-reads, historical-fiction, adventure, mmkaye

Some reviewers call this book a love story. But that is such a small part of it unless you want to classify the love of India as part of that love story. In which case, yes, it is most definitely a love story. But as far as romance, it's there, but is not the crux. First and foremost, this is a story of the uprising of India against the feringhi (foreigners) and here lies the turmoil: on which side does one belong when one belongs on neither side and yet both? And can one survive it?

I found this Some reviewers call this book a love story. But that is such a small part of it unless you want to classify the love of India as part of that love story. In which case, yes, it is most definitely a love story. But as far as romance, it's there, but is not the crux. First and foremost, this is a story of the uprising of India against the feringhi (foreigners) and here lies the turmoil: on which side does one belong when one belongs on neither side and yet both? And can one survive it?

I found this an engrossing read and yet not a very cheerful one. The writing is 5 star but I found it rather dark and depressing. So many people die... I'm not someone who has to have a HEA (and this story does end well in case you're wondering) but I DO need some light moments, SOME happiness. And there was very little. Even the sweet moments were bitter-sweet. There are times when you want to yell at the book, "NOOOOO"!!!! Still, it's such a good story....

Anyway,if you're looking for a realistic story of the Indian uprising written with amazing skill you will love this. The characters have depth and there are so many twists and turns which make for an exciting read. BUT, if you want a happy little fairy tale that gives you pleasant dreams at night look elsewhere.

CONTENT:

SEX: There's a sex scene which covers one small paragraph. It is not graphic by any means but in my opinion it is not suitable for YA readers.

LANGUAGE: Mild to moderate depending on sensitivity.The 'N' word is used a few times (spoken by people who were in no way heroes), some B's and D's.

VIOLENCE: This is a story of mutiny and there are massacres. Some is NOT pleasant reading. While not as graphic as some that writers of today produce, there ARE some brutal moments which may give you nightmares. Again,not recommended for YA audiences. However, this was what really happened and I'm pretty sure that the author used a light hand in relating the revolts. The reality was far worse.

PARANORMAL ELEMENTS: The reader is led to believe at two points in the book that the heroine sees a ghost. However, this is never delved into and either confirmed or denied.
Also an epileptic child of one of the servants is believed by the natives to possess the "second sight" This is never confirmed, but apparently was a common belief when people were epileptic or had mental issues.

MY RATING: A strong PG-13
...more

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Feb 19, 2014 Marquise rated it liked it

Shelves: to-review, historical-fiction

I have very mixed feelings on finishing this book; on one hand, I liked the storyline with all its adventures, twists and turns, which overall made for an enjoyable read and often not easy to predict, for Kaye has a decent mastery of storytelling that keeps you interested despite the length of the novel. And then, there's the characterisation of the protagonist, who's one of the most interesting leading male characters I've encountered in historical fiction recently, with flashes that reminded m ...more

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Jun 12, 2014 Hana rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, india-subcontinent, 2015-reads, buddy-reads, 18th-19th-century

Three and a half stars. Historical romance set in Hindustan during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. M.M. Kaye was born in Simla and lived much of her life in India. She was a close friend and mentor of Paul Scott whose magnificent novel, The Jewel in the Crown, covers the events leading up to Partition and Independence, some ninety years after the Rebellion and its bloody aftermath. M.M Kaye writes lyrically of India and her descriptive passages are splendid. Shadow of the Moon is also full of insi ...more

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Jun 08, 2012 Diane Lynn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Just as good on reread, deserves every one of those five stars. The Sepoy Rebellion lasted for about a year and marks the start of the British Raj. With the uprising and a sweet love story plus so many characters to know and love (or hate) this is one of my favorite books. I'm at a loss to write a proper review. But do yourself a favor and read the complete long version, not the shortened original 1956 version! ...more

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Sep 15, 2018 Mela rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mystery-adventure, psychological-and-philosophical, my-hero, historical-period-long-19th-century, historical-fiction, region-british, internet-archive, historical-romance, greatly-impressing, historical-fiction-to-learn-history

A completely genial historical fiction.

India (also a bit England) before and through the Sepoy Mutiny in 1857. It showed why it took place, when and where it could have been prevented, how it looked like when it did happen. And because of that information, this story was sorrowful and frustrating. Why, oh, why people are so stupid, so blind, so selfish?!?!

Shall I tell you why they will not believe? Because they do not wish to!

I wanted sometimes to scream at those people. There were so many o ...more

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Dec 03, 2014 Samanta rated it it was amazing

Shelves: m-m-kaye, favorites

I would give it a 10 if I could. M.M. Kaye is a master of her craft.

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Jul 31, 2015 Andrea AKA Catsos Person rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, zread-in-2015

August 2015 Buddy read with Far Pavilions Group.

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Jun 14, 2013 Carinne Gee rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-i-ve-read-more-than-once, books-i-d-recommend

This is one of those fabulous epic books. I just love MM Kaye and read a good chunk of her works in high school. As an adult I've been picking my way through them again. I still enjoy The Far Pavillions more, however this one is fantastic too. As with most epic, long novels...there are parts in the book that aren't as enthralling as others. However I do enjoy the whole book. During the first 2/3 of teh novel, we're told great details about the characters, and the politcal details leading up to t ...more

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