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Clair de Lune
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 dreams of living in New York City, of dancing at recitals, of absorbing the bohemian delights of the Village. Then she encounters two young men: George, a lanky, carefree spirit, and Toby, a dark-haired, searching soul with a wary look in his eyes. Soon the three strike up an after-school friendship, bantering and debating over letters, ethics, and philosophy—innocently at first, but soon in giddy flirtation—until Allen and one of the young men push things too far, and the quiet happiness she has struggled so hard to discover is thrown into jeopardy.
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 dreams of living in New York City, of dancing at recitals, of absorbing the bohemian delights of the Village. Then she encounters two young men: George, a lanky, carefree spirit, and Toby, a dark-haired, searching soul with a wary look in his eyes. Soon the three strike up an after-school friendship, bantering and debating over letters, ethics, and philosophy—innocently at first, but soon in giddy flirtation—until Allen and one of the young men push things too far, and the quiet happiness she has struggled so hard to discover is thrown into jeopardy.
276 pages, Paperback
First published March 6, 2012
98 people are currently reading
857 people want to read
About the author
Jetta Carleton
9 books40 followersJetta 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
May 24, 2015
2.5 Stars
The author (Jetta Carleton) writes in chapter one that Allen Liles is a fictional character, but not all of the story is imagined.....part of it is her own.
Set in 1941 southern Missouri near the Ozark Mountains (JC's home town) 25 year old Allen has just accepted her first real job as a junior college teacher where she finds her proud self a good ten years younger than some of her colleagues and more like twenty or thirty than others.
This coming-of-age story is about inappropriate student-teacher friendships and flirtatious misconduct by a young naive woman trying to find her place in life. Unfortunately, not much here to sink your teeth into so I was left with an unsatisfied ho-hum feeling when it ended and a disappointing 2.5 star rating.
March 27, 2014
I received this book for free from the publisher. All content and opinions are my own.
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:
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:
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.
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.
March 18, 2013
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, and philosophy, innocently at first, but then it turns into flirtation, until Allen and one of the young men push things too far. Allen finds that the quiet happiness she has struggled so hard to attain, and her future, are in jeopardy. This was a time when young women still had limited choices, and the potential for social ostracism lurked around every corner.
This novel was just recently published, when it was found nearly 50 years after the authors death. I read her first novel, The Moonflower Vine, and enjoyed it very much. I enjoyed this one too; even though the setting was 1941, it had the modern feel of a novel that was written today, about a more innocent time. As far as I know, Jetta Carleton only wrote two novels; it's a shame, because she truly was a gifted writer.
This novel was just recently published, when it was found nearly 50 years after the authors death. I read her first novel, The Moonflower Vine, and enjoyed it very much. I enjoyed this one too; even though the setting was 1941, it had the modern feel of a novel that was written today, about a more innocent time. As far as I know, Jetta Carleton only wrote two novels; it's a shame, because she truly was a gifted writer.
March 26, 2012
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. Jetta Carleton, having lived through this time period, was so vivid in her descriptions and her characters had such an incredible voice that I couldn't help but get lost in the story. I devoured this one so quickly and as soon as I put it down, knew that it was a keeper.
It's not often I want to re-read books again as soon as I finish them, but I wanted to with Clair de Lune. If time had allowed... but perhaps it will another day soon.
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. Jetta Carleton, having lived through this time period, was so vivid in her descriptions and her characters had such an incredible voice that I couldn't help but get lost in the story. I devoured this one so quickly and as soon as I put it down, knew that it was a keeper.
It's not often I want to re-read books again as soon as I finish them, but I wanted to with Clair de Lune. If time had allowed... but perhaps it will another day soon.
May 21, 2023
Not for me, I only finished this because it was given to me by a beloved family member. Overly flowery, reminds me of the Henry James style of writing that Hemingway wanted to smash!
Follows Allen, a young female teacher at the cusp of the US joining WWII.
Follows Allen, a young female teacher at the cusp of the US joining WWII.
February 27, 2013
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 out today. Are her actions scandalous or more harmless given her age? What trumps proper behavior, age or paycheck?
Where it falls short for me is that given the philosophical struggles and controversial implications, the story does not seize the potential moments to really punch the points. This is more of a going through the daily motions with little resolution or heighten tension. Sure, there are parts where we get a tremor of trouble, but they are not pushed to the limit and held to really create the effect I was hungry for.
Then, the biggest disappointment of all comes at the end. The ending or rather where the story just stops occurs! Did anyone else feel this way? It just ended with a slight shoulder shrug and an oh well, that was kinda fun feeling. I suppose this lends toward the Bohemian effect that the author was trying to instill in the book, along with the attitudes of the characters, but I found it abrupt and unsatisfying. I literally turned the page and said (out loud), "That's it!?" I don't like putting down a book with the thought that I just wasted my time, but admittedly, the thought crossed my mind after finishing Clair de Lune. Overall impression: A tepid cup of Earl Gray tea
Where it falls short for me is that given the philosophical struggles and controversial implications, the story does not seize the potential moments to really punch the points. This is more of a going through the daily motions with little resolution or heighten tension. Sure, there are parts where we get a tremor of trouble, but they are not pushed to the limit and held to really create the effect I was hungry for.
Then, the biggest disappointment of all comes at the end. The ending or rather where the story just stops occurs! Did anyone else feel this way? It just ended with a slight shoulder shrug and an oh well, that was kinda fun feeling. I suppose this lends toward the Bohemian effect that the author was trying to instill in the book, along with the attitudes of the characters, but I found it abrupt and unsatisfying. I literally turned the page and said (out loud), "That's it!?" I don't like putting down a book with the thought that I just wasted my time, but admittedly, the thought crossed my mind after finishing Clair de Lune. Overall impression: A tepid cup of Earl Gray tea
July 29, 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 finished manuscript, and was edited and published posthumously. The thing I loved about The Moonflower Vine was the meticulous editing and tight weaving of narrative. It was flawless. I am sure she could have managed that here, but never had the chance.
I appreciate what Carleton was doing with this story and what she was attempting to achieve. The story of a young, single woman in a 1940s small midwestern town who is torn between security, responsibility and propriety, and dreams of freedom, creative fulfillment and meaningful relationships is certainly worthy of exploration and consideration. But, I felt like the story itself never really took off. When it was over, I just felt like..."well, okay." It's such a bummer that Carleton was never able to work with this manuscript to its end. I think that's what is missing here.
I have to give the book a bit of a break since it was not a finished manuscript, and was edited and published posthumously. The thing I loved about The Moonflower Vine was the meticulous editing and tight weaving of narrative. It was flawless. I am sure she could have managed that here, but never had the chance.
I appreciate what Carleton was doing with this story and what she was attempting to achieve. The story of a young, single woman in a 1940s small midwestern town who is torn between security, responsibility and propriety, and dreams of freedom, creative fulfillment and meaningful relationships is certainly worthy of exploration and consideration. But, I felt like the story itself never really took off. When it was over, I just felt like..."well, okay." It's such a bummer that Carleton was never able to work with this manuscript to its end. I think that's what is missing here.
September 17, 2020
A relaxing read about a young adult that has gotten her college degree, is still living with her mom, and has always been reserved so she now wants to leave home and expand out a bit. She lands a teaching job at a Jr college in another town. She takes it with the idea of saving some money then heading to New York for an eventual career in writing. She is bright, smart, and a good teacher that the students like. She ends up becoming friends with two of the guys in one of her classes. Seeing no harm, their friendship expands to being together several night a week for fun book discussions, listening to music, and drinking some beer. Eventually the rumors starts, putting her job and reputation on the line.
May 11, 2012
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.
August 22, 2014
Claire de Lune: A Novel by Jetta Carleton caught my attention with it's header: "A newly discovered Novel" which took me a second to process. It was found after the author's death in 1999, much to the surprise of everyone who thought it had been lost to a tornado. I'm very happy I decided to give this surprisingly fast read a chance.
Claire De Lune is first and foremost, a classic coming-of-age tale. Set as the second world war approaches the United States, the story follows the female protagonist as she begins her teaching career with some hesitation. She soon starts a seminar in which she develops a close friendship with two of her male students. This is all I will disclose in terms of synopsis.
This is a story of growth and innocence lost, yet it doesn't breach the caustic realm that one may imagine when student/teacher relationships become unhealthy. And unlike other coming of age tales, the protagonist is old enough to be a teacher, but still young (especially considering the meaning of innocence relevant to the time in which it's depicted) and attempting to figure out what she wants. If you're looking for a tale of romance, this one does not revolve around it, though it is present. The romance itself is really what begins her journey into better understanding what she wants for herself.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Though I didn't particularly relate to the actual protagonist, I have felt her uncertainties myself. Carleton crafted an interesting journey with beautiful metaphors. If I could I would give it 3.5 stars instead of just 3. My reason for not giving it 4 stars? ... I did enjoy the novel very much, but I felt it was not as resolved as it could have been had Carleton known it was going to be published. It was still a work in progress when she died, so it had to be pieced together by others. This, I think, is what kept it from reaching it's full potential.
All in all, recommended. This would be an interesting one for book clubs as well.
Claire De Lune is first and foremost, a classic coming-of-age tale. Set as the second world war approaches the United States, the story follows the female protagonist as she begins her teaching career with some hesitation. She soon starts a seminar in which she develops a close friendship with two of her male students. This is all I will disclose in terms of synopsis.
This is a story of growth and innocence lost, yet it doesn't breach the caustic realm that one may imagine when student/teacher relationships become unhealthy. And unlike other coming of age tales, the protagonist is old enough to be a teacher, but still young (especially considering the meaning of innocence relevant to the time in which it's depicted) and attempting to figure out what she wants. If you're looking for a tale of romance, this one does not revolve around it, though it is present. The romance itself is really what begins her journey into better understanding what she wants for herself.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Though I didn't particularly relate to the actual protagonist, I have felt her uncertainties myself. Carleton crafted an interesting journey with beautiful metaphors. If I could I would give it 3.5 stars instead of just 3. My reason for not giving it 4 stars? ... I did enjoy the novel very much, but I felt it was not as resolved as it could have been had Carleton known it was going to be published. It was still a work in progress when she died, so it had to be pieced together by others. This, I think, is what kept it from reaching it's full potential.
All in all, recommended. This would be an interesting one for book clubs as well.
March 31, 2012
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 the junior college where she has been hired. She lets her love of literature lead the way for her life in teaching and even thinks of ways that she could excel in this department. Considering that she isn't much older than some of her students, she finds it easier to build friendships with them rather than her fellow peers. Later in the novel, these friendships will make Allen the subject of an academic witch hunt, giving her the opportunity to re-evaluate her priorities.
As Allen dodges academic failure, she easily falls into a pattern and lifestyle that would benefit anyone striving for a successful teaching career. But will these temporary goals deter her from her true dreams of becoming a writer herself? How can she fulfill her own desires as she struggles through life trying to do something she doesn't truly love?
I enjoyed this novel that also had a nervous edge to it as the U.S. is getting ready to enter World War II. I found the writing beautiful and almost poetic at times, and with themes of war, love, friendship, and dreams, you may want to pick this book up yourself. I don't hesitate in recommending this novel.
Allen is probably one of the youngest faculty members at the junior college where she has been hired. She lets her love of literature lead the way for her life in teaching and even thinks of ways that she could excel in this department. Considering that she isn't much older than some of her students, she finds it easier to build friendships with them rather than her fellow peers. Later in the novel, these friendships will make Allen the subject of an academic witch hunt, giving her the opportunity to re-evaluate her priorities.
As Allen dodges academic failure, she easily falls into a pattern and lifestyle that would benefit anyone striving for a successful teaching career. But will these temporary goals deter her from her true dreams of becoming a writer herself? How can she fulfill her own desires as she struggles through life trying to do something she doesn't truly love?
I enjoyed this novel that also had a nervous edge to it as the U.S. is getting ready to enter World War II. I found the writing beautiful and almost poetic at times, and with themes of war, love, friendship, and dreams, you may want to pick this book up yourself. I don't hesitate in recommending this novel.
September 1, 2011
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. The characters have been given names not at all in line with the time period of the novel and the way characters act aren’t congruent with the times either. The most annoying of things, though, was the preaching to the reader. Quite often the story would be broken into and the author would state something similar to “I wrote this down and its how it was.” Well, now, that was a bit unnecessary, don’t you think? There was just no legitimate point to it. Even worse were the “literary discussions” that read like essays on Hemingway, Faulkner and the like. They were thrown in and disguised as seminars or lectures but instead were just the author’s espousing of personal opinions that added nothing to the story itself. Unfortunate really because I had had high hopes for this novel.
ARC Galley Proof
ARC Galley Proof
February 24, 2022
I was pleased to see that another novel by Jetta Carleton had been found. I got it from my library as soon as I learned of it. Her first book, The Moonflower Vine, is a favorite book of mine and one that I have read twice and may read again. I did not enjoy this one quite as much but I believe this one will be a favorite as well. This coming of age story is a story of a young woman who enters into teaching in a small college in Missouri and her struggles with the decision whether to continue as a teacher since that was not her first choice of a profession. Much of the writing was quite beautiful and portions of the story are autobiographical. The notes and insights and details about how the book came to be unpublished until after her death were very interesting to me.
September 19, 2025
3.5. Glad to find another book by Carleton, this is very autobiographical and trace her journey toward her decision to leave Missouri.
March 31, 2012
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.
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.
May 10, 2012
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?
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?
April 27, 2012
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 Toby. Will the gossip and innuendo that begins to circulate on campus, threaten Allen’s future as a professor? Will her dreams of moving to New York City outweigh her need to stay and defend her reputation? Only Allen’s fortitude will determine her future.
Ms. Carleton has seemingly taken a simple story line, with few and simple characters and turned it into an emotionally charged, feminist treatise on the life of a single woman trying to make a living in the 1940s and maintain her integrity.
It is brimming with tension and subtle complexity – with a gaggle of “ladies,” as Allen calls her female colleagues, as they disassociate from her after the rumors begin to circulate; a brilliant, but naïve dean, who makes ill-advised advances towards her; a stodgy Board member who starts the whole mess; and two innocent, but brilliant students with whom Allen befriends.
I loved The Moonflower Vine, Ms. Carleton’s “rediscovered” classic. This, although not as complex as her first novel, is equally well written and multi-layered.
I only wish she had written MORE novels! I could devour every word!
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 Toby. Will the gossip and innuendo that begins to circulate on campus, threaten Allen’s future as a professor? Will her dreams of moving to New York City outweigh her need to stay and defend her reputation? Only Allen’s fortitude will determine her future.
Ms. Carleton has seemingly taken a simple story line, with few and simple characters and turned it into an emotionally charged, feminist treatise on the life of a single woman trying to make a living in the 1940s and maintain her integrity.
It is brimming with tension and subtle complexity – with a gaggle of “ladies,” as Allen calls her female colleagues, as they disassociate from her after the rumors begin to circulate; a brilliant, but naïve dean, who makes ill-advised advances towards her; a stodgy Board member who starts the whole mess; and two innocent, but brilliant students with whom Allen befriends.
I loved The Moonflower Vine, Ms. Carleton’s “rediscovered” classic. This, although not as complex as her first novel, is equally well written and multi-layered.
I only wish she had written MORE novels! I could devour every word!
April 22, 2016
The heroine in this story is a school teacher and I am a school teacher so I had an immediate connection. I felt her timidity at the start of school. I felt her eagerness to teach the students even more than during class time. (Oh for students who asked for more...) **stope here for spoilers*** Of course I knew she had overstepped and gone too far. I did feel a longing for her wild abandon with the boys. She had a sense of freedom that not many every experience. It was the opposite feeling when she was with the straight laced Dr.- co- teacher. (I forget his name) They were at opposite ends of the spectrum. One represented life and the other safety. I admit that for a minute I wished her to be sensible and at least date the good teacher for a while. I also hoped that since she was given a second chance that she should be a good girl, and watch the rules and be a teacher. She shouldn't be such "Friends" with the students. I thought that was what she was going to do. So-- I was really shocked when she decided to take off- and go seek after her dreams. Why couldn't she write her book in the evenings while teaching? Then I realized that she was facing the fork in the road. Like Frost said-- 'What would happen if you take the road less traveled?' So- she choose the unknown. It made me think about it for days. What roads have I not taken? What was I too timid to even try? Did I make the right choices in my life? Do I have any regrets?-- These are the questions that this book raised for me. When she is in the Dean's office and the Dean confesses to her that he never wanted to be a teacher. They both cry together. I cried too. What road did you choose?
June 5, 2017
It literally kills my soul to put a 2-star review. It's being honest though, and I'm sorry. I didn't find the storyline engaging, and the character was one I could take or leave. I connected with her on the teaching aspect and wanting to leave teaching to write, so that was awesome. However, the interactions of the story and her relationship with "her boys" left me feeling a little uncomfortable. I know there's so much shout-out for "show, don't tell", but I do feel this story could have benefited from a little more show, dialogue, etc. Since it is literary fiction, I should have known, but I always go into a story thinking the best. I have read several literature fiction books I love (Did someone mention "A Man Called Ove"?), but this was not one of them. The idea of it taking place in WWII also intrigued me and made me pick it up with excitement, but I didn't find anything really pertaining to the war except the mention of the draft. That was it. The love story also fell short for me because it wasn't really a "love story" and felt awkward.
As the rating indicates, I felt it was an okay book but not one I would pick up again or share with a friend to read. I have to say, the ending was the best part. I did appreciate the main character's decision at the end. I think it showed she did grow. I did like Mr. Frawley, and the MC's interactions with him. Overall, it was okay. I feel bad giving a 2-star, but I hope this explains why and gives other readers the opportunity to be aware of the story, but still give it a try. Thanks!
As the rating indicates, I felt it was an okay book but not one I would pick up again or share with a friend to read. I have to say, the ending was the best part. I did appreciate the main character's decision at the end. I think it showed she did grow. I did like Mr. Frawley, and the MC's interactions with him. Overall, it was okay. I feel bad giving a 2-star, but I hope this explains why and gives other readers the opportunity to be aware of the story, but still give it a try. Thanks!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 6, 2020
This was a book I picked up because it was on sale and I didn't think that it would be something I would adore. Reading it, I felt that there was so much similarity between me and the protagonist, Allen. I think any of us who love reading and art would relate to her. The whole book, I feel is really meant for a bookworm who fangirls over Faulkner and Robert Frost.
Allen Liles is an English professor, very young and others would say too young to even be teaching in higher education. Her story is simple and have been told time and time again (as mentioned by the narrator at the beginning of the novel) but the way it unravels is quite beautiful. I could not put this book down because I was curious on the turn of events. The way sentences were composes resembles a lot of the YA novels you see nowadays with a touch of unique metaphors. There were a lot of quotes that I would like to keep.
I do have to say that it is somewhat lacking. It has lots of potential but it would not be one of my favorites, although, I quite enjoyed it. It's worth reading especially if you're looking for something light. It was a pleasure to read, I did not have to endlessly re-read the lines to get it. I did not cringe at any parts because of cliches. It was seamless in a way that I did not feel burdened to read it. It just crept on me and before I knew it, I had already finished the book.
Allen Liles is an English professor, very young and others would say too young to even be teaching in higher education. Her story is simple and have been told time and time again (as mentioned by the narrator at the beginning of the novel) but the way it unravels is quite beautiful. I could not put this book down because I was curious on the turn of events. The way sentences were composes resembles a lot of the YA novels you see nowadays with a touch of unique metaphors. There were a lot of quotes that I would like to keep.
I do have to say that it is somewhat lacking. It has lots of potential but it would not be one of my favorites, although, I quite enjoyed it. It's worth reading especially if you're looking for something light. It was a pleasure to read, I did not have to endlessly re-read the lines to get it. I did not cringe at any parts because of cliches. It was seamless in a way that I did not feel burdened to read it. It just crept on me and before I knew it, I had already finished the book.
March 23, 2020
After reading The Moonflower Vine, I had to read Jetta Carlson's second book which was a beautiful, meaningful to me, as a teacher, coming of age story. A young, naive teacher is hired by a small junior college as an English literature teacher. She's the youngest teacher there and is able to see the other teachers and the school from a fresh perspective. Unable to identify with the other teachers, staid conformist in the 1941, pre WW2 society, she finds fun and excitement with two lively male students leading her to the decision of her life. Carlson creates fully dimensional, flawed characters, as we see when the teacher becomes the object of gossip. Carlson uses the characters in this book to represent the various paths the protagonist, Allan, might take instead of the path she's always dreamed about --- the boys entering adulthood and the possible draft, the Phd professor tied to his mother, the dean who didn't take the path less travelled, the lady teachers who've chosen security, and the society bride whose chosen marriage. The symbolism of the dark, the moonlight, the town, the fog are beautifully expressed. I was left with memories of my own similar decision, and the restrictions society put on a woman in earlier decades and even now. The book evokes a charming, dreamlike quality. Being personally important to me, I will not forget Clair de Lune.
January 25, 2016
This book was a strange and unexpected delight. It didn't always read smoothly, and the dialog sometimes seemed a little forced, but I fell in love with this book as a kind of fairy tale for grown ups, all the magic happening in the moonlight and the fog. It would be difficult to read this book and not be swept back to your early 20s, torn between wanting a life of adventure and needing a life of stability, caught in between all kinds of social pressures, not sure what to do but in search of a way to live a life authentically. Consider this paragraph towards the end: "Until one night there should come a footstep at her door and a young face appear there, eager, bright with laughter, with the spring moon behind him and the long, gray deadly waste of years stretching ahead of her, and she would run, reckless with joy, into the dappled beckoning light." If we accept the "him" as a metaphor for the promise of adventure and the unknown, and the "dappled, beckoning light" as a representation of our deepest heart's desires, well heck. I can't think of a truer paragraph I've read in recent memory.
April 27, 2012
A somewhat day to day tale of a girl who becomes a college teacher in the 1940's, teaching English. Struggles of how she came to be there are told and also her longing to strike out and go to New York and become a writer and live more of the life she believes she wants.
Her college time is threatened by the suspicions of some that she has acted rather unbecomingly with some of her male students, by spending time out with them and also having them into her apartment. Although this is true, she keeps it to herself and in the end is given a clear bill and aa contract for the new year.
She ends our story by deciding that her behavior with the boys is really more in line with who she is and she decides not to stay at the school. This feeling could also have been encouraged by the knowledge that the country was near to being drawn into the war and that she should make her life as she wants.
A book not known to have existed until the authors's death and had to be finished by others.
Her college time is threatened by the suspicions of some that she has acted rather unbecomingly with some of her male students, by spending time out with them and also having them into her apartment. Although this is true, she keeps it to herself and in the end is given a clear bill and aa contract for the new year.
She ends our story by deciding that her behavior with the boys is really more in line with who she is and she decides not to stay at the school. This feeling could also have been encouraged by the knowledge that the country was near to being drawn into the war and that she should make her life as she wants.
A book not known to have existed until the authors's death and had to be finished by others.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 8, 2013
One-book-wonder Jetta Carleton was actually a two-book wonder, as it turns out. A draft manuscript for Clair de Lune (then called The Back Alleys of Spring), was discovered in the custody of an old friend of Carleton’s and published in 2012 by Harper Perennial after some “cleaning up.”
It’s a slighter work than The Moonflower Vine, but for me more enjoyable to read, simply because I identified with the main character, Allen, a community college instructor, and her desire to escape the small-minded philistines of rural America and pursue a life of learning and art. I liked how Carleton played with the teacher-student relationship and challenged the reader to defend traditional notions of propriety. (Carleton wrote two novels and both involve inappropriate student-teacher relationships…what’s that about?). As I said, I enjoyed it, but at the end of the day, my impression of the book was that it was a hair jejune, maybe a little self-serving, definitely of its time – not timeless.
August 14, 2013
A story about a young woman who teaches English at a junior college in a small southern Missouri town. She discovers herself and her ultimate desires as well as grow up into adulthood. It's early WWII time period, and her innocence about the war, naivete, and denial, then admittance are explored.
It was a quick fun read. Carelton did a great job describing the settings, feelings, mood, characters, and atmoshpere. I could really put myself in the main character's shoes and felt as though I could experience the same things.
My favorite parts of the book are the adventures she has during the nighttime. Carelton did such a great job portraying youth being playful, michevious, and innocent at that time.
It was a quick fun read. Carelton did a great job describing the settings, feelings, mood, characters, and atmoshpere. I could really put myself in the main character's shoes and felt as though I could experience the same things.
My favorite parts of the book are the adventures she has during the nighttime. Carelton did such a great job portraying youth being playful, michevious, and innocent at that time.
July 25, 2012
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 two of her male students. In the end she has to decide whether she wants to be conventional and remain at the college or follow her heart and do other things.
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 two of her male students. In the end she has to decide whether she wants to be conventional and remain at the college or follow her heart and do other things.
January 25, 2021
Another blah book...I must be on a streak of them right now. This was very bland writing and actually very little action as well. Allen has a minor flirtation with a couple of college kids close to her age and they're ready to brand her a slut. There's a sidebar angle with another teacher getting married and Allen has some thoughts on that, but nothing earthshattering. The plot was a bit of a mishmash and didn't seem at times to know where it wanted to go. Allen was a boring character who also couldn't seem to decide where she wanted to go. Really glad I didn't pay money for this one.
June 10, 2012
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 yourself. of not being afraid to follow your passion.
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 yourself. of not being afraid to follow your passion.
August 2, 2014
Claire de Lune ...by Jetta Carleton.. This is Jetts story about wanting to be a writer and living in New York City. She shares her college days and her teaching of children, also her many friends. She was envied because of her teaching position. She did have her contract. In the late thirty's rule for teacher conduct were old and out of date. They had the same rule since 1872. Her students came to her as little boys and when she said good bye for the summer they left like men. She loved teaching. Great story.
August 21, 2015
This long lost story, only the second novel by the late author Jetta Carleton, has an odd charm to it--beautifully written in a simple form as haunting as the melody for which it is titled. The year 1941 was pivotal with excellent, but brief historical references adding to the authenticity and well developed and believable characters--set in small town middle America on the brink of war and struggling post-Depression. I was uneasy but captivated by the teacher/students after hours relationship, the angst of revelation and the path to redemption.
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