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Moonglow
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 14 hrs and 42 mins
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Moonglow
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Summary
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A Telegraph Book of the Year • A New York Times Notable Book of the Year • A Washington Post Book of the Year • A Wall Street Journal Book of the Year • A Slate Book of the Year
‘Probably Chabon’s greatest, a piece of sustained writing that will be hard to see outdone in 2017’ The Times
‘Entirely sure footed, propulsive, the work of a master at his very best. The brilliance of Moonglow stands as a strident defence of the form itself, a bravura demonstration of the endless mutability and versatility of the novel’ Observer
‘The world, like the Tower of Babel or my grandmother’s deck of cards, was made out of stories, and it was always on the verge of collapse.’
Moonglow unfolds as a deathbed confession. An old man, his tongue loosened by powerful painkillers, his memory stirred by the imminence of death, tells stories to his grandson, uncovering bits and pieces of a history long buried. Why did he try to strangle a former business partner with a telephone cord? What was he thinking when he and a buddy set explosives on a bridge in Washington, D.C.? What did he feel while he hunted down Wernher von Braun in Germany? And what did he see in the young girl he met in Baltimore after returning home from the war?
From the Jewish slums of pre-war Philadelphia to the invasion of Germany, from a Florida retirement village to the penal utopia of a New York prison, from the heyday of the space programme to the twilight of ‘the American Century’, Moonglow collapses an era into a single life and a lifetime into a single week.
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Critic reviews
‘The product of a writer in full command of his novelistic faculties … Not only probably Chabon’s greatest, but an example of a piece of sustained writing that will be hard to see outdone in 2017’ The Times
‘Funny, moving and tremendously entertaining, this is a novel about the narratives we construct for ourselves and the need we have for them, one that confirms Chabon not just as an irresistible tale-teller, but also a master’ Daily Mail
‘A masterclass in storytelling’ Independent
‘Entirely sure footed, propulsive, the work of a master at his very best. The brilliance of Moonglow stands as a strident defence of the form itself, a bravura demonstration of the endless mutability and versatility of the novel’ Observer
‘Chabon’s storytelling is so characteristically exuberant, the narratives so unfailingly rich’ Telegraph
‘”It doesn’t add up to anything,” stated the grandfather, as he looks back at his life. “It doesn’t mean anything.” Luminous with love, Moonglow is here to show us that it does’ Irish Independent
‘Chabon is virtuoso’ Irish Times
‘Moving, wry, thoroughly entertaining’ FT
‘Much of Moonglow feels Dickensian in style, and as with Dickens it is rich in sentiment. This is to the novel’s credit … Exquisite’ TLS
‘Comparable to the young Paul Auster … It’s as intriguing as a locked room mystery, but in keeping with Chabon’s canon, also has a heart the size of an elephant’ Big Issue
‘A wondrous book that celebrates the power of family bonds and the slipperiness of memory … A thoroughly enchanting story’ The Washington Post
‘A rich and exotic confection … This book is beautiful’ New York Times
‘A poignant, engrossing triumph’ People
‘Chabon is one of contemporary literature’s most gifted prose stylists … In Moonglow, he writes with both lovely lyricism and highly caffeinated fervour’ Michiko Kakutani, New York Times
What listeners say about Moonglow
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Wras
- 16-02-17
Looking at the past can be painful.
The story of this book is very interesting and very revealing but the way it was written makes it very hard to follow there is a disjointedness that makes it hard to follow, and also some of the descriptions grandma and grandpa in bed are crass and rude in a way that is unnecessary. I am not a prude but describing every bodily function just because, does not add depth to the story just shock value. But if you can overcome these problems the story has many beautiful and harrowing descriptions of life during and after the second world war, plus it delivers two characters from that period that are as human and real like few.
The Plot develops out of the rambling of a dying man and the grandson delivers them in that order because his grandfather said he would not do it, he would clean up his life make it make sense although he does not believe it has any and so the grandson to be contrary writes as he is related, adding only a few details to events his grandfather had not wanted to know.
Beautiful and frustrating in equal parts.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- MAGGS
- 22-02-17
Moonglow - LOVED THIS BOOK WHAT A GREAT STORY
Moonglow - LOVED THIS BOOK WHAT A GREAT STORY
Didn't want this book to end
This book would be enjoyed by both male & female readers, it had everything, war, prison, space missions, sex the lot
George Newbern Narration sounded as if he was really the grandson, he portrayed it so genuinely
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Alex Moore
- 15-11-17
Thought provoking
Incredible semi-biographic account of two interesting people made great by the attention to both life's wonders and also its darker side. Very compelling.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Johnny TimeBomb
- 18-02-18
Another wonderful character from Michael Chabon
Chabon's beautiful phasing, humorously realised reflective characters, and boy's own adventure stories are a delight
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Sue
- 09-11-17
Beautifully written
This biography of Michael Chabon's 'grandfather' is a stunning piece of whimsy, the tale of a cranky, old genius that grips and surprises throughout. It is a long, meandering novel masquerading as a memoir, flitting around time and place so that the chapters don't follow consecutively and it's only gradually that we build up a picture of the narrator's family history via the stories told to him by his grandfather.
Despite the fragmented narrative and some aspects considered to be fictional truth, there's real heart and soul here which lifts this novel beyond merely the clever construction, giving it a haunting, poignant undertone.
For me the book is less about the grandfather, but the beautiful, damaged woman with whom he falls in love with. Profoundly affected by her experiences during the Second World War, the narrator's grandmother tells stories to shore up her own sense of self and to hold herself together in the wake of trauma.
While at times it can seem tedious, the author's writing carries it through, moving effortlessly from rambunctious humour to distressing scenes. It is a meditation on families and what constitutes a family when it's not based on blood, histories and accurate memories. A big-hearted and beautifully-written novel.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 01-10-17
Classic Chabon.
Another cracking offering from, surely, America's foremost storyteller.....if you don't know Chabon then get on board.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Maggie Kiely
- 13-03-19
Very Poor
I really wanted to love this book but could not get interested in it. I persevered to the bitter end but it was overly long and lacking in any grip for me. Could not recommend this one personally.
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