Turtle Moon (original 1992; edition 1997)

This older Hoffman story was ok but not her best. I liked River King and Red Garden and others of hers better. This is more or less a murder mystery, and you could really spot every plot turn a mile away. Typical Hoffman touches - adolescent boy, adults who are slightly wounded by life events, magical realism- this time a young man killed in a car accident who lives as an angel near the tree where he died. I don't know - there was something a little contrived, a little too predictable, a little too unreal and unbelievable about it all. The old woman who takes care of foster children who put the baby born in tragic circumstances in the oven to bring him back to life, then raises him after his mother appears at her window several times? all seemed too neat and story-like. But, a fun listen, and if you missed big chunks of it, it didn't matter, I could still enjoy the overall storytelling.

This book was enjoyable enough, but it kind of petered out at the end. The angel storyline was kind of weird too. I did enjoy the touches of magical realism, though (I think I see where Sarah Addison Allen gets at least some of her inspiration). I'm still interested in a number of Hoffman books and I will keep her in mind when I need something light. ( )

Februrary 2011 COTC Book Club selection. Listened to the audio narrated by Sandra Burr which was excellent, partly due to Burr's fantastic narration. Burr delineated voices very nicely, something I've been disappointed in with some of my other recent audio listens. Had to switch to the book to finish for book club, but I was enjoying the audio so much that I went ahead and finished listening as well. I really liked this and may seek out more of Hoffman's books on audio. The town of Verity itself is almost a character, kind of a malevelant one at that sometimes, and all the human characters are complex; many shouldn't even be all that likeable and yet I found myself sympathizing with almost everyone. One of the cool things is that Turtle Moon can be enjoyed simply as a suspense/mystery read or you could delve into the symbolism and other literary layers. I wonder if this could work as a high school or college novel study or maybe just as a book club read? Could be hard to place it in a high school since there's a sex scene or two, but it definitely works as a crossover for those teenagers mature enough to handle it. ( )

Alice Hoffman is one of my favorite female writers. But she blew me away with Turtle moon. She blows me away each time, but I really really really loved this book. I fell in love with it's male leading character Julian, and still almost a week after reading it, I can't shake Hoffman's language from my mind. It's a beautiful story, beautifully written, and I recommend it to everyone. ( )

Turtle Moon is a book about tragedy, and about what a belief in fate...or unbelief in fate, for that matter...can do to a person. But all that said, it is not itself a tragedy. Similarly, there's no doubt that the book is also heart-wrenching at many moments...but in good ways (and, just so you know, this is coming from someone who doesn't like sad books).

Admittedly, it took me longer to get into Turtle Moon that Hoffman's other books have required, perhaps because of the many main characters and subplots. But, in the end, I read the last 175 pages (of 275) in a single sitting. Hoffman's touch in this book is pitch-perfect, and the magic on every other page is tantalizing. This wouldn't be the first book of Hoffman's that I'd recommend to a new reader, but for someone who has already fallen a little bit in love with her work, I'd put this book in their hands in a moment. Simply, it is recommended, and it is one I'll reread. ( )