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Moon's Crossing
A stunning, cinematic debut novel set at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, Moon's Crossing explores a unique time in American history, when the romantic heritage of the nineteenth century merged with the industrial temperament of the modern age.
Jim Moon, an idealistic Union Army veteran, leaves his young wife and son to visit the World's Columbian Exposition, which has attracted America's greatest artists and thinkers as well as its drifters and schemers. Nick, a fast-talking con man, takes Moon to Pullman Town, a model city south of Chicago that is the site of the complex labor strike of 1894. Moon comes to see that the bright future the fair promised is compromised by greed. Unable to recapture his early vision of America, he takes his own life, and in so doing generates a surprising love story between a common young woman and a corrupt policeman as well as a major upheaval in the life of his neglected son.
Kaleidoscopic and fast-paced, Moon's Crossing draws on such sources as the traditional tall tale to present a unique narrative style. Moon's adventures are completely American, and the legacy he leaves is, ironically, more significant than his failed life would have foretold.
Jim Moon, an idealistic Union Army veteran, leaves his young wife and son to visit the World's Columbian Exposition, which has attracted America's greatest artists and thinkers as well as its drifters and schemers. Nick, a fast-talking con man, takes Moon to Pullman Town, a model city south of Chicago that is the site of the complex labor strike of 1894. Moon comes to see that the bright future the fair promised is compromised by greed. Unable to recapture his early vision of America, he takes his own life, and in so doing generates a surprising love story between a common young woman and a corrupt policeman as well as a major upheaval in the life of his neglected son.
Kaleidoscopic and fast-paced, Moon's Crossing draws on such sources as the traditional tall tale to present a unique narrative style. Moon's adventures are completely American, and the legacy he leaves is, ironically, more significant than his failed life would have foretold.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
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14 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 7, 2009
Jim Moon is a wanderer. He's fascinated with the Chicago World's Fair and will not be satisfied until he gets a chance to see it for himself; so much so that he's willing to leave his wife and infant son in Iowa in order to get there.
That's not where MOON'S CROSSING begins, however. The story begins with Moon's suicide in 1914, and goes backward and forward from that point. Reaching back to the American Civil War and forward to the start of the Great War, with stops at the Chicago Pullman strike and the 1893 World's Fair, among other things. A shifty police officer tries to solve the mystery of Moon's life, using letters, diaries and other ephemera in his possession.
The prose is beautifully written and pulls you along in a way that is admirable. The story, however, is slight and, in the end, rather unsatisfying, and that's a shame. Characters aren't very well defined and some are simply caricatures. It's clear that Barbara Croft is a talented author, and goodness knows she had a rich source of material with which to work. For some reason, sadly, it just didn't gel here.
That's not where MOON'S CROSSING begins, however. The story begins with Moon's suicide in 1914, and goes backward and forward from that point. Reaching back to the American Civil War and forward to the start of the Great War, with stops at the Chicago Pullman strike and the 1893 World's Fair, among other things. A shifty police officer tries to solve the mystery of Moon's life, using letters, diaries and other ephemera in his possession.
The prose is beautifully written and pulls you along in a way that is admirable. The story, however, is slight and, in the end, rather unsatisfying, and that's a shame. Characters aren't very well defined and some are simply caricatures. It's clear that Barbara Croft is a talented author, and goodness knows she had a rich source of material with which to work. For some reason, sadly, it just didn't gel here.
April 6, 2008
I am still not entirely sure what this book was about. Moon, I think he is the main character is a crazy man who lives in the past. The story is good but it is written in a choppy and confusing way. I didn't like the character of Moon but the other characters in the book were ok. I felt it was a waste of 2 days.
February 19, 2010
I was disappointed with this book. I felt that maybe if I didn't have the knowledge of Chicago, the World's Fair, and Pullman that I had before reading this book, it might have been better. Even though I got through this book in just 1 day, I felt that it was a slow read, and didn't really go anywhere. This book had an interesting idea, it just could have been done better!
February 26, 2009
This book was published the same season as THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY.
Both are about the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.
One is terrible and not worth your time and the other, I've heard, is fantastic.
Both are about the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.
One is terrible and not worth your time and the other, I've heard, is fantastic.
August 20, 2009
Pros:
* About the Chicago World's Fair, which is a topic that interested me from another book I read.
Cons:
* Boring.
Other:
* About the Chicago World's Fair, which is a topic that interested me from another book I read.
Cons:
* Boring.
Other:
January 18, 2012
Not as good as Devil in the White City, but another story with great storytelling!
January 29, 2016
Jumps constantly through times and places. Not hard to follow but gets annoying...
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews