The Raging Moon

by Peter Marshall

Vintage movie tie-in

189 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

'The first eighteen years of my life', writes Peter Marshall, 'were normal: eighteen years of physical activity and independence. Poliomyelitis reversed this. After the tumult of the illness departed and I realised my condition of almost complete paralysis was incurable, the mind became more important than the body.'

He wrote only three books in his life. His first was an autobiography, Two Lives (before and after polio), and was awarded the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize in 1963. His second, The Raging Moon, was a moving novel about the love of two cripples. The third one, Excluded From The Cemetery, was a masterpiece of his short life.

Peter Marshall lived and worked on his novels in a home in Surrey.

Reviews

[B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this one ripped my heart out. The story of two youths growing up in Britain in the 50's whose working lives are cut short by polio. They are sent to a convalescent home run by strict religious matrons, and must deal with trying to both regain their autonomy, live their youthful time well, and of course, romance. Anyone who deals with disability in their life should read this rare gem from a time when not much was written about the frustrations that come with disability. Also a good read for anyone who's a sucker for a love story - a genuine one, that is. I think it makes a good pairing with John Green's "The Fault in Our Stars" which seems to be pretty popular these days - it has a lot of similar themes and content.

Please note that there is some (non-explicit) sexual content in this book, and that the ending is pretty bleak.

[Farkas Kinga · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best novels I ever read. Loved every sentence of it!

[Zsofia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ez nem egy rossz könyv, főleg ha az ember belegondol, hogy a hatvanas években íródott, amikor az általános hozzáállás ehhez a témához valószínűleg teljesen más volt, mint ma. Mindazonáltal mai szemmel olvasva kicsit vontatott a történet, főleg az eléggé kiszámítható vége felé. Az ismételt vita Isten létezéséről is untatott már a végén, azokat a részeket főleg átugrottam.

[Ashleigh Baird · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went into this book with high hopes as I had really enjoyed the 1971 movie adaptation. However, I was pretty disappointed with this book. Firstly, the writing style was a little strange. It is written like its a script which I feel was done purposely as the main character is a writer. I still found this hard to read and I had a hard time really getting into the storyline. Secondly, the story was painfully slow. Our romantic leads don't even as much as speak to each other until motor than 100 pages in. This there caused the romance to feel incredibly rushed and forced.

With all the negativity aside I will discuss what I did like about this book. Even though I thought the plot was insanely slow I did appreciate the character development. With each chapter we switch between our main characters Bruce and Annette and we get the narrative from their different points of view and were see the events which lead them to the care home were they meet. With that said I really did love the originality of the story. both characters are disabled due to Polio and in my experience I've never seen a romance with disabled protagonists. It's also amazing how the author himself had polio so it was nice to see how he had implanted his own messages within the story. As a disabled person myself I did like agree with the arguments the characters bring up regarding disabled people. As this bool was written over 40 years ago I did see how much our society has changed so in a way I believe this book is an important educational tool which teaches us about how disabled people felt regarding their treatment back then.

This book contains a lot of metaphorical language and imagery. This is why I really didn't like the "screenplay" style for which it was written because it made it hard to really appreciate the imagery the author includes.

Now, lets discuss the characters. The matron has to be one of the most unlikable characters I have ever read about. For a nurse she is incredibly unpleasant and cold. For example and please note the spoilers. At the end of the book Annette dies due to complications after catching a cold. When Bruce returns to the care home the matron, instead of offering comfort she just says "there was nothing I could have done" this really upset me as during the last few chapters we see Annette getting sicker and sicker and when Bruce tells the matron to take her to hospital she ignores him which leads to Annettes declining health. Annette would have survived If the nurse had taken her to hospital but no.

So, in closing this story had some very very good ideas but with its slow storyline and weird writing style it failed to truly capture my imagination.

[Lee Stuart Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

[Glennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've have an old tattered copy of this book since Junior high school. It is a remarkable love story between two people who were basically hidden away from society in a home for handicapped people. If you can find a copy, I recommend reading it.

[efenera · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5