Books › The man who fell in love with the moon
The man who fell in love with the moon
a novel
432 pages
A raw, mythic reimagining of the American West that pulses with queer desire, brutal tragedy, and the fierce beauty of chosen family.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like sitting around a campfire listening to a ghost story that is both deeply profane and profoundly sacred. The narrative unfolds at a steady, hypnotic pace, drawing you into a gritty, turn-of-the-century West that feels entirely stripped of romanticized cowboy mythology. Instead, you are immersed in an atmosphere that is haunting and spiritually charged, where the boundaries of gender, sexuality, and family are beautifully fluid. The prose is visceral and rhythmic, demanding that you feel every physical sensation and emotional bruise alongside the narrator. It is a transgressive, emotionally shattering experience that will captivate readers who seek out raw, unapologetic queer histories and stories of marginalized souls finding fierce, tragic love in the margins of a violent world.
- Mood
- haunting
- gritty
- melancholic
- spiritually charged
- Tone
- raw
- mythic
- tender
- transgressive
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- chosen family · fluidity of desire · colonial violence · spiritual reclamation · coming of age
- The writing
- The prose is rhythmic and hypnotic, utilizing visceral sensory details and poetic repetition to create an intensely intimate voice.
- The arc
- The journey moves from naive displacement through brutal, shattering awakenings to a hard-won, tragic wisdom.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave emotionally raw, transgressive queer historical fiction that blends mythic storytelling with unflinching grit.
Content notes
- sexual violence
- incest
- graphic violence
- racism
- homophobia
- murder
About the book
The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon provides a unique view of the Old West unlike anything told before. The narrator, Shed, is one of the most memorable characters in contemporary fiction: a half-Indian bisexual boy who lives and works at the Indian Head Hotel in the tiny town of Excellent, Idaho. It's the turn of the century, and the hotel carries on a prosperous business as the town's brothel.
The eccentric characters working in the hotel provide Shed with a surrogate family, yet he finds in himself a growing need to learn the meaning of his Indian name, Duivichi-un-Dua, given to him by his mother, who was murdered when he was twelve. Setting off alone across the haunting plains, Shed goes in search of an identity among his true people, encountering a rich pageant of extraordinary characters along the way. Although he learns a great deal about the mysteries and traditions of his Indian heritage, it is not until Shed returns to Excellent and witnesses a series of brutal tragedies that he attains the wisdom that infuses this exceptional and captivating book.
Description from Open Library.
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