''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. The narrator functions as a proxy for the author, Chabon.

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 ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' 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." For ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 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". The book was discussed in January 2017 on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's '' Saturday Review''. Moonglow was a finalist for the 2016 National Book Critics Circle Award in fiction.

References

{{Michael Chabon 2016 American novels American memoirs Novels by Michael Chabon Postmodern novels HarperCollins books