GROWING UP WEIGHTLESS: Amazon.ca: John M. Ford: Books

Product Description

From Amazon.com

It's not that Matt Ronay, the protagonist of this novel, is weightless; it's just that he lives on the Moon, and he has the ability to flow gracefully through the low gravity. There's a figurative weightless to the story as well, that of Ronay's life and decisions he faces growing up as an adolescent in lunar society. Ronay, a brilliant youth, takes a trip to distant city, acts in theater and dreams of flight to far-off worlds. His father, a leader in lunar politics, doesn't always understand, though he may have had some of the same yearnings as his son. This imaginative novel won the 1994 Philip K. Dick Award.

From Publishers Weekly

A young man's coming-of-age story set on the Moon at the end of the 21st century.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
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Average Customer Review

4.2 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)

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3.0 out of 5 stars Good setup, but poor ending, Jun 3 2004

By	Thouis Jones (Somerville, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: GROWING UP WEIGHTLESS (Paperback)

I have to add my voice to those that say that this book ends too abruptly. The book starts well, and has a deeply rich and interesting background to work with, but the ending comes on very suddenly, and many elements of the plot are left undeveloped.

The book makes more sense if read as a sort of diary, wandering from one protagonist to another. If that was the author's intent, it could have been communicated more effectively. As it is, as a reader I thought it would be a standard plot with most of the elements and story arcs resolved at the end. Instead, it ends rather quickly, with most side-plots left hanging. This feels unnatural in a novel, even though "real life" is like that.

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4.0 out of 5 stars More of Ford's good work, Nov 7 2001

By	"colinbi" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This book is out of print, but still available if you know where to look. John M. Ford's award winning "Growing Up Weightless" is a familiar theme for him: coming-of-age during a period of change in society. His version of Lunar society owes some debts to previous stories including Heinlein's 'The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress,' but has developed in ways that may surprise you.

As usual, his story is multi-layered, and requires an intelligent reader to decipher the hints and allusions that Ford places throughout the text. Those who want active, clearly described plots should look elsewhere - but those who prefer not to be condescended to and enjoy puzzling out a story would enjoy this novel.

Ford never descends to the device of having characters explain something to each other that they would obviously already know, i.e. "As you know, George, a light bulb is a luminescent device powered by electricity that creates light in dark areas." For science fiction in particular, I find this very refreshing.

Finally, Ford's teenagers are active, thinking kids with dreams and desires. If they are very bright, they also seem very real to me.

It's worth finding a copy of this book. Better still, it would be worth bringing back into print.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Realized its power years after the last page, Nov 27 2000

By	Spring Lea E. Henry "Ellorien" (Colorado Springs, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: GROWING UP WEIGHTLESS (Paperback)

I read this book when I was too young to fully understand the complexity of the main character's decision about his future. When I started to go through the same sorts of choices, I found myself haunted by the book, even though I had finished it years ago. The most powerful scene for me is the mother's farewell. Even at the time it made me cry; now it is one of those scenes I use as an example to myself of what good writing really is. Thank you John M. Ford for a very moving experience!

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A moon-dreamer's classic
I cannot imagine why Growing Up Weightless is not in print. I was on the jury that picked it for the P.K. Read more

Published on Jan 22 2000 by Phyllis Gotlieb

3.0 out of 5 stars I've plowed through worse
The criticisms of lack-of-plot in this book are well-founded. It's advertised as a "coming of age" book, but the coming of age is spectacularly abrupt, and strikes me... Read more

Published on May 8 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars A start of the journey...
The young characters of this book are very intelligent teenagers (thats why its labeled scifi). They are nearly adults, and must decide what to do with thier lives. Read more

Published on Oct 14 1997