Racing the Moon

by Terry Prone

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0340728531
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Canada
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 7.0" x 4.4"

Customer Reviews

A fantastic, enthralling and insightful read!

Darcy and Sophia King are non-identical twins born in Dublin, in a very normal family. Their father Robert is a pathologist at a local medical centre, and their mother Colette lives through her love for her husband.The novel focuses on the evolution of this family during one generation, seen through the eyes of Darcy, a young rebel who suffers from being the twin of a perfect girl loved by her parents, her teachers and her peers. Darcy feels so far from a perfection she tends to despise that her relationship to her sister develops in a mixture of sisterly love and sometimes heinous jealousy.Their differences increase as the chapters go by.Sophia (pretty, polite and discreet), reveals a vulnerable side that she hides under the appearance of a woman who perfectly controls her life. From unhappy experiences to success, she admits that she's rarely physically alone but that she lives in an emotional loneliness against which she can't struggle. Darcy invariably fights weight problems and suffers from only being "Sophia's sister". It is only through separation caused by Darcy's international carrier that the two sisters finally get closer.Although one can't talk about an epistolary book, the story centres around the correspondence between Darcy and an American sociologist, Alexander Carbine Brookstone, who's thirteen years older than she is. Despite the age difference, their relationship evolves into genuine friendship, and Darcy takes refuge in the letters, faxes and, later on, emails that she exchanges with him. Her rebellion, her lack of confidence, her relationship to her sister, to her parents, to her boyfriend, and her frustration regarding her weight explode in this correspondence. Reassured by the idea that she will never meet Alex, she confides her most secret emotions and her thoughts about the world around her, in a way that is alternatively tender, defiant and hilarious.The biggest quality of this enthralling novel is a confident writing style and a quick pace which doesn't leave room for boredom. It gives life to the characters in a completely exceptional way. The relationships between the protagonists are amazingly real, and page after page, their evolution manifests itself very naturally, whether it's through Darcy's letters to Alex or through Sophia's diary. Terry Prone has masterfully succeeded in making each sentence a fascinating discovery -- even the (side-splitting) description of Darcy's fridge contents is enchanting. This book depicts complex characters and carefully avoids stereotypes and shortcuts. Identifying with Darcy is extremely easy, not because she's an empty shell in which anyone could fit (Darcy is anything but an empty shell!), but because Racing the Moon pulls the reader into her life and -- a rare phenomenon in literature -- makes one forget that she's a fictional character. Darcy is the woman next door, she's someone you pass on the street every day, she's that girl sitting at the back of the room. To everyone, she

Wonderful! Clever plotting, great characters

I read this book in one sitting on a train journey, and couldn't put it down. It was utterly captivating, and I love the characters of Alex and Darcy.The way in which Alex and Darcy meet - the teenage Darcy has to correspond with an American academic because her school has asked her to take part in the US university's reseach project - is ingenious, and the letters between the dry and dusty researcher and the teenager are hilarious. Prone makes much fun out of Darcy piercing the pomposity of this guy she knows only by initials.As Darcy grows up, she sees Alex much more as a friend, but because of the rules of the research they must never meet or exchange any identifying information. This is both fascinating and intriguing as an examination of what makes friendships, and whether it is possible to have as a close friend someone you have never met.The other characters and events in Darcy's life are also very well portrayed, as a study in growing up; Prone makes excellent use of her knowledge both of the US and of Ireland.The denouement is sheer brilliance. My only regret is that I felt the book finished too soon.

FUNNY - TRUELIFE - KINDLY WRITTEN - SOMETIMES ANNOYING

This book has left me wanting more. Not many books do this for me. I felt the relationshop between the sisters was very cleverly written. Who could fail to like Darcy? ? A very real person. Also Sophia - at the beginning I disliked her - then I continually liked and disliked her - I still can't make up my mind. I have given four stars because I was frustrated that we did not discover more about Alex and Darcy. I hope a second book with these characters is written.

Very well constructed, humorous, touching.

I loved this book. As an Irish exile in Britain I always buy new Irish women's fiction (Binchy, Scanlan, Kelly, McCarthy and so on), but this book surpasses a lot of the usual fare.Yes, the twins' relationship is dealt with exteremly well, with a lot of unexpected insights. The part which appealed most to me was Darcy's 'school project,' which develops into the correspondence with Alex the American academic. I guessed extremely on in the correspondence how this might turn out, but Prone was not by any means predictable in achieving that outcome. A truly breathtaking twist!My only complaint: the book ended too quickly. I wanted to see more of Alex and Darcy at the end, and hear more conversation between them.

Absolutely brilliant, remarkably funny, pure genius!

Racing the Moon is probably one of the cleverest books I've ever read. It's so funny and the development of the characters (mainly Darcy) is incredible. Every library should have a copy.