Author Christopher Meeks takes unexpected turns while scripting the life of Edward, and makes interesting use of several locales, including university in Colorado, a trailer park in Alabama, and film school in Los Angeles, Edward’s adopted city. His time in Alabama is a highlight of the novel, introducing a wild array of characters, outrageous situations, and ultimate self-discovery.

This is a moving novel, especially when focused on the initially labored relationship between Edward and his father. A seeming totalitarian when first introduced, Edward’s father is only a grieving widower, struggling to make sense of a world in which he is suddenly raising a pubescent son alone. Though theirs is a rocky relationship utilized as an introduction to the novel, the two later form an affectionate relationship, obviously deep with mutual respect and love. Though I missed their dynamic in the second half of the book, Edward grew up and moved on, becoming a father himself.

Like his short stories collections before it, “The Brightest Moon of the Century” proves Christopher Meeks to be a candid, inventive author, capable of capturing the nature of man and exposing it in the most charming of fashions.