The descriptions Walls uses of the Appalachian region ring true for the time period, but I didn't particularly enjoy the book. I found it depressing and hopeless in many ways. It got a bit unrealistic towards the end. ( )

Author Jeannette Walls has a very distinct voice which comes through again in her novel, Hang the Moon. With copious research and (I’m guessing) a little personal knowledge about the goings on in the area (Walls hails from Virginia where the book is set), Hang the Moon is a tale of family, greed, and bootlegging in the 1920s.

Sent away by her stepmother to live with an impoverished aunt, young Sallie Kincaid works as a laundress in the hills of Claiborne County. Upon her stepmother’s death, the Duke, Sallie’s dad and czar of the county, brings Sallie back home. At age 17, Sallie is hired on by the Duke to fetch his tenant rents and work with the moonshiners. As the years pass, Sallie and her family encounter numerous ups and downs and within a few years, Sallie finds herself taking over the Duke’s position as head of the county, running whiskey, balancing feuds and family, and trying to find love in a world where men overlord women.

Jeannette Walls’ style of prose is simplistic to today’s norm: no swearing, no sex. There is inference of both, but her writing is clean and pure. Quite an enjoyable switch to the norm of the in-you-face of the majority of today’s writers.

Walls has a very good history of well-written books, and I’m happy to had Hang the Moon to my bookshelf alongside the fabulous Half Broke Horses, another by Ms. Walls. ( )

The Henry VIII story forwarded by 400 years and transplanted to rural Virginia. "Duke" Kincaid is the ruler of Claiborne County and in 1920 whatever he says goes. Sallie is his daughter by "Annie" and is kind of like Elizabeth I except for her name and the fact that when her turn comes to rule after the Duke's death she becomes a bootlegger. Instead of colonial wars of conquest we have Prohibition Era violence. At times this was a real page turner, but at other times one clunky transition follows another for chapters at a time. The prose is serviceable and straightforward. No beautiful writing here. It is all plot and character, which is fairly well done. ( )

I love all of Jeanette Wall’s novels. She writes about strong, interesting women with strong family bonds. Sallie Kincaid has southern swagger , shoots from the hip , drives a mean automobile, defies federal laws and fiercely loves her family. You root for her completely in a story where men are the disappointment and women the heroes ! Way to go Jeanette Walls yet again ( )

[3.75] Walls has written a fast-moving family drama that provides a vivid glimpse into life during Prohibition era. She skillfully mixes family secrets, political power struggles and bootlegging escapades to tell the story of a Virginia community that is home to an array of intriguing characters. Perhaps “Hang the Moon” tries to deliver a few too many twists and subplots, but these are the ingredients that keep the book moving at an impressive pace. ( )