Book Review: The Moonlight Market by Joanne Harris
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About the book
Orphaned, lonely, and lost in his photography work, Tom has no intention of falling in love. And yet, love finds him in the shape of beautiful Vanessa, who lives a dangerous double life in the heart of London's King's Cross.
Tom's pursuit of Vanessa leads him to discover an alternate world, hidden amongst the streets and rooftops of London - and inhabited by strange and colourful beings.
In this mysterious realm, two ancient factions - one of night, one of day - have waged war for centuries over a forbidden love and a long-lost prince of sun and starlight. But when Tom finds a secret market that appears only in moonlight, where charms and spells are bought with memories, he starts to wonder whether he's been here before...
Why we love it
I have a definite weakness for books that combine the magical and the mundane, where hidden worlds exist just out of sight and where magical being live alongside us - and this is exactly that sort of book.
Tom Argent is an introverted loner, working in a photography shop in the heart of London, with a passion for capturing the unseen moments of London life through the lens of his camera.
Fate brings him into the path of the beautiful and enigmatic Vanessa, with whom he feels an immediate connection. His relentless pursuit of her, combined with a chance encounter with a mysterious homeless man, draws him and his camera into a journey of self-discovery through a hidden side of London he never knew existed.
With The Moonlight Market, Joanne Harris has created a modern-day fairytale for adults. The prose is just beautiful with lyrical chapters of otherworldly kingdoms, thwarted love and a long-lost prince, inserted alongside the much more prosaic tone of Tom's modern day adventures. It perfectly captures the duality of Tom's world and adds to the sense of magic throughout the novel.
Tom's reluctant acceptance of the reality of this new world he's discovered can be frustrating at times, but he's living in a near-constant state of bewitchment so a degree of befuddlement is to be expected. And with so much fake news and misinformation in the world today, there's an interesting contradiction in Tom's deeply ingrained conviction that he should only believe what's in front of his eyes and his persistent refusal to believe what's actually in front of his eyes.
Imaginative and enchanting, The Moonlight Market is the perfect example of how versatile and dynamic Joanne Harris is as an author and it's the perfect choice for anyone looking for an immersive, beautifully written fantasy tale.
