“Luminous storytelling and brilliant period descriptions make this fictional biography a priceless addition to the American magical realism canon; the book should be recommended to fantasy and general readers.”
Douglas Lain’s Billy Moon was the Debut of the Month in the August issue of Library Journal!
Here’s the full review:
Christopher Robin Milne, aka “Billy Moon,” has never quite outlived the image of him presented to the world by his father, the illustrious A.A. Milne. After service in World War II, Christopher and his wife operate a low-key bookstore (sans the tales of a certain stuffed bear). When a French college student invites him to Paris to witness the student uprisings in 1968, Christopher accepts on a whim—and enters a scenario every bit as “magical” and much more dangerous than any from his fictional childhood. Lain’s first novel combines two unlikely topics to form a tapestry of life in the late 1960s, when Europe, as well as America, experienced the revolutionary fervor of youth. Milne’s friend and guide, Gerrard, has a curious relationship with time and space, and Milne finds himself caught up in the transient nature of both while seeking desperately to anchor himself to his real present. VERDICT Luminous storytelling and brilliant period descriptions make this fictional biography a priceless addition to the American magical realism canon; the book should be recommended to fantasy and general fiction readers. [See Prepub Alert, 2/25/13.]
Billy Moon published on August 27th.