The Vanishing Moon

by Joseph Coulson

In The Vanishing Moon, Joseph Coulson writes with insight and beauty about the American working-class, about the strength and strain of family bonds, and about tragic incidents that haunt the human psyche over a lifetime. Set in Cleveland and Detroit, the novel chronicles two generations of the Tollman family, opening at the start of the Great Depression and moving forward through five decades to the Vietnam War. The first narrator, Stephen Tollman, looks back on his early adventures with his older brother, as both boys try to shield their siblings from the confusion and vulnerability of financial ruin. Later, as World War II approaches, Katherine Lennox, musician and political activist, offers an outsider’s view of the Tollmans, mesmerizing both Stephen and his brother with her energy and ambition. James Tollman comes of age in the 1960s, and as the youngest son in the family’s second generation, he strives to understand his father and mother amidst a summer of assassinations and civil unrest. Stephen returns to finish the story, struggling to hold his own against the currents of memory and abandoned dreams. Told with the compression and intensity of a poem, The Vanishing Moon is a novel of desire, unyielding necessity, and the people and places that inevitably disappear from our lives.

Genres: Fiction

330 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Joseph Coulson (born 1957) is a novelist, poet, and playwright. His writing is notable for its lyricism and its blending of American history and social criticism. Also an educator, Coulson was named president of the Great Books Foundation in 2014.
Coulson’s first novel, The Vanishing Moon (Archipelago Books, 2004), was a Barnes & Noble Great New Writers selection, and it won the Book of the Year Award, Gold Medal in Literary Fiction, from ForeWord. Chronicling the lives of working-class people, The Vanishing Moon was a critical success, and Coulson’s prose, themes, and historical range drew comparisons with John Steinbeck, William Maxwell, and Russell Banks. His second novel, Of Song and Water (2007) was a finalist for the Great Lakes Book Award. Both novels earned wide distribution in French and German translations, and The Vanishing Moon was later published as a Harvest Book, the perennial literary series from Harcourt.

Coulson has also published three books of poetry, The Letting Go (1984), A Measured Silence (1986), and Graph (1990). His first play, A Saloon at the Edge of the World (1996), a noir drama showcased by Theater Artists of Marin, enjoyed both popular and critical acclaim in the San Francisco Bay area. Coulson is a recipient of the Tompkins Award in Poetry and the David Gray Writing Fellowship, and his essays have appeared in journals and anthologies including The Barnabe Mountain Review, Walt Whitman of Mickle Street, The Critical Survey of Poetry, and The Greenfield Review.

Reviews

[Rusty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes I find a story that appeals to me but few others have issued comments about it. Such was Joseph Coulson's tale about the Tollman family. Living in Cleveland when the books opens, the reader sees them struggle during the Depression when they are so poor that one year is spent in a tent in the country. It was a difficult period as they experienced winter's cold and spring's merciless and drenching rains. However, the year was memorable for the two oldest boys who roamed and explored the area as boys will.

Told in three parts, we follow the family through their moves, the Depression, World War II, into the turbulent 1960s with the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War. In the beginning, we meet the family members: Phil, the oldest, is quick to anger; Stephen, thinks things through; charming Margie; and Myron, whose stuttering haunts his childhood and adolescent years. As one might expect, early in the novel, the beleaguered parents give up the struggle but the rest endure as best they can.

The first section is told by Stephen who takes us through the conflicts, struggles and competition of two oldest sons. Both even fall in love with the same woman, Katherine Lennox, a talented pianist, whose existence focuses on music and her activist roles. Katherine narrates the second part. Philip's son, James, spells out the final section. As he becomes a man of his own, he struggles to understand his father and his anger along with the meaning of the civil rights movement and assassinations that occur during the period.

While this is the author's first novel, his background as a poet, playwright, and editor is evident. Yes, the book is sad in so many ways but the reader begins to understand how one family coped with and lived through the chaos that poverty and the events of their lifetime provide. I found this a moving and thought-provoking read.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be really good...but really depressing.

[Summer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure about this book when I first started reading it, but then I couldn’t put it down. It really had a compelling story line and some thoughtful quotes. But I read it so fast that as I’m reviewing it, months later, I know I enjoyed it but I can’t for the life of me remember what it’s about. So that must say something.

[Kari Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautifully written. Terribly depressing.

[Wendy Brennan · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 generations of American family from Depression to Vietnam war. Left the book in Petra, Jordan.

[Alizabeth Settergren · Rating 1 out of 5]

Update 8•21•23
I'm giving this a one.

I was going to give it a one, but I didn't absolutely hate it. However, what was the point of this book?

[Selena · Rating 2 out of 5]

I seem to be in the middle of an epidemic of finding books I can't stand and struggle to finish. I've never liked books without proper punctuation. I seem to be one of the few who disliked this book. Maybe because it comes on the heels of my having read A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea and other "difficult childhood" books, but I couldn't wait to get done with it.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most beautiful works of prose I have ever read. Coulson's background as a poet is apparent in the lyrical sentences of his first novel. Told through three points of view, each narrator retains a distinct, sincere voice.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucidly and impeccably rendered ... a poignant and beautifully layered story ... deft with marveling resonance, this debut novel abounds with life and wonder.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Multi-generational story of a family. Written with delicacy and respect, the love, motivations and pain of these brothers and their progeny will linger in your mind and heart.

[Mike Mik · Rating 2 out of 5]

too dark

[Bridget Salfen-price · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the characters in this story were just very disappointing. Also, I kept waiting for at least one character to be happy. Just very sad & depressing.

[Sarah Womack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the writing in this book was absolutely mesmerizing.