Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Clair de Lune: A Novel

3.32 of 5 stars 3.32 · rating details · 171 ratings · 51 reviews

An unexpected treasure: A long-lost novel of innocence threatened, by the author of the beloved classic The Moonflower Vine.

The time: 1941, at the cusp of America’s entry into World War II. The place: southwest Missouri, on the edge of the Ozark Mountains. A young single woman named Allen Liles has taken a job as a junior college teacher in a small town, although she dream...more

Paperback, 304 pages

Published March 6th 2012 by Harper Perennial

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 788)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Mar 30, 2012 CoffeeBook Chick rated it 5 of 5 stars

For my full review, click here: http://www.coffeeandabookchick.com/20...

Uncovered fifty years later and published twenty years after the author's death, Clair de Lune is an absolutely gorgeous piece of writing, and it's the kind of book that made me wish I was back in college again, selecting this book to read for my thesis instead of what I did pick.

Jetta Carleton was the bestselling author of The Moonflower Vine in the early 1960s, which captured readers instantly. At some point, history seeme...more For my full review, click here: http://www.coffeeandabookchick.com/20...

Uncovered fifty years later and published twenty years after the author's death, Clair de Lune is an absolutely gorgeous piece of writing, and it's the kind of book that made me wish I was back in college again, selecting this book to read for my thesis instead of what I did pick.

Jetta Carleton was the bestselling author of The Moonflower Vine in the early 1960s, which captured readers instantly. At some point, history seemed to forget all about this, and it was a book only found in used book stores, but Harper Perennial decided to republish that book as part of their "Rediscovered Classics" series. And thank goodness! Carleton's Clair de Lune subsequently made its way to print as well, and I'm a better reader for it. At the risk of astonishing Carleton and Hemingway fans, hers is a sweet and simplistic style of writing which reminds me just a little bit of him.

The early 1940s is a time of innocence, the pre-war era shielding Americans from the realities of war. I'm an avid fan of films from that time, and while I know it's the movies, it still seemed there was a gentle naivete represented that now has become this glamorous example of a vintage era. I enjoy diving into it, reading about a "simpler time."

Young Barbara Allen Liles, known as Allen, has just secured a position as a teacher at a small college. While dreaming of eventually seeing the world, moving to New York, and becoming a writer, Allen spends each day teaching the stories she loves with her students. Since she's much closer in age with her students than her colleagues, Allen is a little out of place between what she's supposed to be as a figure of authority, and a young woman who wants a little adventure. The close friendship which forms between her and two students becomes a small scandal, one that places the job she's come to love in jeopardy.

After all, this is not a time when friendships like this don't come with rumor, gossip, and innuendo, and when it goes a little bit further, it's even tougher to rein back in. But it's not the whole of this story. There is so much more movement and beauty to it. At the heart of it all, the story is about love: love of books and literature, dreams of the road not taken in life, and the strong fresh love of the very first time, whether it's love with another, or in realizing one's own independence. Both can be heady and overpowering, and Allen experiences this unconventional romance, one that might change the future she's planned for herself. It's the fact that she can make choices without needing anyone's approval that give her strength. It's this empowerment, and feminism encapsulated in a book written more than forty years ago that is absolutely amazing.

Jetta Carleton crafted a brilliantly sweet and sad story of the slow budding of independence for a young woman in an innocent time. I must admit, it's a perfect companion story to recent books I've read such as Jennifer Haigh's Baker Towers and even Stephen King's 11/22/63. It just feels like there is a little bit of magic in the pre-war era. Maybe it's because when you are sheltered from all the things that could break innocence, things really do feel so much easier. I might be swept up in it all, in the powerful honesty of the times, the simple expectations and high standards of a bygone era (or as King calls it, the Land of Ago). I loved everything about this story.

This is what I so enjoy about reading a book that was considered "modern" during its time. We have a pure and perfect glance at what life was like in this "simpler" era, with love, dreams, hope, and regrets filling each long day and quiet night, before a country grew up and learned that innocence, while strong and sheltering, was no longer.
(less)

like · see review

Mar 06, 2012 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: review-copy

Jetta Carleton is the author of a little-known but well-loved novel called The Moonflower Vine. It was, so far as anyone knew, her only book. After her death, her family looked for the manuscript she had been working on but assumed it was lost in a tornado. However, the manuscript was bequeathed to an old friend and has since fallen into the hands of Harper Perennial. And thus we have Clair de Lune.

Allen Liles has her bachelor's degree, and her master's degree is forthcoming. Miraculously, she h...more Jetta Carleton is the author of a little-known but well-loved novel called The Moonflower Vine. It was, so far as anyone knew, her only book. After her death, her family looked for the manuscript she had been working on but assumed it was lost in a tornado. However, the manuscript was bequeathed to an old friend and has since fallen into the hands of Harper Perennial. And thus we have Clair de Lune.

Allen Liles has her bachelor's degree, and her master's degree is forthcoming. Miraculously, she has found a job teaching at a community college - in the order of her maternal family full of teachers. It's 1941 and gusts of war have been edging closer to the United States but they have not yet reached the shore. At first, she is all work and no play and dedicates her whole being to teaching. Then she discovers Toby and George, two kindred spirits in the form of two men/boy students. The threesome establish a kind of idyllic literary "salon" discussing poetry and philosophy and music, and Allen glides alone in her own little work, unaware of the potential consequences of her actions.

At the outset, there is a "frame" of a sort, where the author kind of steps in and narrates briefly at the beginning and the ending. Here's some snippets from the beginning:

Allen Liles is a fictional character. I made her up. Her story is made up too. But not all of it. Part of it's mine, handed on to her, altered to fit. (1)

If facts are required, the great houses would be scattered and fewer, not all together on one grand avenue. The park on the west would not be so spacious, the town not arranged in quite this way. But it is remembered this way. A street and a house from another town may have moved in, a different part slid southward to become this park. Memory fits everything into place. And memory is truth enough. (2-3)

I found the prose to be lyrical and perfect. It's simple but descriptive, and the characterization of Allen was mesmerizing for me. This is essentially her story. The other characters all move in and out, but she is always there. And I was happy to spend time with her. Literary references abound - in a bring-you-in kind of way, not a leave-you-out kind of way. Here's a couple of examples: "But the night, as Thoreau reminds us, is a very different season." (47) "He closed the book, and they sat for a moment, thoughtfully hugging their knees, lost in the Joycean weather - mist, fog, rain, and evening." (74)

There is a definite "feminist" vibe, in that, in 1941, Allen is a college graduate and is getting a master's degree; she has a traditionally male name; she teaches at a college; and the story is not centered on romance. In fact, Allen attends a wedding and feels only this:

Did she know - Maxine, with her head full of dinner dances and pineapples on doilies - did she know what she was getting into? She had walked smiling down the aisle to be delivered into bondage, never to be her own woman again, but the property of another and, for all the honor and comfort, beholden to his laws. Did she know what she was doing? (264)

In the end, this is the story of not only Allen growing up, but decided her destiny. Could she in fact escape from a set of societal and familial rules and expectations to do what she really dreamed of doing? While I am one that tends to follow those darn rules, I was rooting for Allen the whole way.(less)

1 like · like · see review

May 09, 2012 Ken rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is one review I’ve dreaded and looked forward to writing. My fear is that I won’t do it justice, won’t be able to impart even a glimmer of what this book is about to the future prospective readers.

Clair de Lune, Jetta Carleton’s last and thought to be lost (blown away in a 2003 tornado) novel finally came to print in 2012 and surely the world of literature is a better place for it.

This is a leisurely slow read that plays out like a 1940's black and white film, extremely written and cinemat...more This is one review I’ve dreaded and looked forward to writing. My fear is that I won’t do it justice, won’t be able to impart even a glimmer of what this book is about to the future prospective readers.

Clair de Lune, Jetta Carleton’s last and thought to be lost (blown away in a 2003 tornado) novel finally came to print in 2012 and surely the world of literature is a better place for it.

This is a leisurely slow read that plays out like a 1940's black and white film, extremely written and cinematic. If you’re looking for gritty, realistic Southern fiction like the works of Carson McCullers or Eudora Welty (as I was), you won’t find it in this book.

This is the story of Allen (short for Barbara Allen), a first year teacher in a new junior college in rural Missouri at the brink of WWII. Allen really wants to go to New York City and possible be a writer but she realizes she needs to work for a while to build up a nest egg first. Despite the fact that her heart really isn’t into her teaching position, she makes the most of it and soon becomes very popular with the students. Her favorites are two male students, George and Toby. They peg her for a kindred spirit and soon begin hanging out with her during their spare time away from school. It’s all innocent at first, just meeting at her apartment, listening to records and discussing literature but soon they graduate to prowling the town at night, playing hide and seek in the fog, drinking cheap beer and singing as they walk through the dark alleys.

Allen and Toby begin a romantic relationship on the shy when George isn’t around and Allen blooms like a neglected, thirsty flower. It’s her first love and it’s every bit as thrilling as she’d hoped. After a period of time, the news gets back to the school board and the other teachers that Allen is not only seen fraternizing with male students after hours in sketchy locations throughout the town but also inviting them back to her apartment at night…

You might shrug your shoulders and say, “So what?” This book take place in 1940, that sort of thing wasn’t supposed to happen back then. Female teachers really had to tow the line and lead a very pure and circumspect life. Unmarried women didn’t invite men into her house at night and certainly not teachers… but Allen did. Her friendship with George and Toby is something so dear to her heart that she just doesn’t understand how other people might view the situation in a darker light. The other teachers stop talking to her and begin excluded her from social events and worse of all, she loses George and Toby. What to do? Does Allen tuck her tail between her legs and begin to lead a proper life befitting a 1940’s schoolteacher or does she follow her heart?(less)

like · see review

Feb 27, 2013 Charlie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: net-galley

Clair de Lune focuses on the innocence of a pre-war generation, both locally, globally and socially. There is a longing for what was, and a dread of what is to come -- the inevitable change. It also dips into the realm of boundaries not just separated by age, but influenced by position, power, gender and career. Although Allen is close in age with her students, she struggles with her new position at the university and the proper student-teacher relationship. What's relevant is how it might play...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 18, 2013 Shari Larsen rated it 5 of 5 stars

The setting for this story is southwest Missouri, 1941, before the U.S. has entered World War II. A single young woman named Allen Liles has just taken a job teaching at a junior college in a small town. She dreams of one day moving to New York and being a writer. She strikes up a friendship with two young men who are students, George, a lanky, carefree spirit, and Toby, dark-haired with a searching soul. They get together after school and on weekends, bantering and debating over books, ethics,...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 26, 2012 Lydia Presley rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, fiction, historic-fiction

This book charmed the pants off of me. Not literally, but you get what I'm saying.

I found an instant connection with Allen Liles -her love of reading, her passion for teaching. Set in a time period that boasts of innocence we've lost today, Clair de Lune also deals with adult themes that threaten the charming atmosphere of the book in a way that provides just the right amount of tension without overpowering the story.

Honestly, I felt like I was transported back into the world of my grandparents....more

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 27, 2012 Linda K K rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Mar 31, 2012 Joanne rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book started out a little slow for me, but I am so glad that I stuck it out as I found a new love and appreciation for the characters as the story developed. Young Allen isn't sure what to do with her life, but knowing that she needs to find a job to satisfy her debts, she lets her mother talk her into becoming a college professor at a small private institution. Her dreams are put on hold as she enters the world of higher education.

Allen is probably one of the youngest faculty members at th...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 07, 2012 Katie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012books

This was an intriguing pre-WWII historical fiction novel. What made it so interesting was that Jetta Carleton passed away in 1999 and it was discovered and published in 2012. I felt like they didn't want to edit the novel to preserve her memory, yet the novel could have used a few teaks to keep the plot line more vibrant.

Stepping into the head of Allen Lilly, a female teacher in the early 1940s made me think of my own grandmother, who was also teaching at that time. Now, as a teacher myself, we...more

like · see review

Jul 25, 2012 Esmeralda rated it 3 of 5 stars

I read Jetta Carleton's first book, The Moonflower Vine back in the sixties when it was a Reader's Digest condensed book. I loved it.

This book was not published until after her death. I didn't like it as much as her previous book. I did think that it was well written. It tells the story of a young woman who gets a job at a junior college just before the outbreak of World War II. She gets in trouble with the administration when it is rumored that she is having an inappropriate relationship with t...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 12, 2012 Audra (Unabridged Chick) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: era-1940s, era-wwii, heroine-amazing, mood-bittersweet, mood-evocative, place-american-south

Bittersweet. That's the lingering taste of this book, rich and redolent, and when I finished, I kind of wanted to spend the rest of my Sunday in a Claire de Lune-stupor, rereading the lovely passages and wallowing in the satisfyingly sad/happy mood of the novel.

Hope, optimism, and innocence are themes of this book, along with passion, delight in literature, and the joy of finding kindred souls. Barbara Allen Liles -- called Allen -- becomes a teacher at a junior college in an unnamed town in sou...more Bittersweet. That's the lingering taste of this book, rich and redolent, and when I finished, I kind of wanted to spend the rest of my Sunday in a Claire de Lune-stupor, rereading the lovely passages and wallowing in the satisfyingly sad/happy mood of the novel.

Hope, optimism, and innocence are themes of this book, along with passion, delight in literature, and the joy of finding kindred souls. Barbara Allen Liles -- called Allen -- becomes a teacher at a junior college in an unnamed town in southwestern Missouri. ("It is an orderly town, bred of the mines, nurtured by agriculture and some manufacture, a blend of Southern gentility and Western enterprise, firmly set in the conservatism of Middle America.", p3) A lonely young woman with aspirations of becoming a poet or novelist in Greenwich Village, Allen finds herself captivated, enamored of, and charmed by two of her students, George and Toby. Surrounded by the shadow of the war in Europe, Allen's constrained life as a teachers seems somewhat bearable with George and Toby in her life.

I really expected a basic love triangle with this story, but Carleton sets up something even more challenging to navigate through: male-female friendship and teacher-student relationships. In an era when women were held up to a different standard than men, Allen's actions are judged without interest or concern in her feelings or motivations. Her colleagues and acquaintances see and expect one thing from Allen, who has the mantle of 'teacher', and with that, some perception of power. It was fascinating, frustrating, and heartbreaking to read -- I so empathize and liked Allen -- and made even more nuanced by the fact that there isn't a clear and handy villain in all this.

I don't know if this is a historical novel; while set in 1941, I don't know when Carleton wrote this novel. It was recently discovered and published by Harper Perennial, and will include their P.S. section with interviews, 'insights', and more.

This is a skinny novel -- just about 300 pages -- and it can read fast or slow, depending on whether you have the patience to linger or (like me) rush through to the giddy, glorious, delicious end. I think fans of WWII novels will enjoy this not-quite-war novel, and anyone who enjoys a good heroine and ambiguous moral situations will find much to chew on in this book.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 27, 2012 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

http://www.gerberadaisydiaries.com/20...

Miss Allen Liles has recently accepted a position to teach at a local junior college, located in the foothills of the Ozarks. On the eve of WWII, positions are scarce – especially when you are a woman. Luckily, Miss Liles is an instant favorite with her students, because of her love of poetry and exuberance towards literature. But her position is put in jeopardy when a more than friendly relationship develops between her and 2 of her students – George and...more

like · see review

May 29, 2012 Mary rated it 5 of 5 stars

I think I enjoyed this book even more than Moonflower Vine and I loved that one. This is set in the Ozarks while WWII is going on in Europe but the United States has not yet joined in. It is the story of a young college educated woman and her first job as a teacher at a junior college in Missouri. I thought it was beautifully written and captured the essence of what women of that era faced with career decisions, career opportunities and what they wanted to do with their life. It is also a beauti...more

like · see review

Jul 29, 2012 Katherine Stewart rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, summer-reading-club-2012

After The Moonflower Vine I guess I was expecting more. It's not that this is a particularly bad book, but it was certainly a disappointment. I had a lot of trouble getting into it, and pretty much just kept pushing through to finish it. I read it in fits and starts between other books over the course of the last 6 weeks. The entirety of the book felt very weak, and it floated along without the narrative ever feeling very grounded.

I have to give the book a bit of a break since it was not a fini...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 01, 2011 Elizabeth B rated it 2 of 5 stars

I love to sink my teeth into a good literary history novel but this one fell surprisingly short. I had high hopes for it but it seems that no one bothered to edit this. The bones of a quality read are all here – depth of characters, setting, descriptions- but the amount of extraneous information nearly buries it. There is the “wall of text” failing where it is just pages and pages of no movement, no action, no revelations…just some inner monologue that adds nothing or a description of a building...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 10, 2012 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: recent-reads

this feels like a nice warm evening wrapped around your shoulders.

allen liles is hired as a professor at a community college in missouri. she is young and vibrant and not much older than her students.

she soon befriends two young proteges and they often find themselves walking around town having philosophical and academic discussions.

the story is set in 1941 as america is on the cusp of entering WWII. but this is really a story about allen finding her calling in life. of living your life for yo...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 14, 2012 Wesley Paine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Lovely book, a coming of age story--or maybe coming to wisdom is a better phrase--that's a little different from the typical. Somewhat sweeter than The Moonflower Vine, the only other book I know by Carleton--and that's not necessarily better. In fact, I liked Moonflower Vine more. But the writing is very good; I don't understand why this author is relatively unknown.

like · see review

May 19, 2013 Wanda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: loaner-books

Setting is preWWII on a college campus in Missouri. Sweet read about innocence and moving into adulthood.

Nice quote:

"There's always something else we think we want to do, at some stage in our lives. But we get over it, we outgrow it. And after a while we realize that where we are is where we are meant to be."

like · see review

Feb 18, 2013 Helen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Helen by: BOOK CLUB SELECTION

I felt this book was a good read. It was rather light, easy to follow, and subject matter not too deep. Fun reading a young woman's ambivalent move from irresponsible childhood, to the maturity of a junior college teacher in a small town in southwest Missouri. She did have some rough spots and also had the "usual small town "witch" who felt her job was to monitor all young women in the community for any "errows of her way" Much to Anna's benefit, Anna did have a dear old,retiring professor who i...more

like · see review

Jun 30, 2012 Elise rated it 3 of 5 stars

It's not you, Jetta Carleton; it's me. There was nothing wrong with "Clair de Lune" unless you are an English professor who doesn't want to read about English professors and other sundry neurotic academics grading research papers--a little too close to home and not enough of an escape for this reader. But I did finish it, and it was a fast read.

like · see review

Aug 15, 2012 Clnordberg rated it 3 of 5 stars

I liked parts of this book, but hated the ending. It was an interesting coming-of-age, but slightly older than most, as the main character was in her early twenties. I'd like to try the author's more famous book, The Moonflower Vine.

like · see review

Apr 18, 2012 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

A simple yet complex story - well written and interesting. A mixture of innocence and freedom. This story was completed after the death of the author and is a bit uneven at the end. But the ending stays true to the character in the story.

like · see review

Mar 01, 2012 Cassandra rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. It's so amazing how too much innocence can get you in trouble so quickly. It's not a super exciting or fast moving book, but very enjoyable nonetheless. I really felt I could relate to Allen.

like · see review

Jul 20, 2012 Mslogar rated it 4 of 5 stars

Beautifully written and a wonderful story! Set in the early 1940's, the story is subtle, nostalgic, and "sneaks" up on you so that by the end you really aren't sure what is going to happen.

like · see review

Apr 23, 2012 Pjgould rated it 2 of 5 stars

I checked this out as I had read The Moonflower Vine - same author. I found it slow moving and also could not believe the innocence (or ignorance) of the main character.

like · see review

May 10, 2012 Amy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Pretty sad I wasted time reading this. It was short and read easily, but the whole time I kept waiting for something to happen and nothing ever did. The main character was pathetic and whiny and I couldn't find any redeeming qualities in her at all. The only potentially interesting characters disappeared halfway through (cause for a lot of the whining) and came back at random towards the end. The two stars are for the style of writing and description which I did enjoy.

1 like · like · see review

May 21, 2012 Angelina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, fiction, historical

There are countless stories about male professors and young impressionable girls that fall for them. In this book it is the impressionable female teacher, who falls in with two of her male students. And then goes a step further and falls in love with one of them.

The feminism is striking on two levels. On the first level is the story of a bright young woman who pursued a career in education and suceeded, at a time when such an accomplishment was rare. On the second level is the young woman who lo...more

like · see review

Apr 10, 2012 Kristi rated it 2 of 5 stars

The last half was utterly impossible to get through. It's never taken me this long to get through a book, especially considering all the time that I made in which to read it. This book should have just remained undiscovered.

1 like · like · see review

Jul 01, 2012 Libbet rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

Interesting one. Apparently she was a Harper Lee type with one big publication until this was discovered long after she died.

like · see review

Mar 26, 2012 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars

Luminous. I can't wait to read this again. I'm not an underliner, but if I were I would've marked many beautiful passages in this book.

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 26 27 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (6)

More editions...

Genres

Historical Fiction

7 users

Literature > American

2 users

Romance

2 users

Adult

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Jetta Carleton

Jetta Carleton (1913-1999) was born in Holden, Missouri, and earned a master's degree at the University of Missouri. She worked as a schoolteacher, a radio copywriter in Kansas City, and a television advertising copywriter in New York City, and she ran a small publishing house with her husband in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

More about Jetta Carleton...

Books by Jetta Carleton

Condensed Books: The Artist, The Shoes of the Fisherman, The Moonflower Vine, Florence Nightingale, The Wild Grapes

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Clair de Lune: A ...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from Clair de Lune: A Novel

“And maybe it wasn't his love that brought him back, but hers. How seductive being loved could be.” — 2 people liked it

“The night spread wide around her, filled with its wonders.” — 2 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Clair de Lune: A Novel
avg rating	preview: Clair de Lune: A Novel Goodreads rating: 3.32 (171 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12410756-clair-de-lune?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348984450l/12410756.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12410756-clair-de-lune?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Clair de Lune: A Novel by Jetta Carleton[/url]

Clair de Lune: A Novel

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website