magical, romantic, beautiful, evocative

Would you consider the audio edition of Shadow of the Moon to be better than the print version?

This was a wonderful book. I loved every moment of it.
M M Kaye is an extremely talented and evocative writer. I felt I was there living the awful and the wonderful lives that are portrayed. I recommend this highly to anyone - everything all in one novel. I cannot wait to read her other books.

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3 people found this helpful

The awful narration by an American.

Completely spoiled by the awful narration by an American who couldn’t pronounce even the simplest English or Indian place names or use the English pronunciation of simple words like “mama” or “papa”. This really spoiled my enjoyment of a much-loved book. Fortunately I know the story from the book, so I could understand the narration, which was gratingly poor.

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1 person found this helpful

Wonderful story with both action and romance

If you could sum up Shadow of the Moon in three words, what would they be?

Great romantic action

Who was your favorite character and why?

It's hard to say which character is my favourite. Apart from the two main protagonists who we all love, Conway Barton and Lord Carlyon are great characters to hate as they are such monuments of selfishness and self-interest.

What does Tara Ochs bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

I love Tara's weird and wonderful English accents. It's always a mystery to me why anyone would get an American to read a story based in colonial India, but Tara valiantly struggles with a variety of English accents. Though they don't always work (some of the English officers sound a bit on the cockney side!), I got used to them and started to enjoy their effect. They are slightly annoying at first, but stick with it and they become old friends!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The horror and savage nature of the Indian mutiny is so well told from an English point of view. M M Kaye doesn't flinch from some pretty unpleasant details, and really gives a powerful feeling of what it might have been like to be there. I particularly liked (well, not liked, but you know what I mean) the individual deaths on the first day of the mutiny of characters who were either very minor or did not appear in the book apart from to die - their deaths were moving, horrific and helped to understand all that happens afterwards.

Any additional comments?

Everything you want from historical fiction - personal stories against a grand backdrop of real life-changing events, an exotic location, heroes and idiots, courage and cowardice, love and hate, life and death on a grand scale. What's not to like?

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13 people found this helpful

very interesting

Where does Shadow of the Moon rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

enjoyed listening to story of India as good as other book Far Pavilions,

What about Tara Ochs’s performance did you like?

very good at character parts

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made our upper crust in India to be ignorant fools and made you think about our Empire, no wonder we lost it.

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2 people found this helpful

Great story, shame about the narrator

Where does Shadow of the Moon rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I have loved this story for many years and it was great to be able to have it read to you, the narrator managed to get through the story, though not without mistakes both in accent and dialogue. I winced at her pronunciation of certain words, and her pitiful attempts at some of the accents; overall it sounded like an American too much.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Winter de Ballasteros - engaging, smart, loyal and resourceful.... who couldn't help but admire her

How could the performance have been better?

Different narrator who understands how the English accents are used; I hate to be so negative but in this case it is a must.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The start of the mutiny, the Colonel facing his troops and them disobeying him, you could feel his pain and anguish at having lost the respect of his men.

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12 people found this helpful

I reread this book and now remember how good it is

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would definitely recommend this book to a friend but advise them to skip the first 5 chapters which are so tedious it makes you want to give up. The early history is repeated several times over and you get the gist. Girl of European parents orphaned, sent to grandpa in England, age 5. Family dislike her, grandpa a dies, family send her back to India. Pick it up at chapter 6 when she's collected from family country pile, age 17, by dashing, sensible Captain Alex Randall.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Loue Carter. The woman had sense. From a life of indolent privilege she whips off her crinoline hoops, cares for a new born infant which is totally out of her comfort zone and totally against her character looks after the child as she would her own. No this isn't Mills and Boon- it's quite bloodthirsty with graphic descriptions of decapitated heads and brutal goings on.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Tara Ochs?

Anyone but Tara Ochs. Oh she is dreadful reading this book. Her pronunciations were so bad, perhaps a little research on her behalf would have been helpful to the listener. As one whose ancestors spent that period and more in India, I flinched a good deal of time at her pronunciations. She should read renditions by Sam Dastor for guidance. I thought for a long while she was pronouncing Lucknow (my birth place) as Lunio but it turns out she meant Lahore - according to another review. See "additional comments" for my preferred narrator.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It's too long for that and besides Tara Ochs grates on your ears and brain after a while.

Any additional comments?

My comments all sound negative, I am sorry for that impression. I love the book. It's a great follow on from the Far Pavilions but a different narrator would have made it so much better - perhaps Sneha Mathan. She would have been perfect-beautiful melifluous tones. A total pleasure to listen to. Sorry Tara!

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7 people found this helpful

Fantastic book, beautifully read by Tara Ochs

Would you listen to Shadow of the Moon again? Why?

This was the second time I had read this book, and I would definitely read it again. I love the slow build-up, the huge cast of characters, some of whom you love, and some you hate, the historical facts that helps you understand the bigger picture, and the amazing descriptions of India itself. The book is beautifully written and read.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Shadow of the Moon?

Almost every scene with Winter and Alex is memorable because of the tension and chemistry between them.

Which character – as performed by Tara Ochs – was your favourite?

When I first read the book as an impressionable teenager, I was irritated by Winter, but I grew to like and understand her more during this reading of the book. But my favourite character was Alex Randall - principled, decisive, handsome and capable. What more could a woman want?

Any additional comments?

This book is well-plotted and it moves at a leisurely pace as it very gradually builds up the sense of unease and tension that explodes into the Indian mutiny. Definitely worth a read if you love well-written historical fiction.

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4 people found this helpful

7/10

The plot trots along cheerfully enough but the American narrator was not a good choice for this book in spite of her clear & measured diction. The problem is that there are many, varied, English accents & although her Indians are fine her pukka British accent is reminiscent of Dick Van Dyke's cockney chimney sweep in the original Mary Poppins. This wouldn't matter much but is muddling when the listener is trying to work out who the devil is speaking. It would also have been kind for someone to have demonstrated British pronounciation of various things eg Suez(not Suis) or Marquis (not Marquee, in Britain this is a tent or a French aristo).
But generally a pleasant listen.

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Ghastly narrator for a wonderful book

I rarely give bad reviews for narrators, as theirs is a tricky job. I make an exception when the casting is off or when the narrator hasn't done their job.

Here, we have both situations. Not only was an American cast as a narrator for an Anglo-Indian story with nary an American or Canadian character, but Tara Ochs didn't do the most basic of preps - failing at accents, pronunciation, place and person names and period-appropriate pronunciation (does she *know* it takes place in 1857?) Some American narrators do good English accents, but this was not the case here. Her Indian accents are even more embarrassing, cringeworthy even. If the publishers are to use an American narrator, let them choose an actor who does good accents for such a book. Otherwise, choose an English or Indian actor - preferably one who can carry all the accents involved.

Ochs's lack of preparation means that she mispronounces countless names and words ('Mama' pronounced as they do in the American Deep South; Lunjore pronounced like a place in Latin America; Wycombe pronounced "Wye-comb", and so on. ) In addition, her pacing is frequently off and she narrates what is essentially a complex and dramatic story with some hideous violence at its centre and the most amazing descriptions of India as though she were reading some fluffy Regency Romance in and around Hyde Park.

Shadow of the Moon has long been a favourite historical novel, and I'd looked forward to listening to it. I can't begin to voice my disappointment. This reading was a travesty. I hope the publishers will re-record it with a good and professional fiction narrator. MM Kaye, and Shadow of the Moon, deserve nothing less.

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1 person found this helpful

Enchanting

I first read this book 30 years ago but it is every bit as good as I remember. It compares well to Far Pavilions, also by M M Kaye. Having been to the Indian subcontinent and lived there, the sights and sounds were familiar to me and I could almost taste the monsoon air and feel the heat. The narrator had a little trouble with some of the terminology but unless you are familiar with the words you won't notice. She did manage the accents very well and I think Molly Kaye would have been pleased with the finished product.

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