Seasons of the Moon

At the close of World War II, a chance encounter sets the course for one man’s destiny…

During the Nazi occupation, fifteen-year-old Paul Vertune, the sensitive son of wheat farmers, prefers gazing at the ocean and contemplating life’s mysteries over toiling in the fields of the Brittany coast. One fateful day, Paul’s life is spared by a compassionate German soldier with eyes as blue as the sea. When Paul’s village is liberated, an angry mob turns against their occupiers. The German soldier, near death, asks Paul to promise him one thing: find his daughter and tell her that her father loved her.

As Paul becomes a man, he fulfills his childhood dream of sailing the world, even as twists of fate steer his life in unexpected directions. But through it all, Paul never forgets his promise.

Beautifully moving and deeply profound, Seasons of the Moon evokes a sense of wonder at the mystery of human connection and the powerful ripple effects of kindness.

Julien Aranda was born in Bordeaux in 1982. He grew up in southwest France, daydreamed while contemplating the Atlantic Ocean, and read a lot. Nourished by his trips to Latin America, Asia, and the Canary Islands, Le sourire du clair de lune (Seasons of the Moon) is his first novel. He has recently completed his second novel, La simplicité des nuages. Follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/julien.aranda.

Roland Glasser translates literary and genre fiction, as well as art, travel, and assorted nonfiction, from French. His translation of Fiston Mwanza Mujila’s Tram 83 won the Etisalat Prize for Literature 2016 and was long-listed for the Man Booker International Prize and the Best Translated Book Award. He has translated a wide variety of authors, including Anne Cuneo, Martin Page, Marc Pouyet, Ludovic Flamant, Robert Morcet, and Clémentine Beauvais. Roland has contributed articles and essays to the White Review, Asymptote, Lit Hub, Chimurenga, In Other Words, Fitzrovia, and Bloomsbury. He has also worked extensively in the performing arts, chiefly as a lighting designer. Having lived in Paris for many years, he is currently based in London.