Beneath the Moon and Long Dead Stars

by Daniel Wallace

In the dazzling flash fictions of Beneath the Moon and Long Dead Stars, lives are altered in what appear to be minor an unlatched lock, an old photo, a light left on too long. But in the care of acclaimed novelist Daniel Wallace, those details constellate into something mysterious and magical. The drifter who is mistaken for a movie star, an old woman who sits on the roof of her house to smoke her secret cigarette, a man building a coffin for his wife—the men and women in these stories, hungry for connection, often find that everything hangs on a gust of wind or a single word. Beneath the Moon and Long Dead Stars tenderly navigates the shadows, inviting readers to take comfort. There's plenty of light left.

121 pages, Paperback

Published May 20, 2025

About the author

Daniel Wallace is author of five novels, including Big Fish (1998), Ray in Reverse (2000), The Watermelon King (2003), Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician (2007), and most recently The Kings and Queens of Roam (2013).

He has written one book for children, Elynora, and in 2008 it was published in Italy, with illustrations by Daniela Tordi. O Great Rosenfeld!, the only book both written and illustrated by the author, has been released in France and Korea and is forthcoming in Italy, but there are not, at this writing, any plans for an American edition.

His work has been published in over two dozen languages, and his stories, novels and non-fiction essays are taught in high schools and colleges throughout this country. His illustrations have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Italian Vanity Fair, and many other magazines and books, including Pep Talks, Warnings, and Screeds: Indispensible Wisdom and Cautionary Advice for Writers, by George Singleton, and Adventures in Pen Land: One Writer's Journey from Inklings to Ink, by Marianne Gingher. Big Fish was made into a motion picture of the same name by Tim Burton in 2003, a film in which the author plays the part of a professor at Auburn University.

He is in fact the J. Ross MacDonald Distinguished Professor of English, and director of the Creative Writing Program, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, his alma mater (Class of '08). He lives with his wife, Laura Kellison Wallace, in Chapel Hill. More information about him, his writing, and his illustrations can be found at www.danielwallace.org and www.ogreatrosenfeld.org.

Reviews

[Bob Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engrossing collection of micro/flash short stories--a genre that typically fails to impress me or to make lasting memories. Quite a few of these stories are memorably good, in particular the centerpiece story about the kidnapped girl "Welcome to Monroe" that is a more traditionally-length-ed short story than the rest of the collection. There's a couple of sentimental stories in here, some on the verge of weird, engrossing little conundrums that were a pleasure to read. Recommend.

[Phyllis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

[jerome · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful, heart-breaking, humorous journey served in bite-sized portions best shared and savored.

[Emily Shearer · Rating 5 out of 5]

These characters are woeful, and so so human. They argue, they fuck up, they run away; they build coffins. They climb up on a ladder to sit on their roof and smoke a daily cigarette. Wallace has boiled them down so that what's left is a concentrated capsule of grit, of the necessary prose, no chicken scratch or chicken shit, just the yolk and the white and the thin membrane of its newly laid shell.

"She smoked, and the smoke rose and quivered from the red and orange coal into a dreamy cloud, then off into a dreamy nothing. But most of the smoke was inside her, in her lungs and her blood. It made its way to her brain and she felt lighter, lighter. She felt like she could follow the smoke if she wanted. The cigarette didn't last very long, never as long as she wanted it to, but always time enough to review the plot points of her life. . . . Every night she climbed the ladder's rungs and sat here, here on top of the world, smoking, she wondered what it meant that out of all of oit, out of every single second she remembered, this was the best, the very best, the moment she lived for, surrounded by the invisible world beneath the moon and long dead stars, sharing her own light with the dark." From "The Ladder"

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Wallace’s 2024 memoir about his complicated relationship with his brother-in-law, so I was eager to read his latest book, even though I am not particularly drawn to short stories. As mentioned by one of the posters above, these are micro short stories-many of them 1 1/2 pages. They give you a nibble of a story, but they are too short to fully grasp a character or to develop much of a plot.
There are a couple of exceptions, in which the story was more fleshed out and thus more engaging. He is a good writer, but many of the stories left me wanting to know more. It is like going to a cocktail party, having a 10 minute conversation with someone, and never seeing them again.

[Anthony Schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of short shorts (twenty-three stories in one slim, shimmering volume). Wallace packs each story with humor and pathos, love, longing and human yearning. There's a lot of wisdom in these shorts, a cast of memorable characters and some beautiful writing. An innovative and memorable collection from a master of the form.

[Pip Snort · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple stories of small momemts with clever points of connection and flow.

[Helen · Rating 2 out of 5]

If this wasn’t written by Daniel Wallace, and if it hadn’t been signed to me, personally, by Wallace, I would not have finished it. Thankfully it is short.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many of these stories are gems. Many of them deal with loss, but you should not expect the collection to be depressing. Quite a few will give you a smile.