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    Valley of the Moon
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    Valley of the Moon
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    Valley of the Moon
    Ebook488 pages5 hours

    Valley of the Moon

    By Melanie Gideon

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    An utterly original, thoughtful and deeply compelling novel for readers who loved The Time Traveler’s Wife.

    In the heart of the Sonoma Valley, on the edge of a sun-drenched meadow, lies the idyllic community of Greengage – where the residents wear simple clothes, lead quiet lives and whose manners could almost seem to be of another time.

    Into this world stumbles single mother Lux Lysander, trying to lose herself in the peaceful beauty of the Californian countryside while her young son visits his grandparents. It’s a world far away from the unpaid bills piling up and the overwhelming sense of struggle to make ends meet.

    Soon, Lux finds herself drawn into the lives of the people of Greengage, discovering not only the secret at the heart of their community but also a sense of belonging she didn’t know she was looking for. Torn between this life and her own with her son back in San Francisco, can Lux turn her back on the only place that has ever truly felt like home?

    ‘Lovingly handcrafted, delectable and transcendent’San Francisco Chronicle

    ‘Beautifully written . . . a wonderful story about belonging, love and the aching certainty that there’s something more out there. . . . Sure to appeal to fans of Time and Again or The Time Traveler’s Wife’ Shelf Awareness (starred review)

    ‘Captivating’ Booklist

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins UK
    Release dateApr 20, 2017
    ISBN9780007425525
    Unavailable
    Valley of the Moon
    Author

    Melanie Gideon

    Melanie Gideon is the bestselling author of the novels, Valley of the Moon and Wife 22, as well as the memoir The Slippery Year: A Meditation on Happily Ever After. Her books have been translated into thirty-one languages. Wife 22 is currently in development. She has written for The New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Times (London), the Daily Mail (London), and other publications. She was born and raised in Rhode Island and now lives in the Bay Area. 

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    Reviews for Valley of the Moon

    4/5

    98 ratings54 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Lovely story of love, life, forgiveness and time travel. I especially liked the fact that it took place in Sonoma County, CA where I live. Fun to see places mentioned that I travel through frequently. I requested this book as an early reviewer book when it first came out but did not win a copy that time around. Lucky for me it was on the sale table at our local bookstore and - SCORE! Lucky me;) Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Valley of the Moon by Melanie Gideon is a lovely book. It is a time travel story. I do not usually enjoy time travel as a plot device, but in this case it works. The book revolves around Lux Lysander, a young single mother from 1975 San Francisco. One night, while camping, she walks through a heavy fog and finds herself in 1906, just after the earthquake that devastated San Francisco. She emerges at Greenage Farm, a communal living farm (not a religious commune).

      The founder of Greenage Farm is Joseph Bell, a progressive thinking man who feels every person and every job has equal worth. He runs the farm with his wife, Martha. The earthquake has moved the farm out of time. It is surrounded by a dense fog, that kills anyone who tries to go through it. Only Lux has the ability to move freely through the fog. She is welcomed by the inhabitants of Greenage and soon finds a sense of peace and belonging with them.

      Soon, Lux is traveling regularly through time. But each time she returns to her own time, she can never be sure of how much time has passed. It could be days, it could be years. Although this description feels very science fictiony, this book is a sweet, gentle story of a woman finding her place in the world. Lux is a struggling single mom, trying to do her best for her child. My favorite parts of the book were the flashbacks to Lux’s childhood, and her relationship with her father. I enjoyed reading this book and give it 4 out of 5 stars.

      I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley.
    • 5/5
      Time travel books are among my favorite books to read. Valley of the Moon is a little different from the usual in that time does not pass equally in the two different times and that adds tension to the plot for the heroine, Lux. She stumbles through a fog one night and finds a community called Greengage (how Brigadoon) and finds herself very happy there. But her son and family are "on the other side." Can she truly just leave them to pursue her own happiness?Lux does pass back and forth between her own time and the world of Greengage but the weird way time passes in the other world have grave consequences for Lux emotionally. She is going to have to make a decision.The book is very well written and the story is quite compelling. Lux is a very interesting character if a titch selfish.
    • 5/5
      WOW! I'M so glad that I won a copy of this from librarything! Granted it's taken me way too long to finish this! I absolutely LOVED this novel! It's unlike any other book I've read. I adored the characters. Ms. Gideon outdid herself with this novel. Beautiful writing and a fantastic premise! 5 Stars from me!
    • 3/5
      A special thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

      This book is told from the perspective of two narrators who are separated by nearly a century. It is 1975, and we meet single mother Lux Lysander, who lives paycheque to paycheque on one floor of a a three-story house with her son, Benno, and roommate Rhonda. Lux goes on a solo camping trip to Sonoma, also know as the Valley of the Moon and is transported through time during a full moon to 1906 by way of a dense fog. She ends up in a small, well-run farming community led by our second narrator, Joseph Bell. Bell is a Londoner that values men and women alike and has deemed all jobs as equal. He founded "Greengage Farm" in honour of his late mother who committed suicide after his father has her committed the second time. This community is stuck in time after an earthquake hits and leaves it behind a dense fog that you cannot pass through. Lux seems to be the only one who can pass through the fog and time and does so whenever there is a full moon.

      Sounds hokey, right? Well it is, a bit. Some of the narrative really grabbed me, there was some great writing there. I loved the backstory of Lux and her father and wished that that was a standalone book. There were also many unanswered questions which as the reader, you must suspend your disbelief.
    • 2/5
      This is a time travel story similar to Brigadoon . At first I really liked it. But it grew increasingly difficult. The female lead is very self-centered. The 1906 descriptions were quite spare , making it hard to remember what time period you're reading about . I was hoping for a compelling story, but was disappointed.
    • 4/5
      I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this book. I had read a few reviews that compared it to The Time Traveler's wife, which is one of my favorite books, so I had high expectations. I really liked this book - it was a lovely story with very real characters. The relationships between Lux and all the people her life - her son, Benno, Joseph and the residents of Greenage, her parents, her friends - are all very genuine and well-defined.Lux is a single mom in the early 1970s who stumbles across Greengage, a community trapped in 1906 after an earthquake. The only way to enter Greengage is when a fog appears - Lux can enter but if the residents of Greengage try to leave they die. At times, when the fog appears, time will speed up for the Greengage residents. The time travel aspect can be a little confusing at times - there is no rhyme or reason as to why and when the fog appears and why time sometimes speeds up. But these aspects are essential to the story and the relationships of Lux with her son, Benno and Joseph and the residents of Greengage. This would make a great book club choice and spark a lot of what would you do conversations.I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.
    • 4/5
      Valley of the Moon was an enjoyable read in the time travel genre. Reminiscent of Brigadoon, or the Time Traveller's Wife, the story bounces between the turn of the century and the 1970's. The characters were interesting, the story pacing very good, and despite a few obvious plot turns, the ending was a surprise. I expect this book to be well received, and a great book club choice.
    • 4/5
      In 1906, a great earthquake near San Francisco has somehow marooned the cooperative community of Greengage in an island of time, stuck in its own period while the rest of the world, separated by a deadly fog and unknowing of Greengage's fate, moves temporally forward in irregular fits and starts, marked by every full moon. This is a contrived premise that is never explained, but the author makes fine use of it to set up a compelling story when a young woman of 1975, Lux, is somehow able to penetrate the fog and find Greengage. Moreover, she is able to travel back and forth, unlike the Greengage denizens. But Greengage is only accessible during full moons, and if she stays past the next full moon, she runs the risk of her own time accelerating far ahead of the time when she left.Like I said, a contrived premise, but one which rapidly becomes believable, as Lux comes to feel more and more connected with Greengage and its founder, Joseph. Her travels back and forth complicate an already unsettled life for herself, her young son Benno, her friends and her semi-estranged parents. The novel moves toward a final temporal mishap which results in a devastating loss to Lux (you'll know it when you come to it). As emotionally powerful as this event is, I think Melanie Gideon would have done better by the novel to have Lux's return to the outside world timed a bit sooner, so that she would have had the chance for some kind of closure with her own time. Nevertheless, this is a powerful and moving story that was inspired by the musical and movie, "Brigadoon".
    • 5/5
      Anyone who follows my reviews knows that I typically avoid sweet, sentimental stories. But I really fell in love with this book. It was such a pleasant and hopeful read that, when I finished the last sentence, I almost wanted to start back at the very beginning and go through it all again!I loved the characters, the setting, the "time travel" -- and felt their pain at separation and their joy at reunion. The narrative flipped back and forth from early 1900s to the 1970s (included some pop culture references) and between the two main characters, Joseph and Lux. The explanation for the time warp was a fog that trapped Joseph in his time but allowed Lux to go back and forth at certain times that coincided with a full moon. Time moved at a different pace in each world. Regardless of the implausibility of the science, it made for a very enjoyable reading experience.I had read Melanie Gideon's previous book and will definitely keep her on my list for upcoming work.
    • 5/5
      Others have said it so I hesitate to repeat it but I chose this book from the choices I had in the Early Reviewers choices in June because I loved "The Time Travelers Wife" so much. I was ready to try this theme again. I do not make these kind of books my regular genre. Melanie Gideon did a wonderful job tying both worlds together. You spend just enough time in each world to keep the suspense going. I could not figure out what was going to happen from one page to the next. What time zone was she going back to was the most difficult for me. Sometimes the time that had passed was so painful. I enjoyed all the characters and the subplots. There is just way to much to even remark on. If you enjoy a bit of the past and long for life in the 21st century to slow down a bit. If you are looking for an escape then you have found your book! This is an excellent book for book discussions.Thank you Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read this book and I will be reading Wife 22 soon!
    • 4/5
      For those of us who have wished for our lives to slow down or time to stop, "Valley of the Moon" is the book for you. Lux is lost - she is a young single mom, burning the candle at both ends trying to make her young son and everyone else happy and always running late. When a friend suggests that she get away on a weekend camping trip near San Francisco, it sounds just what Lux needs. When Lux wakes in the middle of the night to find a strange fog surrounding the campsite she wades through it to find herself going back in time to 1906 and Greengage Farm. The inhabitants of Greengage are wary of Lux and her strange ways at first but soon she is traveling back and forth at every full moon foggy night. Years go by in San Fransisco while months go by in the Valley of the Moon and soon they are as much her family as the ones she left behind. The book is full of time references and they work so well - life is slower, peaceful at Greengage Farms compared to the modern hustle and bustle. New technology just makes things speed up so we are doing more, faster and enjoying it less. Settle back in a comfortable chair, slow down and savor the peace of "Valley of the Moon".
    • 5/5
      I love books. I'm open to reading all genres. However, normally I would never willingly seek out a book on time travel. I received this book in a giveaway. I loved the cover, started reading and FELL IN LOVE with the story. I rarely give a book 5 stars, but this one gets a huge 5 star rating in my opinion.The story goes back and forth from 1975 California to 1906 California, specifically, the Valley of the Moon. I had no clue how the story would end or even what would happen in the next few chapters. The characters were so likable and so realistically described I found myself crying at their sorrows and smiling when something good happened. I just could not get enough of this book. I literally had a hard time putting the book down and getting on with my everyday life. I just wanted to clear my schedule and read! Wonderful story, creative, descriptive and it will take you on an emotional ride! Highly recommended. I received a complimentary copy via Librarything Early Reviewers.
    • 4/5
      "Valley Of The Moon" is an interesting story of time travel, the story of Lux...a single mom of the sixties trying to make a decent living. She decides to go where her parents are and finds a commune whose citizens are living in the early 1900's. Good plot, however, it does tend to be a bit repetitive and somewhat slow paced but if you can get past that it's overall a good read.
    • 4/5
      I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who likes reading about time travel or loves magical realism. The book begins in 1906 in Valley of the Moon, California. Joseph Bell, an Englishman, has started a farming community called Greengage, that has close to 300 inhabitants. The community, a working communal environment, is self sufficient and supplies local restaurants with produce. On the night of the San Fransisco earthquake Greengage suffers very little damage, the community is, however, subsequently surrounded by a thick fog. It turns out that no one can pass through the fog and live. Lux Lysander is a single mom living in San Fransisco in 1974. She goes camping in Jack London State Park on the eve of a full moon and wakes up in the middle of the night to a strange fog. She is drawn to walk into it and promptly finds herself in Greengage and in 1906. Over a period of 10 years she travels through the fog many times. She has some trouble reconciling her life in the present with this life of the past that is so real to her. Eventually she takes her son Benno with her on the full moon visits. Each time they return before the full moon recedes. Time moves differently on each side of the fog. In Greengage one month may pass between her visits, while in San Fransisco, many months may pass before the fog appears to let Lux through. The plot thickens when Lux figures out a way for Joseph to travel safely through the fog into the future. He manages to spend some time in San Fransisco with her in 1984, but she does end up taking him back to Greengage. It would spoil the beauty of the story if I went on here. The concept is fascinating, as are the characters. It is a story of hope, love, and compassion. Beautifully told and intriguing, Valley of the Moon is a book I will remember. Thank you Melanie Gideon.
    • 4/5
      I decided to read this book even though it was described as "fantasy ", but it has very real and human characters in both stories... The present and the turn of the century. The fog that separates the lost village is almost believable, not too weird. Like the author, I always loved the idea of a Brigadoon. The only slight fault in the story is that the relationships get a little too complicated at the end.
    • 4/5
      Set in two time periods (early 1900's and 1975+), Lux is a single mother raising her son Benno. She had been close with her Dad and when they had a falling out she left home in her late teens and moved to California. Although Lux and her Dad barely speak Benno is going to spend 2 weeks with her parents and Lux takes a camping trip to the Valley of the Moon. One night, through the fog, she finds an alternate world set in 1905. Here she finds an acceptance she doesn't find in her own time. The rest of the story is her struggle to juggle the two worlds. I received this book for free in exchange for a review. The book was an uncorrected proof so I hope they catch the typos, etc. before publication.
    • 5/5
      I just plain loved this book! It was such a wonderful twist on the sort of almost normal family problems that are part so many of today's novels about family problems. I'm always intrigued when something is quite different, this book is just that, but in such a special way, back and forth in time and among the characters. I was so pleased to find that Gideon had produced another book and now, I am already looking forward to what she produces next!
    • 4/5
      Lux is a single mother living in 1975 San Francisco. One night while camping alone, she wanders into the thick fog and emerges in 1906, in a community called Greengage in the Sonoma Valley. While she can travel back & forth between these two eras fairly easily (when the fog appears in San Francisco), the people of Greengage are trapped in 1906, surrounded by this mysterious fog, which will cause instant death if they enter it. Lux falls in love with the easygoing community & lifestyle in Greengage, and over the years returns again and again. In the meantime, she must juggle her complicated life back at home and attempt to find a happy medium that allows her to co-exist in both eras.I had mixed feelings with this novel. The storyline was unique enough to keep me interested, as are most books with a time travel-type theme. It has vague similarities to The Time Traveler's Wife, although can't really be compared to that. The main reason I didn't rate this book higher was due to some questionable historical (in)accuracies (The main one being a reference to an answering machine in 1975, which doesn't ring true to me, given that they didn't gain wide popularity until the mid-80's) and some dialogue in the story which just felt awkward to me. But overall, I did like the story and it did bring me to near-tears near the end, which I wasn't expecting. Had this novel been cleaned up a bit, I think it would be worthier of higher praise.
    • 4/5
      Lux is a single mom in the early 1970s who stumbles across Greengage, a community trapped in 1906 after an earthquake. The only way to enter Greengage is when a fog appears - Lux can enter but if the people of Greengage enter the fog, they die. At certain times, when the fog appears, time will speed up for the Greengage residents. The time travel aspect was a kind of confusing at times - there is no rhyme or reason as to why and when the fog appears and why time sometimes speeds up. However, this is essential to the story and the relationships of Lux with her son, Benno and Joseph and the residents of Greengage. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book, it took me by surprise which is always a pleasure. A great summer read, recommended.
    • 5/5
      Thank-you librarything.com for sending me an advanced copy of Valley of the Moon by Melanie Gideon in return for my honest review.Valley of the Moon, a mix of realism and fantasy, in essence an adult fairy-tale, is not a genre I generally read, but I loved it! Although, I liked the story from the very beginning, it took me a number of chapters to become fully engaged. This is a very different story; an idyllic, working, communal farm from 1906, called Greengage, disappears after the massive San Francisco Earthquake. A deadly fog surrounds Greengage trapping the residents and confining them to the past, preventing them from joining the world that progresses around them. Lux, a struggling single mother from 1975, happens upon this lost community by chance and it changes her life forever. With her ability to pass through the fog, she tries to live in both worlds, experiencing the joys and heartbreaks that both the past and present offer, but the fog and Lux's ability to enter Greengage is erratic and unpredictable and while only a month will pass each time Lux returns, outside of Greengage time is passing quickly. It sounds confusing, but it really is not. When it comes down to it, the novel is about a woman who is pulled by two worlds and the sacrifices she makes to live in both.Recently, many of the books I read seem very much the same; it was refreshing to try something new. This is a well-told story that gets better and stronger as the novel progresses. Well-done.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book. I think it did a great job of combining fantasy with the adult world. Lux is a single mother who discovers a different dimension very much like in the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. I think this whimsical fantasy world is very different than a lot of adult books today. Overall I think this book deserves a read as it is entertaining and full of hope and imagination.
    • 4/5
      There was much about this book that I liked: a complex lead character in the single mother, Lux, the intriguing concept of moving between worlds caught in time. But the book could have used some editing. It felt too long and sometimes repetitive. And the ending seemed a bit abrupt. But I did enjoy it and looked forward to reading it each night. Thanks to the Early Reviewers giveaway for the opportunity to discover this author.
    • 2/5
      Valley of the Moon by Melanie Gideon did not appeal to me for a single minute. I'm a fast reader, so I gave it 100 pages to draw me in, but no luck. The premise is an interesting one. This is similar to the Brigadoon myth, and could have been a very good story. I strongly disliked Lux, the main character, from the beginning of the book. She couldn't be bothered to clean her child's face before putting him on a plane to go and visit his grandparents. Lux had nothing good to say about the boy's grandfather, and made no secret of it to Benno, her little boy.Then when she wanders into her own little Brigadoon, she is rude and thoughtless in the way she treated her hosts. They encouraged her to leave, but she would have none of it. She insisted on staying. She simply annoyed me at every turn. Then when her son arrived back home from visiting his grandparents, her actions and poor parenting choices just annoyed me. Why do this to myself?I would not recommend this book.
    • 5/5
      I am not a history buff, don't like. Period pieces, hate fantasy. Well no more! I love this book. I started reading more when I injured my back, but only a little every day. I I am not one to sit down and read a book and a day. I started Melanie Gideon's Novel "Valley of the Moon" yesterday morning. Nothing else all day except to grab lunch grab dinner and rush back. It seemed that I was afraid something would happen before I got back to the buck again . I can't really tell you what makes me love this book so much. I just know now that I kind of believe in magic more, believe that time is not we think it is, and that there are really wonderful authors writing wonderful wonderful authors writing wonderful cups books. Thank you Librarythings for sharing this one with me.
    • 4/5
      Lux Lysander (I really hate her name) is a single mother of a bi-racial son in San Francisco in 1975. One night when her son has gone to visit her parents across the country, she decides to go camping by herself. She wakes in the middle of the night to see a heavy fog, and wandering through the fog, finds herself in a village in 1906 that disappeared after the earthquake, a la Brigadoon. The fog only appears during a full moon, but not every full moon, and although the time between moons is a month in Greengage, there is no telling how much time has passed on the outside. An interesting concept, and a quick read. It did seem to go on longer than it should, and it was fairly predictable, but still, definitely worth my time, and recommended.
    • 4/5
      I loved this book until the end, which was too precipitous and left me feeling like it hadn't finished. Except for that the writing and story line were satisfying. I had not read anything by Gideon before but will now.
    • 4/5
      Lux is a single mother trying to make sure her son Bennett "Benno" has a stable, consistent upbringing. She had a falling out with her Dad many years ago and moved to California. Benno is going to spend 2 weeks with her parents on the East Coast and Lux has decided to take a camping trip to the Valley of the Moon. Jospeh, Fancy, Martha and many others are living in the Valley of the Moon. They are part of a community of people that feel all are equal and they work as a community on the farm to make everything that they need to survive. As their two worlds literally collide they see what 1906 and 1975 have in common and where they are very different. This was a very enjoyable, quick read. I didn't have to delve, deep into it. It flowed very nicely. I would recommend it to anyone that likes Sci-fi (Brigadoon, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) types of books.I received a copy of this book for the purpose of review.
    • 4/5
      Valley of the Moon is an entertaining and quick read reminiscent of Brigadoon. It follows a free spirited woman named Lux through many years of her visits to a community that has been stuck in time since the early 20th century. You get to watch Lux and her son grow and mature as they learn what is really important in their lives. You sympathize with them as they decide which paths they will choose. It's not a life-changing book, but it does certainly keep your attention.
    • 4/5
      This is one of the more original time-travel stories I've read since I got sucked into Outlander. While hiking in 1975, Lux stumbles through a dense fog to a farming community stranded in 1906 as a side affect of an earthquake. Lux is able to travel back and forth between this community and her world of the 1970s, only time moves unpredictably between the two worlds, sometimes years and decades pass in a single night. Lux slowly starts to feel more at home in the past, but she remains obligated to her own time by family and friends - obligations that start to pull at her from both sides. Overall, this was a great time travel book, and I hope to read more from this author.