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The Insatiable Moon by Mike Riddell

The Insatiable Moon is about Arthur, a gentle giant of a Maori, who just happens to believe he is the second son of God. He is a resident of a Ponsonby boarding house along with other ex-psychiatric patients released into community care.

When the closure of his communal home is threatened, Arthur sees an opportunity to prove his heavenly credentials. He preaches his vision of a just and caring society to those who would destroy his world. Just when it seems he has worked one of his miracles, his mind begins to disintegrate. Increasingly confused and distracted he is forced out of the centre and into the local psychiatric ward where doctors pronounce him delusional and drug him into submission.

Those like Margaret who have come to believe in him now face a new and agonising doubt. Has it all come to nothing? Was Arthur’s insight offered in vain? Yet even in the face of despair, it seems that Arthur’s magic continues.

This book is an interesting look at society, the way it treats people who are different and our perceptions of those who are mentally ill. Mike Riddell is no stranger to these themes. He holds a PhD in Religious Studies and was a minister, community worker and social activist during the early 1980’s when many people like Arthur were abandoned by mental institutions and forced to fend for themselves as best they could on the streets of Auckland and New Zealand’s other cities. During this time, Riddell was instrumental in setting up a housing trust in Ponsonby for these people. His experienced fuelled his imagination and gave him the inspiration to write this book.

RRP 26.99
Published and distributed by HarperCollins Publishers
 

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