Hunter's Moon: A Novel in Stories

by Philip Caputo

"Powerful....Caputo's wisdom runs deep. Few writers have better captured the emotional lives of men." — The New York Times Book Review

From Philip Caputo — the author of A Rumor of War , The Longest Road , and Some Rise By Sin — comes a captivating mosaic of stories set in a small town where no act is private and the past is never really past

Hunter’s Moon is set in Michigan’s wild, starkly beautiful Upper Peninsula, where a cast of recurring characters move into and out of each other’s lives, building friendships, facing loss, confronting violence, trying to bury the past or seeking to unearth it. Once-a-year lovers, old high-school buddies on a hunting trip, a college professor and his wayward son, a middle-aged man and his grief-stricken father, come together, break apart, and, if they’re fortunate, find a way forward.

Hunter ’s Moon offers an engaging, insightful look at everyday lives but also a fresh perspective on the way men navigate in today’s world.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Contemporary, Audiobook

275 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 6, 2019

About the author

American author and journalist. Author of 18 books, including the upcoming MEMORY AND DESIRE (Sept. 2023). Best known for A Rumor of War, a best-selling memoir of his experiences during the Vietnam War. Website: PhilipCaputo.com

Reviews

[Angela M · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is a beautiful place where men come to hunt grouse, deer, and caribou, or to fish, but the men who come here carry more than their hunting gear and sometimes come looking for more than wildlife. Some carry the burden of alcoholism, some are fathers and sons who are distanced with broken relationships that in ways seem irreparable, some are carrying the burden of war, another is an angry murderer. This is mostly about men, but one of the stories is about a woman who also carries a burden of loss and struggles to redefine herself. The title calls this a novel in stories, but while the stories are connected by characters or by theme and definitely by place, I can’t say that it read like a novel. Having said that, I love how these stories were connected. I did not relate to the hunting and there was a good bit of that. I did however, relate to the characters whose experiences and burdens were very realistic.

While several characters appear in more than one story, the character of Will Treadwell appears in all but one, I believe. In two of the them, he is the central character. Will is a Vietnam vet, a tavern owner and part time hunting guide. In one of the stories he faces the violence of an angry man and in another appears as a counselor to veterans. He’s my favorite character. I also felt for the character of Lisa Williams from “THE GUEST” which is the single story with a woman at it’s center. She is also a recurring character trying to make sense of things after an earlier tragedy. A word of warning - there is some violence here and there is hunting of animals for anyone particularly sensitive. In spite of this, I found this to be well written and the author has a keen sense of the realistic emotions of flawed characters that are very relatable. The writing held me and I found it to be beautifully descriptive in places which described this atmospheric place, enough so that I would try another book by Caputo.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Henry Holt and Company through NetGalley.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fair warning to those who are disturbed by detailed accounts of hunting: there are a lot of passages depicting wildlife being stalked and killed. I think this is important for readers to know before they purchase this book; however, there’s a danger in stating this, as well. If I had realized how much of the book revolves around these things, I probably wouldn’t have read it, not because I’m squeamish or am so adamantly against hunting. It just doesn’t interest me that much. But if I hadn’t read the book, I would have missed out on deeper, more subtle storylines that I enjoyed very much.

Chapters in Hunter's Moon: A Novel in Stories are stand-alone stories. Each can be read separately of the rest of the book, but there are recurring characters throughout which add dimension and interest as we learn different aspects of their lives over the years.

The stories are about men, their relationships with each other and how they handle events that face them. Some of the events are violent; most of them are emotional and insightful. There are also a couple of strong women who interact with the men and how the actions of each sex affect the other.

The final chapter, or story, does not deal with hunting wildlife the way the rest of the book does, yet in my mind, it was still about the hunt – a hunt for something within each of us that is often beyond our reach.

4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co. for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a ‘guy’s book’ that takes place largely in the northern hardwood forest of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. This excellently written collection of linked stories is about damaged middle-aged men. Caputo captures the emotional truth of these men. Many of the stories revolve around the bonding men enjoy while hunting together with their well-trained bird dogs. The outdoors helps these men heal from the traumas, hurts, and disappointments of their everyday lives.

Middle-aged Jeffery Havlicek brings his aging father on a hunting trip following Hal’s wife’s death in “Grief”. Jeffery hopes that the two of them can find common ground after a lifetime of quarreling. In “The Nature of Love on the Last Frontier”, a father tries to bond with his son—an impetuous young man that won’t listen to reason—while hunting in Alaska. Will Treadwell, owner of a brew pub, also works as a hunting guide. “Dreamers” recounts a tragedy when Will guides two Chicago policemen on a bear hunt. He also features in the story “Lost” where he loses his mental equilibrium, as well as becoming lost in the forest he generally knows well. The best story is “Blockers” where three men have been friends ever since their High School football days. Tom and Paul blocked for their star quarterback, Bill Erickson, back in the day---and Bill appears to need their help once again.

The first full moon in October is the Hunter’s Moon. Enjoy!

[jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the interconnected stories of this book. Philip Caputo is a master storyteller who can put nature, masculinity, grief, endurance and adventure in beautifully shaped paragraphs. I love the sense of a land (the UP) I didn't know, and, as a woman, I love seeing a man talk about middle-aged guys without self-pity or macho bullshit. These are men with bruises and scars, many of them Vietnam vets, and their friends take care of them, and love them, tenderly. Like all men in this patriarchal world of ours they are not super good with words, but they try, and other men listen and stick with them, and this reads like a bit of a dream in which the rules of rugged masculinity are thrown out of the window and men get to grieve, as best they can. I don't see tender masculinity represented a lot, but this is what Caputo does here, without shame. Very beautiful.

[Bet · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rating books on Goodreads is difficult since the stars don't allow one to differentiate a book "liked" from one well constructed and written but still not enjoyed. The latter type would be my rating of Caputo's hunting stories. Having grown up in the Upper Peninsula, I was looking forward to some insights into the lives of men who live there. Instead, the men were "below the bridge" guys who come to the UP to hunt and bring their hangups with them. The place played almost no part except as a wilderness, which the UP really isn't. It's not Caputo's fault, but the book didn't meet the expectations set up by the publicity.

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent writing.. made me weep at times..

[Lizzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure I was the right audience for this book. These were short stories that all intertwined. But there was a lot of graphic hunting. Now I will say, I am from the south, and I grew up in household where my father went hunting. I am just not sure I wanted to read all the in depth thoughts and graphic details.

With all that being said, I can still understand good writing and a fantastic job of weaving stories together to form one cohesive unit.

3.5 stars for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for allowing me to read and review.

[Hannah // Book Nerd Native · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book that was set in the Michigan Upper Peninsula. As a Michigander myself, I really wanted to connect to the landscape and the characters in this story. I honestly think that this book is just more geared towards a male audience. I had such a hard time feeling for the main characters, and the descriptions of the wilderness seemed so flat and lifeless to me. Unfortunately this one was just not a book that I could get into, which was such a bummer!

*Thank you so much Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review*

[Kasa Cotugno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Described as a "mosaic of stories," Hunter's Moon is primarily about men hunting within and without. Many stories feature hunting expeditions and unresolved issues between fathers and sons, and there are several recurring characters whose arcs are fleshed out and completed, and as with most short stories, there are some that remain incomplete. The characters are primarily male, but there is one strong exception, one story in which a woman truly comes into her own.

Philip Caputo, like Tim O'Brien, is still harboring the Vietnam of his youth. Most of these characters, well into their 60s, have had military experience behind them, and by seeking satisfaction in blood sports in the Michigan's Upper Peninsula, they are trying to resolve the demons faced decades earlier ("You go into combat one thing, you come out something else, if you live through it. You aren't you anymore.")

[Tonstant Weader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hunter’s Moon is a collection of short stories centered on an Upper Peninsula community that is oriented toward hunting and fishing tourism. Characters from one story show up in another, tying them together in a a novelistic anthology. The first story, “Blockers,” has three middle-aged men coming together to go game bird hunting, keeping their high school friendship alive, but the high school golden boy is drinking too much and his wife have tasked the others to keep an eye on him and sneak some Zoloft in his orange juice. “Grief” has a father and son on a hunting trip. Their relationship is difficult, at best, and the father is distracted by grief at the loss of his wife.

In “Dreamers” a hunting guide named Will confronts a returned soldier with PTSD leading to a manhunt for a killer. In the “Nature of Love on the Last Frontier”, father and son go hunting for Dall Sheep in Alaska. The son is reckless and rude and the father hopes they can bridge their divide. “Lost” takes us back to Will now dealing with the repercussions of his confrontation, he becomes erratic and angry and insults a friend. When he decides to apologize, he gets lost in the woods. “The Guest” is the first one that centers on a woman, the widow of one of the earlier characters, who opens a B&B and loves it. She has a passionate affair, an episodic one that recurs ever year when he comes for the hunting season. The final story, “Lines of Departure” a writer goes with Will to a retreat. They are going as mentors to vets with PTSD.



I loved Hunter’s Moon. I think my brother would love it but he only reads newspapers and nonfiction. It reminds me a bit of one of my favorite books of all time, “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien. In fact, Caputo proffers a similar lesson. In fact, consider this from Caputo, “I sensed that Will felt he had heard a true war story—no heroics, no excitement, and no redemption.” Now here is Tim O’Brien, “A true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior, nor restrain men from doing the things men have always done. If a story seems moral, do not believe it.”

I loved these stories. I thought “The Guest” was a weaker story than the others even though it carries the stories forward and expands our sense of the community. I guess it was that Lisa’s interests were so much smaller than the men in their stories, though I did appreciate her decision at the end and her sense of independence.

I love short stories. When the anthology comes together, weaving people together in story after story it’s even better.

I received an e-galley of Hunter’s Moon from the publisher through NetGalley.

Hunter’s Moon at Henry Holt and Co. | Macmillan
Phil Caputo author site

https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...

[Doug Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being from Michigan, the author almost lost me on the 2nd page when one of the characters talks about "having sodas instead of wine for dinner." Soda?? In Michigan we do NOT drink "soda," we drink "pop!" So much for local research. After that there were no more major gaffes and I'll grant him poetic license to be a bit loose with U.P. geography. FYI, from various references, I began to identify the fictitious town of "Vieux Desert" in the book with Grand Marais, which is in about the right position and about like the town that's described in the book.

Anyway, I had a hard time getting into the various characters other than Will Treadwell, who appears in most of them. I have never hunted, although I have nothing at all against hunting, and rather enjoyed the descriptions of trekking through the wilderness looking for various types of game.

Overall I didn't think it was particularly well written, nor did it comprise what I would call a "novel." The last story, especially, didn't seem to fit and I would have been satisfied for the book to have ended with the story following up on Lisa, the wife of the central character of the first story.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

There isn't enough contemporary fiction geared towards the male audience and that is why I think books like this are important.
I couldn't connect to any of the characters and this is going to sound weird but I could connect to the issues surrounding the characters. Maybe I'm just going through something in my life that had me more focused on the sentiments.

To address the hunting descriptions-
I used to go hunting but haven't done so for quite some time. I had read someone's review that stated the hunting of the animal was vividly written-if you are a hunter I don't think the writing will make you squeamish. Those scenarios are all something we have experienced.

It wasn't the type of book I usually read but that is why I requested it. I wanted to try something different. I'm very glad I did because now I have a book I can gift to my father-in-law, brother, and husband for my annual book flood near Christmas.

* I plan to add more to this review once I collect my thoughts. ^Those were just my initial thoughts.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Philip Caputo were a woman and the characters in his book of interrelated short stories were primarily women instead of men, “Hunter’s Moon” would be ghettoized as “women’s fiction,” because the men in it wrestle with the kinds of emotional issues—broken marriages, parenting challenges, PTSD, friendship in late middle age—that are hallmarks of that so-called genre. Luckily for him, Caputo’s book won’t be designated as primarily for men, which is a good thing because I (a woman who has never touched a gun and is one of the least outdoorsy people you can imagine) read it and loved it and appreciated the insight it gave me into the struggles of men my age, which is mid 50s. Set primarily in Michigan’s wild Upper Peninsula (one story is set in Alaska) and with hunting and outdoors life as the unifying theme, “Hunter’s Moon” follows several men but is primarily the story of Will Treadwell, a bar owner and part-time hunting guide still haunted by his service in Vietnam. Will recurs throughout “Hunter’s Moon,” as a bit player in some of the earlier and later stories and then as the main character in what was for me the centerpiece story thread, a violent encounter with a vengeful local man that forces Will to come to terms with his past. All of the stories are beautifully written in an unvarnished style which manages to convey complicated emotions without any sentimentality or mawkishness, but Caputo is also brilliant at capturing the wild and untamed allure of the Upper Peninsula in lovely nature writing that would be worth reading the book for in and of itself. I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in this place and in a culture that I am completely unfamiliar with.

One note: Hunting is a major part of this book, and Caputo doesn’t shy away from presenting the details. I was fine with this, because I think it’s important and authentic to the setting and the stories, but readers who suspect that these scenes would be upsetting may want to pass. Conversely, “Hunter’s Moon” is the perfect book for any avid hunter or outdoorsman.

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt Publishers for providing me with an ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

[Crystal Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the intros to a handful of reviews of this book as I couldn’t get a clear picture from the title and cover of what kind of book this would be. The reviews cited a preponderance of male characters and scenes of hunting. While they’re not wrong, I didn’t find those features to detract from the book, as the other reviews implied. Multiple stories, loosely connected to a single place, but not a specific time, build a connected community of individuals with lives that are dramatic or quiet by turns. But regardless of the outer or inner turmoil, the author meditates on meaning, be it interpersonal or cosmic, in a manner that gives equal weight (or lightness) to all. I’ve shifted my reading list to include this author’s work as next in line.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subtitle of this book: A Novel in Stories, is a clue to look for the underlying connective narrative of seven individual stories, sometimes linked by characters who appear more than once. They largely take place in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and environs, which are depicted as sometimes menacing northern woods, pick up trucks and hunting. There is a disturbing underlying theme of the damage to both individuals and families of seemingly endless wars (Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan).

[John Machata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful collage of stories effectively bringing the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, a hunter's view of the world, life in wooded North Country wilderness, legacies of the Vietnam War, small town America and tender emotional intimacies between real life characters. A very good read.

[Vicky Foltz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. Being from Wisconsin and having spent time in the UP, his descriptive prose is beautiful and accurate. The characters in these related short stories are well-developed and I cared about them all.

[MV · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. I would give it 1.5 stars and am rounding up. I couldn't get much of a feel for the characters and that left me with a detached feeling. The writing was fine, I just could not get into it.

[Willow Croft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Review: Hunter's Moon by Philip Caputo

Well, of course, I read his A Rumor of War in history graduate school. So, I was excited to receive a copy of Hunter's Moon: A Novel in Stories in a giveaway hosted via Goodreads.

Not to stereotype, but I'm pretty sure I'm not Caputo's target audience. A) I'm vegetarian B) If it were the zombie apocalypse, I'm pretty sure I would starve to death rather than hunt (and eat) one of my beloved animal friends.

But who knows what you would do in that scenario to survive? Maybe I'd be a pretty good hunter and gatherer. Which is why these stories surprised me, in much the same way as if I would become the Darryl (from Walking Dead fame) with his hunting acumen. But, even in my writerly let's-get-a-story-from-them daydreams, I still can't imagine shooting an animal.

Because of that, I wanted not to like this story collection.

I'm not even really a fan of general fiction. I'm a genre reader, pretty much these days.

So that's at least two strikes. The third being that I'm getting more and more women-centric these days--way above and beyond my usual feminist beliefs. Men have had the limelight for long enough in this world.

But the writing won me over. The good old turn-of-the-phrase. Haunting, sparse, compelling me to read on.

And, because, as I'm entering into the confusing swamp of middle age, these stories all had a theme I could relate to.

I don't know what to call it, really. A loneliness that feels like an old friend. A poignant seeking for something that will not be able to be resolved as long as we're still sitting in the box called the human condition. A quality that reminds me of the kid that so wanted to be a child of the forest and the wild, instead of living among people, and yet was drawn indoors by the lure of sustenance, or the fear of punishment.

Of being alone, still, among all the other seven billion and counting people on this planet, taking up more and more space. And that it is, in fact, even more lonely for people like me.

It's a transition that I haven't come out the other side of yet. But the stories captured in Hunter's Moon tell me that maybe I don't have to know, yet. I can just sit with it a while, under the hunter's moon, until the sun rises on the next part of my life. Or that the moon keeps an eternal watch on this, the end times (sans zombies).

(I received this book via a giveaway hosted by the books publisher/author via Goodreads.)

[Bonnye Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hunter's Moon is a collection of eight shorts all set in and around the small community of Manitou Falls and the scarcely populated Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The major participants - Will Treadwell, Tom Muhlen and Paul Egremont - are all middle-aged Manitou natives and have much in common - they played football in high school, fought the war in Vietnam and brought home trama, a touch of psychosis, and nightmares. They all function best when they have independence at work and at home. The basic life they knew growing up -hunting, fishing, tramping through the woods with a favorite dog - it is those precise touchstones that holds them on the right side of sane. Most of the time. These men are the building blocks of this set of tales. It is through their eyes that we see those citizens who are tough enough to make a life in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

This was an excellent set of stories, painting a precise, honest dialog that defines the baby boomer generation, those who fought in 'Nam and those who received their introduction to that particular horror on the five o'clock nightly news. The majority of Americans would say this lifestyle passed away in the 1970s. That, for the most part, it actually did is what makes the raw nature of the far north and desert southwest the exceptions, with a slower pace and basic back to earth way of life that can allow your soul time to heal.

I received a free electronic copy of this collection of short stories from Netgalley, Philip Caputo, and Henry Holt & Co. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this book of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work.
Pub date August 6th, 2019
Henry Holt & Co.
Reviewed on Goodreads and Netgalley on August 4, 2019. Reviewed on Aug 6, 2019, at SmileAmazon, Barnes & Noble, BookBub, Kobo, and Google.

[Bill Glose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Philip Caputo’s linked story collection is such a powerful read. Filled with gritty tales set in and about the wilderness of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the individual stories in Hunter’s Moon brim with muscular prose as middle-aged men find their way in a world that seems to have grown too soft and delicate for their sensibilities. As the same cast of hard-luck men weave in and out of each other’s lives, haunted by past mistakes and seeking various forms of absolution, the impact of their unified tale is both endearing and heart-rending.

[Regan Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed! -Even by a non-hunting, non-military female who happened to grow-up in the U.P.

[Flo Chavy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mon grand regret je n’avais jamais entendu parler de Philip Caputo.
Je suis tombée sur ce livre par hasard dans une publication du Picabo River Book Club.
Eh oui, le fameux. J’aime la littérature américaine, c’est un fait incontestable.
Je lis donc cette quatrième de couverture et instantanément je pense à Ron Rash, à David Vann, à Joyce Carol Oates. C’est sûr, il me le faut, je ne peux pas passer à coté.
Oui mais il y a tout de même un peu d’appréhension, c’est un auteur que je découvre.
Je me lance dans dans la lecture de ce livre, pleine d’espoir, et très rapidement je constate que mes attentes sont comblées : au fur et à mesure que j’avance cette lecture devient tout simplement addictive.
Je suis un peu perturbée par la construction, le titre original « Hunter’s moonn : a novel in stories » me confirme qu’il s’agit de plusieurs nouvelles composant un roman, mais qu’à cela ne tienne :
je le lis d’une traite en une journée.
L’écriture est surprenante, poétique, envoûtante, dépaysante avec un côté âpre à la fois.
L’histoire est captivante.
Elle met en scène des hommes et des femmes qui évoluent au sein d’une Nature toute-puissante.
Des hommes et des femmes avec leurs névroses, leurs obsessions, leurs addictions, leurs fantômes revenant du passé, leurs remords et leur culpabilité.
On y retrouve :
Bill, le bel héritier avec un avenir tout tracé rattrapé par son passé et Lisa sa jeune épouse dévouée.
Will le vétéran de guerre hanté par les atrocités de celle-ci et Maddie son épouse une femme forte et déterminée qui elle tente de tirer des leçons de son passé.
Jeff le fils dénigré et Hall le père tyrannique et torturé par ses actes passés.
Trey le fils gâté et Paul vieil universitaire rétrograde et père dépassé.
Lonnie le marginal et son père qui tout deux vivent en retrait de la société.
Les vies de tous ces personnages se suivent, se ressemblent, se croisent et s’entrechoquent dans une nature qui n’est pas seulement le théâtre de leurs agissements car elle peut très vite devenir une ennemie ou une alliée suivant les croyances et les comportements.
Comportements que Philippe Caputo scrute minutieusement dans une ambiance tendue, une atmosphère pour le moins oppressante auxquelles ils associe admirablement de magnifiques descriptions.

Je remercie le Picabo River Book Club et les éditions du Cherche Midi pour cette superbe lecture.

[Jes Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

* I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaway *

Hunter's Moon is a novel compromised of a collection of stories with the thread of reoccurring characters. Each of the stories discuss various difficulties that people face on a regular basis. From battling depression and suicidal thoughts to war stories that have shaped the way we view the world, the author offers us insight into how these issues can be navigated and communicated.

Many of the stories have a slow build while the characters' lives unfold before the reader until hitting their climax. For the first three stories, the author opts to leave the ends on a cliffhanger making the reader wonder what exactly took place. Around middle of the novel the author changes tactics and provides endings to a few of the previous stories but through the lens of somewhat-new characters.

Throughout the entirety of the novel there is one character that seems to exist: Will Treadwell. Introduced in the first story as a local friendly bar owner as a supporting character he gradually moves into the role of main character towards the middle of the novel before moving back into his supporting character role come the end. All of the characters introduced in the beginning of the novel continually show up throughout to dive into their own story, or have their story represented by a loved one.

Overall, I found the novel to be an easy read and enjoyable despite some of the difficult topics that are discussed. It's not a book filled with intense action scenes or aliens trying to take over. It's a novel filled with stories about everyday life and how we make it through one day to the next.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 but rounding up because well written, I learned some things [mostly about hunting], and not my usual reading material. Matter of fact, I thought this book quite male centric.

The setting: Michigan's Upper Peninsula, "...where a cast of recurring characters move into and out of each other’s lives, building friendships, facing loss, confronting violence, trying to bury the past or seeking to unearth it."

So though interconnected stories--with recurring characters--also can stand alone.

Powerful, emotional, violent.

Some very evocative descriptions:

"rebellious hair"
"Male squalor"

And prose that reveals much more than a simple sentence:

"Trey responds with what used to be called the silent treatment but is now known as passive aggressiveness."

"Dakota flew through her adolescence as a plan through the sound barrier--a lot of turbulence..."

and much more.

At times, I sailed through but didn't want to rush because I wanted to be sure I had a handle on all the characters, there was much heft in many sentences, and the plots moved somewhat slowly. Not my usual read, but glad I persevered. BUT, not a fan of the resolution of the chapter, "The Guest"--though not sure what would have been more satisfactory--and no spoiler from me.

[Barry Martin Vass · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. This is a series of interrelated short stories about life in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Located on the northern tip of Michigan between Lake Superior and Lake Michigan, with Wisconsin to the west, the U.P. is a wild and rugged slash of land that, if Alaska hadn't dubbed itself The Last Frontier in its state slogan, would surely have adopted that designation. Simply put: you'd never want to live and work in the U.P. unless you were a loner and had a number of survivalist tendencies. One of the characters who appears in several stories is Will Treadwell, an ex-Marine who enlisted in 1968, saw the worst of Vietnam, and has struggled with PTSD ever since. For a while Will owned and operated the Great Lakes Brew Pub near the coast of Lake Superior and guided hunting tours into the interior, some of bow-hunters in search of bear. Hunter's Moon is not for the fainthearted, instead offering up a riveting portrait of vets struggling with PTSD and alcoholism, women struggling to come to grips with their men, and an unforgiving environment that at times seems almost primordial.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads giveaway, and i think the author and publisher for the opportunity to read and review it.

I was drawn to this book because it’s set in my home state, Michigan. I don’t spend as much time in the UP as i once did, and it was nice to go back through these stories. The author captured the remoteness of the setting and the personalities of the people that gravitate there well.

This book was interesting because it was really a set of short stories with characters that appeared here and there throughout. I don’t generally like short stories because the bites of life given through them aren’t generally enough to slake my thirst, but these were long and detailed stories. Several of them ended in cliffhangers but were resolved in other stories.

This book included a lot of violence, as most stories featured hunting, in some form or another.

I’m glad i read these stories. They go deep and make you think about who we are and what we’re doing here.

[Sharlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gem of a little book. Three men, Paul--an MSU English professor; Tom--an Ingham Co. prosecutor; & Bill--a small time newspaper publisher; played football together in high school. They are meeting at Bill's house for an annual hunting trip. Gus, Bill's father who is dying from liver cancer is going along on the trip which is guided by Will Treadwell who owns a local watering hole in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Caputo develops all the characters and each chapter is tied to at least one of them. If you love Michigan, have ever hunted, owned a hunting dog or just spent time outdoors in the U.P. you'll love the author's descriptions. As an added note the last chapter finds Will meeting up with an old reporter friend to spend a weekend counseling veterans at a retreat. They both served in Vietnam and note the reporter is name Phil C. Nuff said.

[Robert McTague · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm an unapologetic Caputo fan, so perhaps I'm biased. This work is actually a series of short stories--related, but only partially sequential and interwoven. But I compare this to Acts of Faith...yes, there are traces of the same writer, but it's such a different work, in worlds apart. UP Michigan is one of the few places in the US I haven't been (Alaska, also in the book, is the other) and yet I feel I've been there after reading. Great imagery of that area, and a strong sense of what makes it unique...without being overbearing. A particular, recurring motif here is PTSD--in Vietnam vet, recurring protagonist Will Treadwell, but also in younger, ancillary characters (Desert Storm and GWOT vets). The last short story includes a partial stand-in for Caputo himself (the narrator), and adds a subtle, personal touch.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely moving, tragic stories about men and their struggles to navigate the paths (or lack thereof) through middle-age, addiction and changing friendships, many of these going back to high school or combat in Vietnam. The Upper Penninsula of Michigan has never been better captured, especially the bleak little towns of Seney. Lots of hunting and nature scenarios allow Caputo's characters to either find solace in the wilderness or end up in precarious situations. Whether they be the babysitting of an alcoholic braggart on a bird-hunting trip, confronting a lone gun nut, or being hopelessly lost in a cedar swamp. A woman's story dealing with a widow's love affair with a city slicker, is as perceptive about cultural backdrops as it is about behavior. Overall, it's a great book. The miserable-father-and- son reunion trip is easily my favorite.