The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon is a 1991 novel by American author Tom Spanbauer set at the beginning of the 20th century.

[3] Duivichi-un-Dua, also known as Out-in-the-Shed or just "Shed", is a biracial bisexual who lives in the fictional town of Excellent, Idaho, in the middle part of the 20th century.

On the way there, he meets Dellwood Barker, a Montana cowboy who introduces Shed to a variety of spiritual and mystical traditions.

A new and beautiful prostitute, the widow Alma Hatch, has joined the brothel, and, after Dellwood Barker appears in town, the four individuals form a tightly bonded group that share living quarters and sexual experiences.

After some time, the four African American Wisdom brothers (Homer, Blind Jude, Ulysses, and Virgil) arrive in Excellent.

In the period after this tragedy, Ida Richilieu, Dellwood Barker, Alma Hatch, and Shed try to break out of their depression by consuming all the opium and alcohol they can get their hands on.

In a haze, Ida Richilieu and Alma Hatch attempt to go over nearby Devil's Pass in a blizzard, but their wagon overturns on a steep hill.

[5][7] Spanbauer took a job as an apartment building supervisor in the East Village, and began abusing alcohol and taking cocaine.

[6]Completing the manuscript did not occur until early 1991 and left Spanbauer emotionally and physically exhausted, so he moved to Oregon to recuperate.

[5][7] The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon is a book in the "dangerous writing" style of fiction actively promoted by author Tom Spanbauer.

He explains: "Dangerous writing means putting a piece of yourself in a work, going to the 'sore spot,' and discussing taboo topics, particularly sex and violence.

As author Chuck Palahniuk, a student of Spanbauer's, has explained: "Story can be a succession of tasty, smelly, touchable details.

The Washington Post called it "amazing" and "dazzlingly accomplished"[13] and The Oregonian said the novel "boldly creates a new voice from the Old West.

"[12] The New York Times was equally effusive: "The miracle of the novel is that it obliges us to rethink our whole idea of narration and history and myth.

"[14] The Los Angeles Times found it "brave, original, ribald, funny, [and] heart-rending" and concluded that the book is "as bright as it is dark, full of fictional and philosophical pleasures, a quirky, unsettling look at American history and a vision quest in the grand old tradition.

"[7] Reviewers compared Spanbauer to Mark Twain,[7][13] D. H. Lawrence,[13] Gabriel García Márquez,[7][13] Garrison Keillor,[13] Thomas Berger,[14] Walt Whitman,[13] William H. Gass,[14] Molly Gloss,[12] and Russell Hoban.

The Oregonian's reviewer thought the characters were too "extreme," felt that the narrative took too long to get going, and concluded that Shed's method of communicating in sentence fragments (often missing a verb or subject) difficult to comprehend.

[12] Nevertheless, while these elements were "irritating", the reviewer concluded: "[T]he exasperation is worth it: There is something triumphant about a novelist who risks this much and manages to find his way home.

"[12] The same reviewer also found that some passages might make some readers queasy: "Spanbauer's book, his second novel, is not for the squeamish (or Mormons without a sense of humor).

[16] The Los Angeles Times felt the book fell short of "cult" status because it came 20 years too late to be part of the free love and gay liberation movements.