Paperback Perils: Moonglow

Title: Moonglow
Author: Michael Chabon
Publication Date: 2016
Publishing House: HarperCollins Publisher

I did it! I finally finished Moonglow. Saying that I loved this book sounds odd considering the fact that it took me way longer to finish it than it should have. But life gets crazy and I finished it when I could. Now onto the story.

Moonglow reads as if it is non-fiction. The narrator tells the reader his grandfather’s story. His grandfather is dying of cancer and the pain meds that he is on loosen his tongue and he tells his eldest grandson the stories of his life. And the life he lived was an incredible one even if it wasn’t the happiest. Only ever referred to as My Grandfather, the man was in WWII, his job was to track down the Nazi responsible for the V2 rockets, he was part of the space race. His life is wonderful but sad.

Chabon does an excellent job pulling the reader into the story. His writing is engaging and beautiful. Showing the reader the world in ways that we previously did not know existed but love the moment the words leap from the page into our minds.

Here are a couple of my favorite quotes:

“He let go of the signal lantern and stood balanced with arms outspread, hooked only by his ankles to the turning earth.”

“A djinn kindled in the bottle. It was the very color of the way my grandmother smelled; the color of the warmth of her lap and enfolding arms; the color of her husky voice resounding in her rib cage when she pulled me close.”

This book is moments. Beautiful moments against the pain of life. Beautiful moments against the hard truth of the full story. Maybe that’s why it took me so long to finish. I needed to forget the hardships and just remember the light before diving back into the book.

I’d love to know what you think of this story. If you have read it or if you have heard anything about it. Let me know what you think. Have a great rest of your Monday.