Gateway to the Moon

By: Mary Morris

Narrated by: Luis Moreno

Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

From award-winning novelist Mary Morris comes the remarkable story of a remote New Mexican town coming to grips with a dark history it never imagined. In 1492, the Jewish and Muslim populations of Spain were expelled, and Columbus set sail for America. Luis de Torres, a Spanish Jew, accompanies Columbus as his interpreter. His journey is only the beginning of a long migration, across many generations. Over the centuries, de Torres' descendants travel from Spain and Portugal to Mexico, finally settling in the hills of New Mexico. Five hundred years later, it is in these same hills that Miguel Torres, a young amateur astronomer, finds himself trying to understand the mystery that surrounds him and the town he grew up in.

Entrada de la Luna is a place that holds a profound secret - one that its residents cannot even imagine. It is also a place that ambitious children, such as Miguel, try to leave. Poor health, broken marriages, and poverty are the norm. Luck is unusual. When Miguel sees a flyer for a babysitting job, he jumps at the opportunity, and begins work for a Jewish family new to the area. Rachel Rothstein is not the sort of parent Miguel expected. A frustrated artist, Rachel moved her family from New York in search of a fresh start, but so far New Mexico has not solved any of the problems she brought with her. Miguel loves the work, yet he is surprised to find many of the Rothstein family's customs similar to ones he's grown up with and never understood.

Interwoven throughout the present-day narrative are the powerful stories of the ancestors of Entrada's residents, highlighting the torture, pursuit, and resistance of the Jewish people. A beautiful novel of shared history, Gateway to the Moon is a moving and memorable portrait of a family and its journey through the centuries.

©2018 Mary Morris (P)2018 Recorded Books

Couldn't put it down

Absolutely captivating and enthralling story of history. I couldn't stop listening to it. At the beginning I felt disappointed the it wasn't the author reading but Luis Moreno did an excellent job, especially adding the Hispanic accent to the characters.
I decided to purchase this book after viewing a YouTube video from Jewish Heritage Alliance: "Sefarad...Hidden Legacies Uncovered". I'm in search of my ancestry, which led me to this painful but nonetheless heart gripping story. Thank you.

Excellent

Such a well written story. I love the way all the parts fit together and how I fell in love with each set of characters. Historical fiction at its finest interwoven with a contemporary story.

Beautiful

Deep and beautiful story of a family's history showing the interconnectedness we all feel at some level.

Wow.

Captivating, devastating, and also uplifting. I initially thought I wouldn’t love the characters, but then it grabs you. You really feel like you are one of them as you experience their journeys through the generations. I couldn’t put it down.

Dissapointed

So many stories, so hard to follow, and so meaningless... So it seemed to me. The author travels back and forth through time and skips through generations with back stories that often seem trite, especially some of the back stories of the characters, and the bit of sex that she added, kind of like she was throwing it in there just to cover some bases. It was difficult to follow all the names and relationships in the book. I found myself trying to map them out. The historical references to the persecution of the Jewish people was the point of the book...I think, but it was a bit lost in all the stories. After all the build up, the end felt rushed through, with little to tie the story together. It is unusual for me to write a negative review, but this book was dissapointing, and I almost quit many times, but stayed with it, hoping that somehow she would redeem it. That didn't happen. The reader was OK, but halting in delivery - or was that the best he could do with the writing structure?

Predictable and far too long

It took forever to tell what turned out to be a simple story. Gratuitously graphic as well.