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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Haunting, Mythical, Magical, August 14, 2005
No doubt one man's cloud is another man's clod, but that Publisher's Weekly review seems particularly misleading and tonedeaf about "Moonwise." Look at some other evaluations of the book: "Moonwise remarkably attempts to compose an entire long fantasy at a pitch and density of language reminiscent of Gerard Manley Hopkins . . . . Greer Gilman's deep knowledge of English etymology (including dialectal variations) charges every word with all its possible meanings . . . . Moonwise is a work of inexhaustible richness." -Encyclopedia of Fantasy "Greer Gilman is a writer like no one else. Many try to employ the matter of myth and folktale, but their tongues are inadequate-Gilman can employ words as the bards of Ireland did, to make realities, and she does it handily, and over and over. Moonwise doesn't resemble a work of the past age-it is the past age come back new, in its clothes and its language and its dark riddling heart. Moonwise simply has no peers."-John Crowley "Moonwise is an amazing book, a work of genius. It deserves to stand beside Lud-in-the-Mist or the writings of Lord Dunsany as a truly original seminal classic. And yet the most remarkable thing about it is that, amidst its intense and serious magic and its astonishing use of words, it causes you to laugh aloud-quite suddenly, taken unawares by an outrageous pun or an ingenious one-liner. I love this book and admire its nature magic more every time I read it."-Diana Wynne Jones "There are some books that seem to have existed forever. That when you find them for the first time you are only rediscovering something you had lost, long ago. Hope Mirrlees's Lud-in-the-Mist is one of these; David Lindsay's Voyage to Arcturus is a second; Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is another. Green Ilene Gilman's Moonwise is one of that company. It does not take you to where the dreams start. It is where the dreams start."-John Clute If you look at the copyright date for the review, it's 1991 -- this is a special hardback reissue by Prime Books. It's a shame Amazon.com couldn't find a more up-to-date review for this edition.
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Moonwise, July 11, 2002
This review is from: Moonwise (Paperback)
This is a difficult and gorgeous book. It's written in a style both literary and dialect, and readers who don't like poetry may not enjoy it. At times the plot is hard to follow -- I think I got it, mostly, on my second read. Ariane and Sylvie become lost in a world which I suspect is meant to be more a part of our own world, an inner part, than an "other universe". Symbolism, dualities, and images from ballads fill this world. The symbolism is deeply powerful, because at its root it reflects natural themes: the turning of the seasons, the rise and fall of forest life, the orbit of the moon. I'm not at all sure, as some readers have thought, that the women failing in their quest would lead to dead perpetual winter *only* in the "otherworld". European folkloric material also enriches the text immeasurably. However, readers without any familiarity with the images and the folklore may find themselves swamped. This is not a book that explains itself. Despite the admitted inaccessibility of the work (I did wish at some point the author would simply define a hallows), the characters are appealing, particularly the wandering "Mad Tom" persona, and there is humor to be found. It's not a book for everyone, but I'm very glad that it exists.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's all in how you read it, December 28, 2001
This review is from: Moonwise (Paperback)
I read over the other reviews and have a secret to share with you about this book. It's a book that should be read out loud. The poetry, the rhythms of this book are wonderful. And what emerges is something quite different from when you read it silently to yourself.
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