The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "A room of wood which was once a vegetable store-and a point of debarkation for a horse-drawn wagon to bring its wares to a small..." (more)
Key Phrases: Miss Hanley, Betty the Loon, Chris Burns (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Paul Zindel  was written a masterful, pacesetting drama. It  combines moments of pain, poignancy, beauty, and  hope. It is the most compelling work of its kind  since Tennessee Williams' The Glass  Menagerie."--Variety.

"The ultimate accolade must go to Paul Zindel for  creating a psychologically perceptive ambiance.  Shame hangs in the air of this house and palpably as  poison gas. And yet, Zindel reminds us, strong,  strange, beautiful flowers spring from such compost  heaps. It is a troubling thought, one of the  honest and intelligent values of this splendid and  tormented play."--Time -- Review

Review

"Paul Zindel  was written a masterful, pacesetting drama. It  combines moments of pain, poignancy, beauty, and  hope. It is the most compelling work of its kind  since Tennessee Williams' The Glass  Menagerie."--Variety.

"The ultimate accolade must go to Paul Zindel for  creating a psychologically perceptive ambiance.  Shame hangs in the air of this house and palpably as  poison gas. And yet, Zindel reminds us, strong,  strange, beautiful flowers spring from such compost  heaps. It is a troubling thought, one of the  honest and intelligent values of this splendid and  tormented play."--Time

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Starfire (July 1, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553280287
• ISBN-13: 978-0553280289
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,023,415 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars As reviewed by a 17 year old, December 8, 2003

By	Matt Greer (Duncan, SC) - See all my reviews

Now generally I don't take to books that were written around the time my parents were born. In reality, I really don't take to books much at all. But The Effects of Gamma Rays On Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds seemed to make the boredom that I usually associate with reading cease, as I downed the entire two-act play during a class period.
This book was your not-so-simple story of a little girl's triumph in overcoming the realms of an emotionally abusive household. This little girl was named Tillie, and she was brought up in an old, converted vegetable store with her airhead sister Ruth and sadly entertaining mother Beatrice. They reside there with an elderly mute woman known as Nanny and try to survive in some sort of harmony.
Beatrice is insane. It is clearly stated in the book without the reader knowing how or why she became this way. Her daughter Ruth is desperately in need of attention and almost always selfish. This is a complete opposite of Tillie, the independent main character who finds an outlet from her family in science projects. This is an outlet that in turn becomes her greatest talent and creates the main moral in the story.
The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds is not what I would consider a classic because I don't think it ever really got the acclaim or recognition it deserved. But it is still a story that will always provide entertainment whether you read it or see it. Because of this I would have to suggest that this book be read by intelligent young adults or adults themselves. This way the reader (or audience member) can understand the all of the humor expressed through Beatrice and the symbolism between the marigold and Tillie. I would have to give this book a total of four and a quarter stars. It is a great quick-read and I'm almost certain any theatre group would do it justice on stage. The author, Paul Zindel, is loved throughout the world and was the 2002 recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards award for his book "The Pigman."

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A play of humane, compelling, sincere depth, October 25, 2000

By	Christian Engler (Woburn, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds is a cute, catchy title. But the drama is anything but cute. It is a sensitively written play in a natural uncluttered style; the theme, plot and dialogue are not imbued with self-righteous, long-winded, cliched morality excesses.

The play revolves around three characters: 1) Beatrice Hunsdorfer, a bitter and acerbic woman 2) Ruth, her daughter, selfish and at times fractious and 3) Tille, another daughter, bright, responsible, a young girl with a flair for science.

The scene: a converted vegeatble store with an upper and lower landing. The room has the usual daily living necessities: couch, table, lamps, chairs, etc.

The two daughters have a home environment that would be considered less than homey and family oriented. Being a part of this family would be a real drab, for their is no warmth, compassion, positive human expressiveness, nothing. What replaces these vital family qualities are characteristics on the exact opposite side of the spectrum: bitterness, sarcasm, virulence and regret for past mistakes that have impeded the present condition of living.

The two daughters in this play have that glimmer of hope that only youthfulness can bestow. One daughter in particular, Tille, has found her glimmer of hope in science, specifically in her science project of atomic grown flowers: Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds. Atomic energy, an element commonly recognized for its destructiveness, is used in her project to aid in the growth of the flowers. When handled carefully, atomic energy can be used to create beautiful things, thus, bettering lives.

The parallel is this: as atomic energy can be harmful, so too can their mother with her permeating aura of negativity, regret and bitterness, how those dark, unwavering emotions can annihilate the bursting positive vitality and idealism that normally encompasses the spirits found in youths.

With all the atrocious words and spiteful actions committed by the three characters -- Ruth and Beatrice mostly -- the stark truth from a simple child's science project remains the same: "The Future: After radiation is better understood, a day will come when the power from exploding atoms will change the whole world we know. Some of the mutations will be good ones - wonderful things beyond our dreams...." Thus, with her mother and Ruth's malevolence and cruelities, with better understanding, will rise joy, strength, stability and the fruition of that which earlier was not deemed possible.

This is a play for people of all ages, a play with simple truths, a play about seeing, a guaranteed winner.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-The-Moon Marigolds, June 7, 2000

By	"hannah1350n" (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This play contains some amazing monologue material---a pleasant alternative to the more traditional high school drama material.

Paul Zindel is probably most famous for his mastery of adolescent angst. While this play owes a great deal to the same subject matter--it also stands up under adult reading as well.