Moon and the Mars

Written by Kia Corthron

Narrated by Robin Miles

The highly anticipated new novel from the winner of the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize examines NYC and America in the burgeoning moments before the start of the Civil War through the eyes of a young biracial girl.

In Moon and the Mars, set in the impoverished Five Points district of New York City in the years 1857–1863, we experience neighborhood life through the eyes of Theo from childhood to adolescence, an orphan living between the homes of her
Black and Irish grandparents. Throughout her formative years, Theo witnesses everything from the creation of tap dance to P.T. Barnum's sensationalist museum to the draft riots that tear NYC asunder, amidst the daily maelstrom of Five Points
work, hardship, and camaraderie. Meanwhile, white America's attitudes towards people of color and slavery are shifting—painfully, transformationally—as the nation divides and marches to war.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781705033500

Kia Corthron

Kia Corthron is a playwright and novelist and author of The Castle Cross the Magnet Carter, which was awarded The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize in 2016 and was a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice. Her plays have been produced in New York, across the United States, and internationally.

Reviews for Moon and the Mars

[cheric-98329 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

'Moon and the Mars' takes place in New York City’s Irish and Black communities in the days leading up to the Civil War and after, and is ’inspired by real historical events.’This is a story of refugees, from both those formerly enslaved Black families fleeing the South, and those from Ireland, escaping their homeland during the potato famine, as well as others, including the descendants of the original people who inhabited this continent, this country. Seeking independence, seeking a better life with hope for a better future - if not for them then for their descendants.Family is at the heart of this story, but it is a time of upheaval and turbulence which affects these families. The changes in New York City, housing developments torn down, families forced to leave their homes in the name of progress. The War. The rising hate against the Irish and Black families. Politics. Those who believe that they are better, the colour of their skin declares them so. They abhor those who deign to fraternize with the ones they view as less than.Meanwhile, while the Civil War rages on, and crimes, including hate crimes, abound. There are moments that are lighter, that offer a glimpse of their former life. Characters such as Charles Sherwood Stratton, better known as Tom Thumb and his wife, Lavinia, along with P.T. Barnum’s famous circus add a momentary break from the hell that has broken loose throughout the city, and surrounding areas. Other ‘real’ people that join the cast include Abraham Lincoln, along with a host of others too long to include them all, but it also includes several historic events that are perhaps lesser known people such as Jane McClellan who was the head matron of the Colored Orphan Asylum. This covers a wide range of events that occurred during this time, many of the actual people that were involved, in one way or another.There is much in this story that felt eerily relevant to our times, this hatred that spread across the country like wildfire, mobs attacking people and division in the country. But balancing out that background, among these characters there is much generosity, appreciation and a thread of hope that ties it all together with an obvious love for family, both the families we are born into and those that we create.Pub Date: 31 Aug 2021Many thanks for the ARC provided by Random House / Seven Stories Press