The Vanishing Moon - (Harvest Book) by Joseph Coulson (Paperback)

About the Book

A chorus of candid and poignant voices narrates this novel about a working-class American family struggling to succeed during the time from the Depression to the Vietnam War. Together, these voices create an insightful story about family bonds, and of hardships that haunt the human psyche over a lifetime.

Book Synopsis

A chorus of candid and poignant voices narrates this novel about a working-class American family who struggles to succeed through five turbulent decades, from the Depression to the Vietnam War. First, Stephen Tollman looks back on his early adventures with his older brother, Philip, as the boys try to shield their younger siblings from the vulnerability of financial ruin. Years later, the vibrant and ambitious Katherine Lennox mesmerizes Stephen and Philip as they both tragically fall in love with her. Then, Philip's son James comes of age in the 1960s, striving to understand his father's deep anger amid a summer of assassinations and civil unrest.

Together, these voices create an insightful, beautiful, and deeply psychological story about the American working class, about the strength and strain of family bonds, and finally, about hardships that haunt the human psyche over a lifetime.

From the Back Cover

In 1931, during the Depression, the Tollman family descends into poverty, and brothers Stephen and Phil try to shield their siblings from the dangers of financial ruin. Later, as World War II approaches, Katherine Lennox, a musician and political activist, is caught between Stephen's reserved affection and Phil's unyielding desire. Finally, it is James, Phil's son, coming of age in the Vietnam War era, who strives to reconcile his father's rage and regret.
"A beautifully told story about family bonds, love, loss, and the power of memory over our lives."--The Bloomsbury Review
"Meditates on the collision of personality with history . . . Coulson's impressive first novel should leave his readers eager for a second."--The Dallas Morning News
"Abounds in passion and wonder."--The San Diego Union-Tribune

Joseph Coulson is the author of three books of poetry and a produced play, and has been the recipient of a Gray Writing Fellowship and the Tompkins Award in Poetry. This is his first novel.

Review Quotes

PRAISE FOR THE VANISHING MOON
"Coulson's richly textured narrative abounds in passion and wonder." -The San Diego Union-Tribune

"Affecting . . . Achieves the quiet beauty of William Maxwell's finest work-generous, episodic, elegiac but not sentimental." -The Nation
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About the Author

Joseph Coulson is the author of three books of poetry and a full-length play, and has been the recipient of a Gray Writing Fellowship and the Tompkins Award in Poetry. The Vanishing Moon is his first novel. Coulson lives in the San Francisco Bay area.