In the Moon
Dans La Lune
A memoir of a 1930s childhood in France
In the Moon takes you on a vivid and entertaining journey of a boy's life in France, of his personal growth, daydreams and enthusiasms. Told mostly in the voice of the growing boy, In the Moon recounts, often with much humor, the many situations and unusual characters in Alain's exotic life.
Alain is the son of a strong-willed, proactive Belgian mother and a brilliant, tough-minded and emotionally laconic British father, but he is also heavily influenced by a surrogate father, Raimond, their French butler and gardener. Alain has to shape his identity and choices amidst the clashing influences of a class-ridden and multinational milieu. Adding to the tension, he attends six schools over a period of six years. Some of these schools are French, where he faces a harsh and cruel environment, but where learning is nevertheless effective and thorough. In two English-speaking schools, life is more pleasant and has its rewards, but the learning process is subtler and less obvious. Alain spends several summers in a wealthy resort community, followed by three summers in a rural farming community where he learns firsthand about the primitive pleasures and hardships of French peasant life. In each situation, the author provides a richly detailed and lively description of these diverse aspects of the period's life and culture. Included in the telling are many episodes in which his parents' own colorful and unconventional life feature prominently.
Throughout his memoirs, Holmes tells the story with eccentric charm, sometimes poetic detail, and often with abundant humor and humility. Some readers have likened this absorbing biographical work to Marcel Pagnol's La gloire de mon père, the memoir of the French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker. As in Pagnol's book and the 1990 movie based on it, In the Moon is about the adventures, discoveries, and hard-earned lessons of a young life. In the Moon is a light, highly entertaining read and one to which a reader will return with pleasure.
