Raven Stole the Moon [Mass Market Paperback]

Garth Stein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1999

In this haunting debut, Garth Stein brilliantly invokes his Native American heritage and its folklore to create a mesmerising supernatural thriller. When Jenna Rosen, a grieving young mother, returns to the remote Alaskan town where her young son drowned, she discovers that the truth about her son's death is shrouded in legend - and buried in a terrifying netherworld between life and death. Armed with nothing but a mother's protective instincts, Jenna's quest for the truth is about to pull her into a terrifying and life changing abyss. Helped by a young man who falls in love with her, Jenna discovers that the Native American beliefs of her ancestors finally offer a path to healing her grief. Colouring powerful legend with universal emotions, Garth Stein masterfully evokes our most primal dreams and fears. Remarkably vivid and relentlessly suspenseful, RAVEN STOLE THE MOON marks the arrival of a stunningly imaginative new talent.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

On impulse, Jenna Rosen leaves the party she and her real estate developer husband, Robert, are attending in Seattle, takes his BMW and drives north to Bellingham. Again on impulse, she hops on the ferry to the Alaskan town where her Tlingit Indian grandmother lived and died. But there's more than impulse at work here: Jenna and Robert's 5-year-old son, Bobby, drowned in Alaska just two years ago, and something is drawing Jenna back to the scene. On the ferry, she's given a carved silver charm of a Tlingit spirit called a kushtaka, a stealer of souls. "Tlingits don't have good and evil," a local shaman explains, telling the story of how the spirit known as Raven gave the world the sun, moon, and stars by stealing them from someone else. As Jenna learns more about the kushtakas, helped by this very sophisticated shaman and an understanding fisherman, she begins to believe that her son's soul is being held captive by these spirits, as revenge for her husband's greed. Garth Stein's persuasive prose draws us into a book that mixes fantasy with tragedy and the natural human desire for closure. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Her upscale Seattle lifestyle lost meaning for Jenna Rosen when her young son drowned in Alaska. On the second anniversary of his death, she impulsively takes a ferry to Wrangell, where she grew up and which is not far from the drowning site. Once there, Jenna often feels menaced; even as a dog appears to protect her, shape-changing kushtaka (Indian spirits) repeatedly threaten her life?corporal and eternal. Her husband, Robert, arrives in Wrangell after he learns from a private investigator that she is living with a young fisherman. Only when a shaman risks his life to save Jenna and to help put their son's soul to rest are the Rosens able to resolve their grief. Stein's richly textured first novel, drawing on his Tlingit heritage and award-winning filmmaking experience, is layered with vivid descriptions and characters. Recommended for all fiction collections.?V. Louise Saylor, Eastern Washington Univ. Libs., Cheney
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star (February 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671004603
• ISBN-13: 978-0671004606
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #732,074 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Garth Stein is the author of three novels, The Art of Racing in the Rain, How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets, and Raven Stole the Moon, and a play, Brother Jones. He has also worked as a documentary filmmaker and lives in Seattle with his family.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Could not put this novel down..., February 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Raven Stole the Moon (Hardcover)

Garth Stein has captured the culture, mystique and emotional beauty of Alaska in his novel, HOW RAVEN STOLE THE MOON. It is the story of a woman, a mom, a lover, a wife and what she must go through to aid her son's soul in passing over to the Land of the Dead Souls. Does the story contain cliches? Yes, but the theme goes beyond the everyday writing. Characters are well-developed and their stories are rich. Jenna is a woman not afraid to show her vulnerability in situations, she remains strong by doing so. She is right to take the time to analyze her current relationship with her husband, my only disappointment is that Alaska remains in the past by the time the final page is turned.The beauty of Tlingit legends comes alive. Some of these legends are well explained through various characters in the story. The reader is given the opportunity to explore, appreciate and value the spiritual world that is presented. The author does a wonderful job in explaining the idea that kushtakas, like people, contain within their spirits both good and evil.My only disappointment is that Mr. Stein lives in New York and not Alaska. Maybe someday he will return to this setting, both phsyically and as an author. Should Mr. Stein and his family return to this great state, I'm sure they would be welcomed with open arms and eager readers. Just the random thoughts of a fellow Alaskan.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Competent but Not Spectacular Supernatural Story Set In Alaska, March 25, 2010

By 

Jennifer "Jenners" (Sicklerville, NJ, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Raven Stole the Moon: A Novel (Paperback)

Story Overview

On the surface, Jenna Rosen has it all: a husband who loves her, a comfortable life in Seattle, and good looks. But Jenna is troubled; it shows in her excessive drinking, Valium addiction, depression and the increasing discord in her marriage. But her problems can all be traced back to the loss of her son Bobby, who drowned during a family vacation in Alaska two years ago. Jenna blames herself for Bobby's death and cannot get past it. Yet her husband Robert seems to have been able to put the past to rest. One night at a party, Jenna gets in Robert's car and keeps on driving. Her trip leads her to Bellingham, WA, where she impulsively boards the ferry that will take her to Wrangell, Alaska--a small town where her Native American grandmother lived and close to the Thunder Bay Resort where Bobby died.

Once in Wrangell, things happen that lead her to believe that something is calling her to discover the truth about Bobby's death. Her grandmother's Tlingit ancestry begins to manifest itself in strange and frightening ways. As Jenna begins to explore the Tlingit legends of the kushtaka, she begins to believe that Bobby's death was no accident. Determined to find the truth, Jenna embarks on a quest to discover what really happened at Thunder Bay. The result is a terrifying but liberating journey into the heart of the Alaska wilderness and the ancient legends of the Tlingits.

My Thoughts

Contrary to what you might think, this isn't a new book by Garth Stein, author of the best-selling Art of Racing in the Rain (which is on my TBR list for later this year). Rather, this is a rerelease of his first novel, which was published in 1998. (Note to authors: If your first book is not very successful, keep on trying. You may score later on and then get a rerelease for your earlier books!) Raven Stole the Moon has been out of print for several years, but is being rereleased on March 9. Remember how I told you I was reading a mystery book that I couldn't talk about? This was it!

Anyway, on to my thoughts about the book. I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I enjoy stories of ancient legends coming to life in our modern world, and I thought the sections dealing with the kushtaka were disturbing and frightening at times. (Let me tell you, after reading this book, I won't look at otters quite the same way again!) On the other hand, I had some issues with the tone and writing in the book. In many ways, the book is told in a very plain, straightforward way: She did this. Then she did that. He reacted this way. Then the author mixes in some stream-of-consciousness stuff that I found a bit jarring. Here is a small example:

She got off the freeway in Bellingham feeling tired and hungry. She pulled into a gas station to get some fuel for the Machine, and she picked up some Corn Nuts and a Coke--fuel for herself. The trip suddenly had the feeling of an all-night drive. Standing under a canopy of fluorescent bulbs. Artificial sunlight. Electrified reality. Everyone would be asleep if they weren't plugged in.

My other quibble was that I thought the emotional lives of characters could have been better developed. We know Jenna is devastated by the loss of her son because the author tells us, but I never really felt it from Jenna herself. For me, this kept the book from being more than a competently told story with some supernatural elements. I think with a little more work and polishing, this book could have been something special. However, in the end, I think it falls shy of the mark.

My Final Recommendation

If you enjoy books with supernatural elements related to Native American culture, this would be a good read for you. The Tlingit legends and story line were the most compelling part of the story for me, and the descriptions of the kushtaka were interesting and a bit frightening. Although the writing is competent and the story moves along quickly, I didn't think it was unforgettable or out of the ordinary. For this reason, I'm giving it 3 stars.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Combination Mystery Thriller and Culture Lesson, September 19, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Minnesota, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Raven Stole the Moon (Hardcover)

A woman of Native Alaskan blood is drawn back to the place of her only son's murder, where her marriage, as well as her belief system are challenged. Garth Stein weaves Tlingit legend with mystery thriller to create a story that is gripping and, at times disturbing. He is not afraid to make his characters unsympathetic, which adds to the realism of his story. Being one half Tlingit drew my interest to this mystery, but Garth Stein's ability as a novelist kept it until it's climactic finish.