Hang The Moon

Sallie Kincaid’s picture is on the front page of the paper with the words “Queen of the Rumrunners” under it.  That’s dangerous – if you aren’t working with Sallie, you’re probably with the government looking to enforce prohibition, or worse, with the other bootleggers who want her out.  After Sallie’s father passed, her family and the whole community, had been in turmoil until Sallie took the reigns.  Now Sallie, the fastest driver in the county, is making her mark leading the family business with a firm hand and compassion for those she encounters.

Hang The Moon is an interesting historical fiction novel from Jeanette Walls, bestselling author of The Glass Castle.  The central theme with this latest book is women making a life for themselves and deciding their future without male control.  The novel also sees parents looking to secure a future for their children, often clashing with what the females in the family wish to see happen.  Walls sets this book during the 1920s when the opulence of the Gilded Age had faded and the country was recovering from World War I.

I give Hang The Moon 4 out of 5 stars*. Starting today, I’ll be including the chart to the left with most reviews. Earlier this week, I posted about the rubric we’ve been using to assign star scores. For more information, go here to learn more about the categories and thoughts behind our scores.

While I appreciated the historical look at fashion, and the hard times many Appalachian families experienced between the War and the Depression, this book left me wanting more.  Walls includes a large chorus of supporting characters, and minor stars – this may be why some of the main characters felt underdeveloped and needing more to their backstory.  I also left a little frustrated with the ending of the book.  Without giving away too much, there were too many surprises and revelations to feel like the novel was wrapped and the storyline closed.  I did appreciate Walls’ inclusion of many historically inspired events, like disputes between bootleggers and an infamous murder trial.

If you enjoy historical fiction based on events you may not know much about, this is the book for you.  I was surprised to learn so much about bootlegging and found myself going down the Google rabbit hole looking up some of the events that Walls based the novel on.  With a very common theme of death and sex, I would suggest this book for more mature audiences over 16.  The book also focuses on violence – both domestic and gang violence.  I do think this would make an interesting book club choice – with so many various characters and events, there would be so much to discuss!

I chose Hang The Moon in honor of Women’s Equality Day today – August 26^th.  This holiday celebrates the signing of the 19^th Amendment giving women the right to vote.  Sallie’s determination to be her own person without the influence of a man is exactly what the suffragettes fought for – women should have the right to their voice and vote!  This was also my Book of the Month selection for April and I have been waiting for the chance to read it!

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What I’m Reading

• Current print book: Abigail Adams: A biography, Janet Whitney
• Current audio book: The Butterfly Collector, Tea Cooper
• Book I’m most looking forward to: Triptych, Karen Slaughter