Shout Down the Moon [Bargain Price] [Paperback]

Lisa Tucker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 6, 2004

Her acclaimed debut, The Song Reader, won her praise as a "brilliant new literary talent" (The Albuquerque Tribune). Now, Lisa Tucker returns with a starkly lyrical novel of page-turning intensity and rare emotional power.

Patty Taylor can handle anything. So what if the guys in her band dismiss her as just a pretty face, hired by their manager to make them more popular? She's already survived a bad childhood, a destructive teenage relationship, homelessness, and working twelve-hour shifts washing dishes. Traveling with the band gives her a way to provide for Willie, the two-year-old son she adores.

But on a hot summer day in Kentucky, when Willie's father shows up outside her hotel room, newly paroled from prison and intent on having her and his son back, Patty begins a journey that will change her from a girl who can put up with anything to a woman with a voice that can bring the house down. Shout Down the Moon is about following dreams and overcoming obstacles, about finding your voice and becoming the hero of your own life. In Patty Taylor, Lisa Tucker has created an unlikely heroine, a gutsy girl with a wry sense of humor, whose life will depend on having the courage to trust in her big talent and even bigger heart.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Tucker's follow-up to her BookSense bestseller, The Song Reader, is even more commercially appealing, thanks to a ratcheted-up suspense angle that still allows for well-drawn, emotionally nuanced characters. Once again, music is the motivating factor for change in Tucker's world of jazz musicians singing the blues. Patty Taylor is determined not to settle for dead-end dishwashing jobs and life with her emotionally abusive, alcoholic mother. Her new job as the lead singer in a traveling jazz band, though hardly glamorous, provides hope for a future for her and her two-year-old son, Willie. But when Willie's drug-dealing father, Rick, is released from prison and breaks his parole to track them down, she must fight being pulled back into his violent world. Patty's tentative romance with Jonathan, the head of the band, builds her confidence as a performer and woman but also maddens Rick, who wants Patty by his side, even if he has to kill her to keep her. Tucker's unsentimental portrayal of Patty's conflicted loyalties-she once genuinely loved Rick, who saved her from her mother-gives the novel depth and complexity, as does Patty's struggle to learn the ropes of the jazz world and become more than just a pretty pop singer. It is her love for music and her devotion to her son that give her the strength to resist Rick and get her through the novel's surprisingly violent climax. Tucker's compulsively readable tale deftly moves over the literary landscape, avoiding genre classification; it succeeds as a subtle romance, an incisive character study and compelling woman-in-peril noir fiction.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School–Patty, 21, is the mother of 2-year-old Willie and the lead singer in a band of musicians who resent her ignorance of jazz and the fact that her face rather than their music is what attracts the customers. The group's antagonism is the least of Patty's troubles, however. She has barely survived an abusive childhood, and when the story opens she is being stalked by the father of her child, a drug dealer recently out of jail who still has an emotional hold on the love-starved young woman. How Patty copes with the disrespect of her fellow musicians, their dishonest manager, caring for her son, her mother's alcoholism, and the frightening rage and rape by Willie's father makes a suspenseful story that will have readers holding their breath. Tucker depicts all the ugliness of the music business–drugs, sleazy managers, endless nights on the road, and poor accommodations–as well as the fierce dedication and hard work of talented, committed performers. In a satisfying and exciting conclusion, Patty finally escapes from her past and earns the friendship and respect of her fellow musicians.–Jackie Gropman, Chantilly Regional Library, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Down Town Press (April 6, 2004)
• ISBN-10: 074346446X
• ASIN: B000C4SQCI
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #499,378 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #16 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Women's Fiction > Single Women

More About the Author

Lisa Tucker is the author of six novels: The Song Reader, Shout Down the Moon, Once Upon a Day, The Cure for Modern Life, The Promised World, and The Winters in Bloom. Lisa grew up in Missouri. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, she went on to receive master's degrees in English and mathematics and was awarded fellowships in both fields. She has taught creative writing at the University of Pennsylvania, the Taos Writers' Conference and UCLA. Her short work has appeared in The New York Times, Seventeen, The Oxford American, and NPR's "Three Books." She currently lives in Philadelphia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful and page turning, March 29, 2004

By 

M.J. Rose "mjroseauthor" (Greenwich, Ct USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shout Down the Moon (Paperback)

This is a fineexample of a literary page turner. It has a fast moving and moving plot, extremely well drawn characters, a strong and meaningful theme.

For long sections I forgot I was reading at all. And then I'd read a sentance that would be so insightful about love or music that I'd force myself to stop reading so I could think about what she was saying.

I think if I had to compare it to anything it would be the more powerful examples of Joyce Carol Oates fiction.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shout Down the Moon, November 9, 2004

By 

A.Ruth Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shout Down the Moon (Paperback)

I was moved by Shout Down the Moon. I couldn't put it down for days, on the way to and from work and would intentionally not read it at home so I would have something to look forward to on the long subway rides to and from Manhattan. This morning, I
could not even come to work until I finished reading a certain section. I went into a coffee shop and read and read until I knew what had happened in the scene. Although I have never had such experiences in my own life as these characters have had, the character development in this book was amazing. I have never felt for characters as I do for Willie, Patty and Jonathan. I was angered by Sylvia, saddened and scared senseless by Rick and touched by Willie. I almost told my husband about something Willie did before I remembered he was a character. I am still emotionally stirred since this morning in the coffee shop. I can't wait to read Lisa Tucker's other books

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully Compelling, May 23, 2004

By 

J. Robinson (Thousand Oaks, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shout Down the Moon (Paperback)

From the first page of SHOUT DOWN THE MOON, I was hooked. I am a big fan of Lisa Tucker's, and I wasn't surprised that this book was as wonderful as her first novel. The narrator and main character, Patty, is completely believeable and likeable throughout the book. How she deals with issues in her life--mainly when her ex-boyfriend, Rick, comes back into her life, and her everyday dealings with difficult band members--is truly astounding. She really grows and changes throughout the book, and by the end becomes much stronger and more self-assured. What I particularly liked about the book was how it portrayed life on the road with a band AND a small child. Even though Patty has been through a lot in her life, and has to deal with very uncomfortable situations, she has a fierce love for her son and is able to view the world in a positive light.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to be taken away from their own world for awhile! It's a glimpse into a woman's life who, like most of us, is struggling to make something of herself and find her place in the world. A definite five stars!