Review of Chasing the Stars and Hoping to Shag the Moon

[Anthony__]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Chasing the Stars and Hoping to Shag the Moon" by Karen Moller.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Looking back in time, we would discover many more memories than we can ever imagine, which must be rekindled. Chasing the Stars and Hoping to Shag the Moon by Karen Moller is a non-fiction novel that discusses the past, feminism, individuality, creativity, and wartime.

The author’s memories of her past got triggered, and the effect was creating this novel. The author narrated how she met with her friend, Cyclops, and shared memories of growing up together. It told of events and people during World War Two and later on. The author reminisces about everything that she and Cyclops shared, giving credit to her parents for not stopping her from following her passion for being an artist. Other chapters hit subjects like female subjugation and domestic slavery and the difference in politics then and now. Read up to get the full details of the author’s reminiscing.

The author took us back in time, to the 1900s, explaining specific happening of that era. One of the prominent features of that era was the rise in feminism. The book discussed the likes of Vera Eriksen, Josephine Baker, and the author, herself; how they had taken it upon themselves and got determined to be independent women not held by dictates and stereotypes. The author also talked about her family and mentioned known and influential personalities such as authors, politicians, and entrepreneurs. She told stories of people she encountered along life’s path, like Piero Heliczer and Jonas Mekas. That shows that the book was very informative.

One thing that immensely helped my reading process and is noteworthy was the images included in the book. A picture, they say, is more than a thousand words. That facilitated a more enjoyable reading and showed that the book was well researched. Each chapter was titled with a quote from famous individuals. That alone was very educating and inspiring. It also gave a clue to the chapter’s details. Commendably, the language used was simple, and interestingly, a lot of vocabulary from diverse subjects were used, such as politics, religion, and art. One becomes informed of the happenings and the things characterized by the nineties, which the author majorly wrote on. It was highly educative.

The author discussed her personal life and her relationship with Cyclops, and how they met. She gave her life stories, not failing to mention her interest in authors. I guess that could be the reason for being connected to most artists. She continued to tell how she transformed her life into a huge success. The inclusion of names like George Orwell and quotes from William Blake and Abraham Lincoln was elating.

I would have loved to give this book a perfect rating based on the above positive reasons and the fact that it was professionally edited, as I found only two minor errors. However, I am rating the book 3 out of 4 stars. The reasons for deducting one star are based on two points. Firstly, the author was talking about the 1960s and wrote the book in such a way that it would majorly appeal to only those of that era. People not born in that time would find it hard reading the book, as it was not well structured. Then, I felt that including the year of each event or the chronological arrangement of events and their year of occurrence would make the book easier to read because it contained diverse stories of different personalities. Those two points are the only thing I disliked about the book.

On a final note, I would like to recommend this book to people born in the 1960s. It would bring lots of memories back. It could also appeal to researchers and lovers of non-fiction narratives.

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Chasing the Stars and Hoping to Shag the Moon
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[MOSHE MOGALE]

The book is quite a great expression but it needs for of enthesity to love upon the characters and more love in general, but the book is good.

[Edit_or]

This seems like an interesting book that portrays feminism and creativity. The images added to this book makes it more interesting to read. I definitely will enjoy reading this book. Great review.

[Pearl Thomas]

The 1960s was such a turning point in the history of feminism. I'm a fan of that era already, from music to social change, I think this book will be an interesting read.

[Gabriella1997]

I have really heard a lot about feminism, I hope I understand more by reading this book, beautiful review.

[Amynwankwo_]

The beautiful thing about books is how much you’re able to learn about so many different things. I’m glad the author has recounted her life experiences so we are able to share in it. Thanks for your review

[Chinaza Nnabuenyi]

From this review, it seems the author was very open in putting down her life experiences. Am adding this to my book shelves, nice review.

[Salah bourouba]

friendship if the right one can replace family, and family if supportive will encourage you to reach the moon, interesting book, great review

[Shilisia]

It would be so interesting to learn how life was then compared to now, especially from someone who actually experienced it. Good job.