Raven Stole the Moon

This is a slightly updated re-release of Stein's first novel originally published in 1996 and out of print for some time. Don't expect any Enzo-like characters here--this book is TERRIFYING, a flat out, brilliantly crafted horror story. Stein is a "blood quantum verified" registered member of the Tlingit Indian Tribe of Alaska (his great-grandmother was full blooded Tlingit), and he has taken one of their more terrifying legends and brought it to the modern world. This is a story about Kushtakas, otter spirit shapeshifters who steal souls from people found alone in the woods and waters near Klawock and Wrangell Alaska. Two years ago when Jenna's young son drowned in Thunder Bay, she had not heard the legends. But with her world falling show more apart around her in Seattle, Jenna decides to go back to Alaska and try to find peace. What she finds is a nightmare that leaves her fighting for her own life and soul. The writing in this book is masterful--I spent no small amount of time curled up in a ball keeping a wary eye on the windows and door locks while reading it. And the last 40 pages--I pretty much forgot to breathe. Yes, it's THAT good. show less

Raven Stole the Moon is author Garth Stein's debut novel, which has since been followed by The Art of Racing in the Rain. Given the latter novel's recent impressive success, Raven Stole the Moon has been nicely repackaged and released anew by Harper. I haven't read The Art of Racing in the Rain, unfortunately, so I can't very well compare the two, but Raven Stole the Moon stands perfectly well on its own two feet (or its own 400 some pages, I should say).

The central character in Stein's new (old?) novel, is Jenna Rosen. The opening chapter of the book finds Jenna leaving a cocktail party on the second anniversary of her son's accidental death. Without planning to, Jenna finds herself driving away from her husband and their marriage and show more embarking on a journey to find out the truth about what really happened the couple's son, Bobby, at a would-have-been Alaskan resort. Taking refuge in her grandmother's hometown of Wrangell, Alaska, Jenna begins search for answers that proves to be none too simple as she encounters temptation in the form of an injured fisherman and as she plumbs the depths of Tlingit mythology only to find that nothing is as it seems.

I hate to say too much more lest I spoil a single thing about Raven Stole the Moon, a novel with the plot of a good thiller or even horror novel that doesn't sacrifice characters or themes to suspense. The book is very well-paced, and the mystery keeps the pages turning. Where Stein really succeeds, though, is in elevating Raven Stole the Moon over some of its horror genre counterparts by giving us a set of really well-developed multi-dimensional characters as well as exploring the deeper issues that face those characters.

It would be easy to make Jenna and her husband Robert unequivocally bad. Jenna is obviously selfish in her quest to find answers, using whoever she needs to get what she wants, plowing over the lives and needs of those around her as she pursues her goal. It's easy to hate Robert who hires a private investigator to find out what Jenna's up to and considers drugs and hookers as revenge against his wandering wife. Then, however, Stein brings out the death of the couple's son and the decimation it has wreaked upon both of them as individuals and as a couple, explores the road the two have taken to get where they are, the struggles and the misunderstandings, and ultimately the love they had, and might still have even in the aftermath of a tragedy that threatens their marriage. Suddenly, instead of seeing two rotten people made more rotten by the death of their son, we see two struggling characters who ultimately deserve our sympathy. Like the Tlingit patron saint Raven, these characters are neither good nor bad, they just are.

Raven Stole the Moon is a richly atmospheric and completely absorbing story that takes Tlingit myth and legend, mixes in a heartbreaking tragedy, and ends up with a satisfying blend of thriller and love story that will keep you turning pages until the very last question is answered. show less

I had heard about a lot of good things about Garth Stein's work, and was excited to be able to review one of his novels. With all the great things I've heard, I had created some high expectations I was really hoping this book would live up to. It not only lived up to them, but exceeded them!

From the first page, I found myself under the spell of this highly emotional story. There was just no way, after starting it, that I was able to put it down. The characters were extremely well crafted and realistic. The storyline was well crafted and masterfully told. I was very impressed with the way that Stein wove Tlingit folklore throughout the story, making it real and almost believable.

My heart broke for the main character, Jenna, and the loss show more of her son. I understood the need for closure and was aching right along with her. Not many characters will get to me the way hers did.

"Raven Stole the Moon" has made my favorites list for this year. It's powerful, thrilling, suspenseful, gripping, and will scare the pants off you! Make sure you add it to your reading list if you haven't already. This is a new updated version of the original novel that was released in 1998. Mr. Stein made a few changes and cut out a lot of the vulgarity.

This book has some descriptive sex, language, and other adult themes that would make it questionable for older teens. Please read before deciding if you should or should not give it to your older teen. It's a great story, but the content is sometimes harsh. show less

Robert and Jenna - the couple with everything. That is until they lose their only son, Bobby in a tragic drowning while on vacation in Alaska. Robert desperately wants to move on with their lives while Jenna is trapped in a constant state of despair as the accident happened while she was with Bobby. The stress proves too much for Jenna and she flees her marriage and life in Seattle to visit her grandmother's hometown in Alaska which just happens to be located near the Thunder Bay Resort, the location of her son's death.

Raven Stole the Moon follows Jenna's journey in Alaska and Robert's journey to find her. Jenna is mysteriously drawn to Alaska. She has a sense that there is something unfinished concerning her son's death. Is it because show more his body was never found or is it guilt eating at her that she didn't do everything she could to save him? While touring the town of Wrangell, she has what seems like supernatural encounters and the feeling that things are not what they appear. Jenna learns of the beliefs and legends of the Tlingits, the North American Indian tribe that was her grandmother's, concerning the kushtaka, shape-shifting otter-like creatures that have been known to lure people to their deaths and transform them into a fellow kushtaka. Could this be what happened to her son? Is this why Jenna seems to be seeking out answers?

I really did enjoy my time spent with Raven Stole the Moon. There were elements of magic and mystery, shape-shifters and shamans, romance and a violence (nothing shocking). The characters are interesting and the dialogue between them really lends to the overall "feeling" of the book. The edition I read was actually a release of a new edition of the book which was originally published in 1998. In the afterword, author Garth Stein explains his relief that he felt he did not need to rewrite large parts of his original version including the lack of technology (pretty amazing a time without cell phones and the internet) and I am glad that he left things pretty much as is. I believe a story should be kept true to it's original form.

I was very excited to have this opportunity to review this release (offered by Sarah from Terra Communications Book Marketing). As I am an Enzo fan - Enzo being the star of Mr. Stein's extremely popular and wonderful The Art of Racing in the Rain - I was very curious to see how Mr. Stein's first work compared. Both books featured very believable and realistic characters but I do believe the author's writing has gained a better voice and has evolved. Raven Stole the Moon is an engaging book with a great appeal. show less

Garth Stein, best-selling author of "The Art of Racing in the Rain," explores the spiritual traditions of his Tlingit heritage in this story of grief, redemption, and mystery. Stein's clean, crisp language, strong characterization, and mystical plot make Raven Stole the Moon both enjoyable and inspirational.Story: When Jenna Rosen abandons her comfortable Seattle life to return to Wrangell, Alaska, it's a wrenching return to her past. Long ago the home of her Native American grandmother, Wrangell is located near the Thunder Bay resort, where Jenna's young son, Bobby, disappeared two years before. His body was never recovered, and Jenna is determined to lay to rest the aching mystery of his death. But the spectacular town provides little show more comfort beyond the steady and tender affections of Eddie, a local fisherman. And then whispers of ancient legends begin to suggest a frightening new possibility about Bobby's fate. Soon, Jenna must sift through the beliefs of her ancestors, the Tlingit - who still tell of powerful, menacing forces at work in the Alaskan wilderness. (From goodreads.com)Spiritual/metaphysical content: Medium. The story walks us through part of the Tlingit creation myth, including a mystical "between lives" state where a dead person's soul can be trapped instead of entering the afterlife, and the kushtaka, physical beings who rule that state. Jenna must work with a shaman and spirit animals to release her son's soul. Interesting exploration of native american spirituality, which parallels some Eastern beliefs. Treat the whole, not the parts. No such thing as good or evil. With practice, people can see beyond the physical world and glimpse the world of spirit: "Things exist and that is all. Nothing is surprising; nothing is startling. It is no more unusual for a bear to talk to a shaman than a twig to fall from a tree. . . . It is simply nature revealing a different side of itself to a shaman."Jenna grapples with the big issues that shape our personal philosophies, such as faith and belief: "Did Moses part the Red Sea? Did Christ heal the inform? Is there room for more than one religion, or is it all the same and people just interepret it differently? What makes is reasonable to believe that otter creatures steal souls? Is it the possibibility of salvation? If so, whose?My take: Wonderful language, moving metaphors. Stein uses spare, direct prose to tell the story with great skill, occasionally using moving metaphors and parables to help the reader envision the incomprehensible. Some readers may find the story too abstract, since Jenna's actions are driven by her need to find closure by choosing to believe that otter-like spirit creatures can steal a person's soul. The story blends the line between myth and reality. However, I felt that plot line added a fascinating spiritual depth to the story and I came to a better appreciation of Tlingit spiritual traditions. I was not necessarily persuaded to "willingly suspend disbelief," but I found the story engaging and meaningful.I was struck by the common threads that are woven through so many world myths and religions. A few examples used in this book include the Great Flood; a River of Tears that separates the land of the living and the Land of Dead Souls; a mystical equivalent to Purgatory; a spirit guide to help the soul find the path to the other side, where family and friends await.The story was a little less compelling than Stein's later work, The Art of Racing in the Rain, but the clean, crisp language and strong characterization make Raven Stole the Moon both enjoyable and inspirational.For more reviews of new age novels, see Fiction For A New Age. show less

Garth Stein wrote The Art of Racing in the Rain, but I unfortunately never got a chance to pick it up and read it. I always meant to get to it, but life seemed to get in the way. So I was even more excited to receive a copy of Raven Stole the Moon from Sarah Daily at Terra Communications. Originally released in 1998, it's now been released again -- and rightfully so. After reading it, I can see how it fits much better into today's market, and I fully expect this book to become incredibly popular.

Jenna Rosen is married and living in Seattle with her husband, Robert. Her life now is strained and tired and she is unable to move through it with some type of normalcy. Some time has passed since the heartbreaking day when her young show more five-year-old son slipped over into the water, disappearing from the surface while on a vacation near her Native American grandmother's hometown of Wrangell, Alaska. The resort of Thunder Bay was never approved to be built by the local shaman, but investors and sales pushed forward. The need to make money kept the shaman's advice buried and tragedy happened. Jenna's life is now filled with therapists, medication, and alcohol, all in hopes to rebuild some type of life, but nothing seems quite right. One night two years later, Jenna is compelled to travel to Alaska from Seattle, leaving her husband and strained marriage behind at a party of co-workers with no idea of where she went.

What follows is an incredible mixture of Native American tradition and culture with a searing mystery and deep love, loss, and sadness. I was perplexed and drawn into the mystery of the kushtaka and felt the creepy and prickly fear of looking over my shoulder as I learned about lost souls, native rituals and the Tlingit shaman strength to protect the land and people. My heart broke for Jenna as she struggled to understand what happened on "that day," how Native American legend may play a part of it, and I was completely racing with page-turning anxiety any time she was alone in a hotel room, the forest, or on the Alaskan shoreline. Is Jenna crazy or is the legend of the shapeshifting kushtaka true? And could the dog that saved her life really be something much more?

Garth Stein has captured an atmosphere within Raven Stole the Moon that is memorable and spooky -- a re-released debut novel that effortlessly combines a story of true loss and one woman's path while grieving, with the supernatural touch of true Native American culture. I could not put this one down, and read it within a couple of days. If I didn't have that pesky day job, it would easily have been finished in one sitting, as I enjoyed it so.

This is one to read at the fireside and have your dog or cat by your side to let you know if you really should pay attention to the bristling hairs on the back of your neck...

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I was actually pretty nervous about this book - not too far in, it took a decided turn toward magical realism. You may or may not know this, but magical realism and I do NOT get along. I consistently struggle with being able to become fully immersed in these types of stories, and often find them a chore to get through.

I was pleasantly surprised, then, to find myself becoming quickly engrossed in this tale of magic and tragedy in a small Alaskan town. I found the sections with David, the shaman, to be particularly powerful, and found his tales of Tlingit mythology to be fascinating. Stein does a masterful job of bringing the spirits and lore of the kushtaka to life in the pages of his story, and it completely worked for me, in ways that show more I would have never suspected.

It did take me a little while to really connect with the characters - especially Jenna, although I suspect this was more a result of the narrative style (short, choppy sentences which seemed somewhat abrupt in the initial sections about Jenna) - and once Jenna got to Alaska and the story picked up, I became so involved that this was no longer an issue.

And it is a great story - not only the fascinating pieces of native Tlingit lore, but the themes of love and loss and forgiveness were perfectly woven together to make for a completely compelling read. I definitely enjoyed it - if you were a fan of Stein's recent mega-hit, The Art of Racing in the Rain, this is a must-read! show less