Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Chabon’s eighth adult novel ostensibly recounts the life story of the author’s unnamed maternal grandfather from his deathbed; a rollicking tale involving attempted murder, stalking rocket scientist Werner Von Braun in the last days of WWII, and snake hunting in the Florida swamps. Yet in his acknowledgements, the writer describes it as both a “pack of lies” and a “monstrous stepchild” of his great-uncle’s memories, blurring the line between fact and fiction.
The book also reveals the heart-wrenching story of his grandmother, who escaped pre-war Germany haunted by the “Skinless Horse”, an apt metaphor for the horrific events that scarred her life. Always entertaining, it’s filled with Chabon’s incredible descriptions, wherein his grandfather demolishes a porch “with a ferocity that approximated hope”, and his great-granny’s bosom was “so large it might have housed turbines.” Ironically, its lightness of touch also means that Moonglow fails to engage as compellingly as Chabon is capable of, falling slightly short of his finest work.