In the first paragraph of A Blessing On The Moon, the Jewish residents of a Polish village are rounded up and shot, their bodies thrown into a shallow pit. With this chillingly brief transaction of Nazi bullets for Jewish lives, author Joseph Skibell breaks the boundaries between life and death, past and present, history and myth. The murdered hero of the novel, Chaim Skibelski, leaves his grave to return home thinking he has survived the massacre. He only realizes he is dead when the peasant family that has taken possession of his house fails to notice his presence. Thus begins a series of surreal meetings, heartbreaking reunions and absurd tasks facilitated by the village rabbi, who appears to Skibelski as a crow, assuring him of the necessity of these "pangs of the grave" on the way to the World To Come. Skibell has meticulously realized this purgatory, describing in graphic detail the unique complaints and powers of the decaying bodies of his undead. Just as there is no rest for broken bodies, souls linger, watching the world go on without them with no relief from the horror and loneliness of their fate. Wild fantasy is expertly interwoven with dark slapstick and moments of precious banality; Skibelski finds that his decomposing body is suddenly able to enjoy wine at the table of two old men to whom he is sent by the rabbi, and weeps with gratitude. A Blessing On The Moon impressively demonstrates the reverence and courage of Joseph Skibell's imagination.