Tragedy of the Moth
BOOK REVIEW READERS FAVORITE REVIEW RATING 5 STARS
Felicity Moss is a starlet with a tragic past. Desperate to stay out of the judgmental gaze of the limelight, she disappears from public life. She finds new hope in the forgiving love of a noble man, but he has his own demon—Samuel, an old friend, and a new threat.
The riddle of choices surrounding life and death teases and taunts with the ebb and flow of the tides upon the shore. How long can one keep others from discovering private sins?
Filled with mystery and intrigue, The Tragedy of the Moth is a captivating tale of the theatrical world that enthrals with its poetic prose, scripts, supernatural folklore, and a stream-of-consciousness asides. It’s a mind-bending tour de force about love and tragedy, driving forward with a crashing finale.
Reviewed By Divine Zape for Readers’ Favorite REVIEW RATING 5 STARS
Tragedy of the Moth by Suzanne Mondoux is a cleverly written contemporary romance with incredible twists. Meet Felicity Moss, a successful actress with a tragic past — she couldn’t stop the pain her eighteen-year-old son was going through after a kidney cancer diagnosis, so she helped him with suicide. After the painful trial for murder, a trial hugely covered by the media, she decided to retreat to her estate with Alfred, her lover. She feels deeply loved by Alfred, a love that gives her the emotional stability she needs and the sanctuary the world can’t give, but then when Samuel — an old friend of Alfred’s — visits, no one suspected he’d be there for long. But it seems like he has no plans of leaving, an independent, wealthy, and handsome man who easily catches the attention of women. Alfred is unsure how long Felicity will be able to resist his charm?
Tragedy of the Moth is engrossing, a well-written, cunningly plotted story that holds the reader spellbound, thanks to the masterful use of suspense. The reader wants to know what will happen next as they watch Samuel around Felicity. The main plot is punctuated by other issues like Felicity’s filmmaking classes, the activities with her students, a documentary in Africa and references to the world’s deadliest outbreak of the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone. Character development is impeccable and Suzanne Mondoux has the gift of taking readers into the hearts of her characters through a meticulous, calculated, and brilliant use of the stream of consciousness, drama, and vivid descriptions. The author also shows great mastery in dialogues, creating conversations that feel as natural as they are exciting. The emotional depth of the story is indisputable, but the deftness in the craft, the fluidity in prose, and the balance in the overall writing is remarkable. A great achievement for a story and a setting in the West Coast of Vancouver that is colorful and enticing.
Reviewed By Mamta Madhavan for Readers’ Favorite REVIEW RATING 5 STARS
Tragedy of the Moth by Suzanne Mondoux is set in a village near Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The place is known for its art scene and the story revolves around Felicity Moss, who is a successful actress. Things take a painful turn when her Luc, her eighteen-year-old son, is diagnosed with kidney cancer. The illness is so painful that she assists him with his wish to kill himself. She was very close to her son and his suicide haunts her, along with the intrusion of the tabloids into her personal life. She leads a secluded life with Alfred, her lover, and puts an end to her acting career. Alfred is not too happy when an old friend, Samuel, visits them and does not leave. Felicity’s manager is trying to convince her to sign a film, but Felicity wants to do a short film written by her students to whom she teaches filmmaking. The director, Eliot, speaks about talking to the dead and performing rituals that allow deceased souls to ‘cross over’.
With all these happenings, the plot explores life and living and sets the tone for a romantic, aesthetic, and mysterious story. Tragedy of the Moth by Suzanne Mondoux has many layers to it and I like the way the author weaves these seamlessly into the main plot. Since the story revolves around movies, theater, and acting, it is very entertaining. I like the insertion of poetry in many places as the story progresses because this gives it a fresh feel. Though there are many characters and many things happening in the story, I like the way they all come together in the end, making the plot cohesive to readers.
Reviewed By Jamie Michele for Readers’ Favorite REVIEW RATING 5 STARS
Tragedy of the Moth by Suzanne Mondoux is the story of a sleepy Canadian village, where Felicity Moss has retreated from a life once spent in front of the camera; her fall from grace was as wildly spectacular as the act that preceded it was bitterly heartbreaking. Self exile eventually brings love and some semblance of routine as she shares a home with Alfred and teaches filmmaking. The cycle of normalcy is, however, shattered when a series of events begins to shake things up: a seemingly irresistible friend of Alfred’s shows up, Felicity is pressured to return to film by her manager, and a film director is convinced his partner is cheating on him.
Tragedy of the Moth is one of those books that you will either love instantly or toss aside in confusion. I was in the former camp, immediately drawn to Suzanne Mondoux’s quirky writing style and the fluctuating composition of the book. Her prose is lyrical in the face of the character chaos that they wonderfully surround (“She looks down at the trees protruding as though in suspension, fighting gravity. Could one be in suspension, denying gravity its chance to motion toward the ground, crushing the body?”). My favorite character was Eliot, who feels equally at home communing with the dead as he does filming a scene. The main character is definitely Felicity, but there’s no denying that the supporting cast is fantastic. I’d recommend this book to those who love creative fiction that pushes boundaries in a story that runs a reader through the full gamut of emotion.