Book: Silver Moon
Author: Catherine
Lundoff
Publisher: Lethe
Press
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| The very real Miss Annie Jones |
The Epic of Gilgamesh, a Mesopotamian poem dating back to
approximately 2,000 B.C., is among the earliest surviving works of literature,
and is believed to present the first literary evidence of werewolves. Yet in 1995, when Clarissa Pinkola Estés penned Women Who
Run with the Wolves, female werewolves were scarcely on the mythological radar.
When they were, it was most often attributed to witchcraft, being
turned by male werewolves, or because the woman was suffering the effects of
hirsutism—best exemplified by Barnum & Bailey's Bearded Lady, Miss Annie Jones.
There are a host of theories on why lycanthropes in
literature and film are predominately male. However, in general, the
prevailing premise is that werewolves, by nature, express characteristics deemed
both ‘male’ and ‘masculine.’ These
attributes include, among others, strength, power, aggression, rage, violence, a
preponderance of body hair, and the refusal to stop and ask for directions.
Of
course, that also describes more than a few members of the Tea Party.
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| Alfonsina Storni deemed men "el enimigo" |
“I am like the she-wolf.
I broke with the pack
And fled to the mountains
Tired of the plain….
Poor little tame sheep in a
flock!
Don’t fear the she-wolf, she will
not harm you.
But also don’t belittle her, her
teeth are sharp
And in the forest she learned to
be sly.”
By choosing the ‘she-wolf’ to symbolize women,
the author displays her support of feminism by boasting an independence that,
even today, is rarely attributed to females and femininity by patriarchal
society. In fact, as the poem plays out, Ms. Storni notes that the narrator is
no less capable than a man in defending herself because she has “A hand
/ that knows how to work and a brain that is healthy.” In other words, the ‘she-wolf’ does not require male
protection in any form because she is competently equipped with her own skills,
strength, intellect, senses, spirit, socket wrench set, and capacity for
devotion.
Okay, my high school Spanish might be a wee bit rusty…
Silver Moon, the full-length novel from award
winning author and editor, Catherine Lundoff, offers up an unexpected
action-packed, romantic, paranormal coming-of-age tale. In the bucolic mountain
town of Wolf’s Point, Becca Thornton is approaching fifty, coming to terms with
her post-divorce life, and trying to reconcile the sudden wave of hot flashes
that strike every time her sexy cowgirl-cum-accountant neighbor,
Erin offers up a slow, lazy smile. Well,
in truth, the hot flashes and other changes are happening a lot more frequently
than just when Erin is around, but Becca’s sexy neighbor certainly has her thinking
about switching teams from the beginning.
Before long, Erin shows Becca that there’s
more to Wolf’s Point and menopause than she ever imagined. In particular, some women
of a certain age in Wolf’s Point are touched by the valley’s magic and are transformed into werewolves to protect the valley and its people. While acceptance isn’t easy or natural,
Becca finds that she can neither ignore nor deny the changes to her body. As
the newest member of the pack, Becca begins spending her nights howling at the
moon, chasing rabbits, and protecting townspeople—and her days reconciling menopause,
lycanthropy, divorce, burgeoning lesbianism, and a minimum wage job.
However, evil has come to the valley in the
form of werewolf hunters, lead by one of their own. Oya used to be a werewolf, and claims her family was killed
by the ones who were supposed to protect them. She knows too much about pack dynamics, and believes that
Becca, as the newest werewolf is vulnerable. After much circling and heel nipping, Oya and her nasty band
of Big Bads kidnap both Becca and the wolf pack’s alpha, and pump them full of
chemicals in an attempt to cure them of lycanthropy. After a daring escape, Becca, along with acting-alpha, Erin,
the rest of the pack, and the townspeople who support them have one chance to drive
the evil from the valley—they only need to rescue their alpha and find a way to
ignite an ancient magic than no one alive has ever used.
Silver Moon is a refreshing feminist
retelling of the modern classic werewolf thriller, wrapped in an unexpected coming-of-age romance. Becca is initially
presented to readers as a “soft” character on the doorstep of menopause who is battling weight issues. She
has tenuous self-esteem, works a job that barely pays the bills, and two years
after the fact, is still trying to move beyond a philandering ex-husband. Her empowerment begins almost immediately
in the form of a curious and wholly unexpected sexual attraction to a woman.
From there, the lupine characteristics begin
to present themselves, and Becca finds herself transforming into a strong,
sleek, powerful, and vibrant creature—not just a werewolf, but a woman who is increasingly comfortable in the shifting sands of her life. Don’t get me wrong, the themes of coming out, menopause, divorce, and shape shifting are strong metaphors
for this personal transformation—and Becca cycles through each of them with
varying degrees of theoretical and practical rationality.
Beyond that, Ms. Lundoff subtly hints throughout
the story that Becca’s lupine abilities, while surprisingly advanced for
someone so newly touched by the magic, stand to make her much more powerful within
the pack than anyone realizes.
Likewise, the reader sees flashes of Becca’s unexpected personal growth
and development as both a woman and a sexual being.
Ultimately, Silver Moon is a hard book to categorize—being equal parts
paranormal, romance, action, thriller, and intrigue. Becca’s character is amazingly complex and well developed,
however the reader is left to wonder who Erin, Lizzie, and Shelly really are as
characters, what really happened to Oya’s family, and why the evil scientist
was perfecting an anti-werewolf serum for the Big Bads.
We’re also left wondering what Mrs. Hui has up her decidedly
tasteful yet furry sleeve.
Silver Moon is a fresh, fun, and engaging
slant on the tired and traditional werewolf genre, and it succeeds in
empowering women at a time when so much of who they are is taken from them.
And, while the romance barely makes it past indecent thought, the Big Bads are
well funded but pitifully trained, and the werewolves are benevolent creatures
touched by magic—there is a bounty of riches that make the book a solid
read. As an added bonus, the editing
is crisp and generally free of errors, and the cover art is noteworthy in that
it is simple, playful, and attractive.
The bottom line is that if you’re looking for
a good, old-fashioned lesfic romance, searching for a literary booty call, or
prefer traditional, patriarchal werewolf fiction, then Silver Moon decidedly isn’t the book for you. However, if you’re looking for a story
that celebrates feminism and independence, and is full of women with skills,
strength, intellect, sense, spirit, sexuality, and a capacity for devotion, then
it is a novel that will surprise and captivate you.
While there were a slew of unanswered
questions and unresolved conflicts littering the story, I’m betting there will be a sequel. I’m giving Silver Moon a 4.9 out of 6.0 on the Rainbow Scale with an added
bonus of 0.1 because it made me feel powerful and strong as a graying 45-year old woman.
The final rating is a solid 5.0.
