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A Moment in the Sun - a literary journey

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I just finished reading this huge novel, A Moment in the Sun by John Sayles. It felt really important to me, the experience of reading this, so I wanted to expand on it a little bit more.  John Sayles is an award winning film director whose work I have enjoyed in the past. Anybody seen any of them? Some people complain that his films are more like novels and I think that's why I like them. My favorite is Matewan , about the coal miner strike in 1920 (that featured a young Bonnie Prince Billy in an amazing role as the young preacher).  We also just rewatched an old favorite, The Secret of Roan Inish , which I had forgotten was also a John Sayles film. I love the way he digs into the cultural relevance and communities of place. But I hadn't realized he is also a novelist. His 1977 novel, Union Dues , even won the National Book Award.   I didn't know any of that when I picked this book up and was surprised to see his name as author. I could tell at once that it was gritty and