The Moonstoners.
"Many novels attempt to capture the turbulent times and social sentiments of 1960s America, but The Moonstoners goes a notch above most in exploring an individual's quest for love in the shadow of changing social relationships. ... As Barbara J. Dzikowski's story deftly navigates both matters of the heart and questions of madness and redemption, the 1960s come to life in a manner that integrates romance with life choices and values. The Moonstoners excels in marrying a sense of the times with a family's dire circumstances."
- Midwest Book Review, D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer |
"Dzikowski is a passionate writer and her background in counseling has likely contributed much to her prose and outlook. . . . One cannot deny the real power of the book. Readers will be drawn into caring deeply about these terribly tortured characters and bracing for the next inevitable tragic turn. ... A gripping family story for those strong enough for the emotional journey."
-Kirkus Reviews |
“When one does not love too much, one does not love enough.”
—Blaise Pascal As a child, Noël Trudeau flees with her family from their Louisiana home in the aftermath of a heinous murder, sparked by a secret that will shadow the Trudeaus for the rest of their lives. Ten years later, on the same day that President Kennedy is assassinated, she discovers she’s pregnant by date rape, forcing her to marry her abusive boyfriend. As the surrounding nation is divided over race, equality, and the escalating war—and her brothers leave for service in Vietnam— Noël finds a safe place to hide from her husband in the black ghetto of the steel town of Langston, Indiana, under the watchful eye of an elderly, childless couple. But her sequestered existence is threatened when Ricky Ziemny, a sensitive artist, falls in love with her. Desperate to keep her past secrets hidden from him, she’s confronted by—and irresistibly drawn to—his protective older brother, Leon, who’s engaged to be married. As the country is increasingly torn apart at the seams, so are these two families. And when Noël’s long-kept secrets are about to unravel, she questions what it really means to love. Set in the soul-searing 1960s when the quest for love as the supreme panacea is stilled by assassins’ bullets, The Moonstoners captures the emotional complexities of families and relationships, grief and loss, hopes and dreams, from the diverse perspectives of five interconnected lives. It is a journey into the heartbreaking, life-changing choices we make when we love too much—and the human spirit’s ultimate faith that love will have the last word. |