Eastern Sun, Winter Moon

The autobiography of Gary Paulsen, Eastern Sun, Winter Moon is the chronicle of of a remarkable childhood. Born during WWII, young Gary lives with his mother in Chicago while his father is away in Europe, fighting in the war. Mother works in a munitians factory and Gary stays home with a neighbor that drinks red wine and talks to the radio. When Mother comes home, she washes of the grime and becomes another woman-a movie star type beauty that draws all the men's eyes. When Father has a "friend" in France, Mother also gets a "friend", which disturbs Gary and sets the stage for future indiscretions.

When the war ends, Mother and Gary go to live with Father in the Philippines. After a cross country drive, a bout of chicken pox and a long boat ride with stops in Hawaii and Japan, Gary finally gets to meet his father. At 7 years old, Gary does not feel very connected to his father, but does feel that his mother should be faithful to him no matter what. From the soldiers and sailors Gary has learned to swear, how to "shoot a crap" and what sex is all about. From his parents he learns that he hates drinking and what it does to people and from his parents servants he learns about the Philippine lifestyle and eventually goes "native."

I greatly enjoyed this book. Gary Paulsen is an imaginative author and this definitely shows up in this autobiography. The imagery is so vivid that you feel as if you are standing next to him on the deck of the ship and feel his shock when he bites off his tongue in a childhood game. It does feel, after the fact, that some of this might have been imbellished or made up, but the times were very different than they are now.

Gary Paulsen is the author of many teen books; probably most well know are Hatchet, The River and Brian's Winter.