Moon Tiger

I enjoyed this novel, Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively, which has been recently re-published (first published in 1987, when it won the Booker prize). Claudia Hampton is dying in hospital where she proclaims to nursing staff that she is going to write a "history of the world". The medical staff discover that she was "somebody", a writer of history. Claudia is a wonderful character, very strong, opinionated, unconventional. During the War she was a war correspondent and in this story reminiscences about that important time in her life. Other characters in her life are her lovers, her daughter and her sister-in-law. However, it is her relationship with her brother which is one of the most important for her. The story passes from first to third person, past to present. This is beautifully written as Claudia's life and character are explored. 5/5