Moonglow (novel)

Moonglow is a 2016 novel by Michael Chabon. The book chronicles the life of Chabon's grandfather, a WW2 soldier, engineer and rocket enthusiast who marries a troubled Jewish survivor from France and lives a challenging, wandering life in postwar America. Chabon tells the story using a mixture of strict memoir and creative fiction writing.[1] The narrator functions as a proxy for the author, Chabon.[1][2]

Moonglow
AuthorMichael Chabon
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SubjectMemoir
PublisherHarper
Publication date
November 22, 2016
Media typeHardback
Pages430[1]
ISBN978-0-06-222555-9 (Hardcover)

Plot summary

The novel is about the story of the author's (Chabon) grandfather. Throughout the book, the grandfather's name is not referred to.

The story is sort of a memoir, jumping around in time. It starts with the narrator stating how his grandfather got arrested.

Reception

Sam Sacks writing for The Wall Street Journal appreciated the non-fiction elements of the novel in contrast to Chabon's other works. Sacks said, "Moonglow is a movingly bittersweet novel that balances wonder with lamentation."[3] For The New York Times, Michiko Kakutani found that, "Mr. Chabon weaves these knotted-together tales together into a tapestry that’s as complicated, beautiful and flawed as an antique carpet. […] Although "Moonglow" grows overly discursive at times, it is never less than compelling when it sticks to the tale of Mike's grandparents — these damaged survivors of World War II who bequeath to their family a legacy of endurance, and an understanding of the magic powers of storytelling to provide both solace and transcendence".[4]

The book was discussed in January 2017 on BBC Radio 4's Saturday Review.[5]

Moonglow was a finalist for the 2016 National Book Critics Circle Award in fiction. [6]

gollark: The Islamic god is claimed to be omnipotent, I think. Thus, they know *in advance* if someone is going to go to hell or not when they're created or whatever. And then create them/allow them to be created *anyway*, knowing they're bound for eternal torture because a system they created makes them get eternally tortured. Just... why?
gollark: I consider eternal torture unethical *anyway*, but given the situation with god it's even worse.
gollark: I'm fairly sure Islam has a hell-type thing.
gollark: I think Islam has the whole "eternal torture" thing going on too, which is not very good.
gollark: I am not insulting you, merely your belief system.

References
  1. Scott, A.O. (November 18, 2016). "Michael Chabon Returns With a Searching Family Saga". The New York Times. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  2. "Michael Chabon's 'Moonglow' is a cunning dance with autobiography".
  3. Sacks, Sam (November 25, 2016). "Michael Chabon's Age of Heroes". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  4. Kakutani, Michiko (14 November 2016). "In Michael Chabon's 'Moonglow,' Deathbed Stories Illuminate an Era". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  5. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe; Interviewed guests: Kate Williams, Maria Delgado, David Benedict; Producer: Oliver Jones (14 January 2017). "La La Land, Manchester By The Sea, Michael Chabon, Wish List at The Royal Court, Charles Avery". Saturday Review. 09:27 minutes in. BBC. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  6. Alter, Alexandra. "Zadie Smith and Michael Chabon Among National Book Critics Circle Finalists". New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
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