By Way of the Moonlight

by: Elizabeth Musser

Carver County Library paperback 377 pages

Published: 2022

Genre: Christian historical fiction

 

Horses, WWII, polio, mother / daughter relationships, German U-boats on the Atlantic Coast, Tommy . . . I'm surprised that I have so many post-it notes in a book that I enjoyed but was not crazy about.  Nana Dale's WWII story was significantly more interesting than her granddaughter Allie's modern day story. We had a good book club discussion on Monday (even though I had 60 pages left to read).

Page 17: "'Horseshoes are for good luck, Allie . . . I don't like to call it luck, though. I call it faith.'" (Nana Dale)

This made me think of a recent conversation when I was expressing appreciation for my sons' wonderful in-laws. The person I was talking with referred to being "lucky." I was surprised. This doesn't feel like random chance to me . . . 

Page 49: "According to her mother, the chances of this prayer being answered were non-existent. But then again, her mother was only human, and Dale was not praying to her."

I don't like that Dale's mom was discouraging her, but I love Dale's response! God can do the impossible.

Page 58 and page 128: ". . . what I read in Nana Dale's eyes was pure ove." (sic) and "What awful i

rony!" (sic - the "i" was at the end of a line of text and the "rony" was at the start of the next line!!!)

 

PET PEEVE!!! Do editors and proofreaders not exist any more??? At book club, another person had noticed this and one checked their Kindle. Yep. "Ove" instead of "Love." Sigh. And for the word "irony" to be split (with no dash or hyphen in sight . . . ) Okay. I feel better now.

Page 68/69 and other chapter transitions: I love love love that Musser flowed from one story to the next! In this instance, Allie "stopped, turned my face upward, and gave a small gasp. A full rainbow towered above the trees, weaving in and out of the clouds." The next chapter (Dale) starts with "She'd always remember how the rainbow announced his arrival. . . . " It worked beautifully! I definitely liked Dale's story line better, but the two were interwoven so well!

Page 120: "'It will never be enough, Dale, until you decide that you already have it all. You settle in your mind a grateful heart, a content spirit, and everything else will be gravy, girl.'"

Husy (Mrs. Hughes) was more than a nursemaid to Dale! She parented her and guided her in ways her parents were either unable or unwilling to do.

Page 137: "'Don't forget your prayers,' Husy used to say. 'Practice gratitude, Barbara Dale.' Her nursemaid's simple wisdom often drifted into her thoughts."

Gratitude. Prayers. Simple wisdom. Beautiful.

Page 149 just made me cringe. It's the breakup between Allie and Austin. I completely understand her being upset, but I'd be fighting mad. Her grandmother was clearly taken advantage of and the will should be contested in court. You don't roll over and play dead and chase off your amazing fiancé because you're so upset!

Page 203: "The kiss blossomed like daffodils in February, like primroses peeking from under the snow, like the crepe myrtle exploding in fluorescent pink outside her bedroom window, like that giddy feeling in the pit of her stomach when they called her name in first place at a horse show."

I just really liked the descriptive language here!

Page 234: "It could lose almost ninety percent of its water and survive, while most plants could only lose ten percent before they died. . . . Today, I longed for some sort of resurrection too, for it seemed I had lost at least ninety percent of whatever I needed to move forward in my life."

I had never heard of a resurrection fern before, so I found this really interesting. I also liked how the author connected that idea to Allie as a character. I liked her better in the last third of the book.

Page 286: "'It's like learning to ride a horse, Allie. Praying, trusting God - the more you practice, the better you get at understanding how He wants you to live. It doesn't happen overnight."

What Nana Dale learned from Husy, she tried to pass on to Allie. I want to set a good example for Joshua and Benjamin!

Page 352: "'Life ain't fair. It's brutal, sometimes, Miss Dale. And faith don't stop the horrible things. But faith helps you walk through those things, whipped and angry and screaming on the inside. Lord don't mind our screaming and raging. He's done shown us how to do it in those psalms of His that King David wrote.'"

Husy giving good advice as usual!

Page 357: I don't want to leave any spoilers, but I'm relieved that Dale finally told her husband the truth about her past (after ten years of marriage!) "Somehow, it had restored hope in their marriage and given Daniel permission to share his own secrets. And there had been healing."

Horseshoes and diamonds. Hmm. Not sure how I feel about how everything turned out. I still think Allie should have taken Hightower to court.