The author (1913-1999) grew up in Missouri, graduating from the University of Missouri in 1939. She taught for several years but in 1948 married and moved to NYC where she worked in advertising. In 1962 she published a novel, [The Moonflower Vine], and it became a New York Times bestseller. The book I read this month is her second novel, published posthumously in 2012. [Claire de Lune] is based on Carleton's years as a young woman teaching in high school.

Allen Liles, a naive and idealistic young woman, begins teaching in high school in 1941. She loves books and poetry and wants to her inspire her students to love them too. Eventually a group begins to come to her apartment in the evenings to hear her read. After the students drift off, two of the boys continue to stay and the three form a special friendship. Though she never gives them special treatment in school, townspeople begin to notice she is sometimes with the boys around town in the evenings and the boys are seen going into her apartment. Naturally it's not long before complaints are being made. It's only then she admits to herself that she has fallen in love with one of them and may have ruined her chances for the career she wants and the job she desperately needs.

The book is "old-fashioned" but of course one from a different time. The characters are believable, I wanted to shake some sense into Allen sometimes. ( )

For some reason, I just couldn't get into this book. It's actually quite a boring read. I understand and appreciate the intended subtext, but it wasn't enough to justify reading the entire book. ( )

Sweeter and slighter than The Moonflower Vine but worth reading all the same. ( )

There are countless stories about male professors and young impressionable girls that fall for them. In this book it is the impressionable female teacher, who falls in with two of her male students. And then goes a step further and falls in love with one of them.

The feminism is striking on two levels. On the first level is the story of a bright young woman who pursued a career in education and suceeded, at a time when such an accomplishment was rare. On the second level is the young woman who loved innocently and realized how much her life was still curtailed by society.

The writing is beautiful, the characters enduring, and the journey worth taking. ( )

I loved this book almost as much as I loved the Moonflower Vine. I have to admit that the setting is almost exactly where I live and I can imagine the college as one of the state colleges near by. That in itself gives a comfortable feel about the book. However, that is where the comfort ends. The early 1940's are a long way from here. Allen, the protagonist, is such an innocent with big dreams it is almost hard to fathom that she is real, but she comes across as very real. In actuality, the 1940's aren't all that long ago, but what great strides our culture has made in the choices, hopes and dreams of women. Ok, there may be some backstepping for the choices of women today, but the restrictions that bright capable women lived under in those times is almost heartbreaking. Today's culture does provide some choices; the culture of a small college in rural America during that time provided only a very narrow track for women, and often it was other women who made that track so narrow.

The colleague who is marrying the "catch" of the town is especially interesting as is all the wedding preparation and the wedding itself. Carlson has great ability to put the reader right in the middle of the setting; one could almost hear the organ music and smell the flowers while sweat trickled down the back from heat. I do feel Carlson does a slightly better job in constructing her female characters than the "average" males. My only complaint might be that George and Toby, Allen's students and "soul mates" don't have the depth that most of the other characters do. Dr. Ansel, her colleague who lives with his mother, could come straight out of the Andy Griffin show. But, that does provide some comic relief in a sad way (if there is such a thing). In short, good story, believable characters, and a chance to walk in the shoes of a talented young woman who could be one of those women who helped pave the way for those of us that were able to appreciate more choices in our lives. ( )