The Half Moon: The compelling new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Ask Again, Yes

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The page-turning and immersive new novel from New York Times bestseller Mary Beth Keane, author of Radio 2 Summer Bookclub pick Ask Again, Yes Malcolm Gephardt, gregarious bartender at the Half Moon in Upstate New York, has always dreamed of owning a bar. When his boss retires, Malcolm seizes his chance. His wife, Jess, has devoted herself to her law career, but after years of unsuccessfully trying for a baby finds herself slipping away from her work and her marriage. When a blizzard hits their town, on the same day that Malcolm learns some shocking news about Jess and a key patron of the bar disappears, everyone is trapped. Malcolm and Jess must suddenly look at what it means to be a family, and whether their futures lie elsewhere...

Reviews

Mary Beth Keane writes to the heart of the human heart. She shows us how love can deepen, how love can stall - hang in the sky like a half moon, waxing and waning in the same moment, equal parts shadow and light. I could not put this book down' -- Miranda Cowley Heller, author of Sunday Times bestseller The Paper Palace
I adored this compelling, touching, exquisitely crafted story about a marriage in crisis. As a devoted fan of Mary Beth Keane, I'm already looking forward to whatever she chooses to write next! -- Liane Moriarty
I fell in love with The Half Moon from the first page, and barely looked up until I'd finished. Mary Beth Keane has written another brilliantly absorbing novel about complicated marriages and family dynamics - how they shape us, yes, but how they undo us as well. Prepare to lose yourself in this book -- Sara Collins, bestselling author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton
Mary Beth Keane is one of our finest writers on the interior complexities of marriage and family. She shines a flashlight on the intricate clockwork of love and longing that runs inside us; and because of the thoughtfulness of that examination, beauty and possibility are visible. I ran my finger over sentences while reading, thinking: Yes, exactly. This kind of fiction recognizes us, and allows us to look around our own lives with respect and kindness, and is therefore a great gift -- Ann Napolitano, author of New York Times bestseller Dear Edward
Keane writes in a sturdily realist vein-the vivid, domesticated world of Anne Tyler, of William Trevor, of Elizabeth Strout-but her insights into matters of the heart, longing and restlessness especially, have astonishing delicacy * Vogue US *
A masterful novel that tells with great tenderness how love goes wrong and how, with hope, it can be righted. Mary Beth Keane is an unnervingly talented novelist - dead-on brilliant, authentic, full of humour, and possessing a dark and comforting wisdom. The Half Moon is a triumph -- Adrienne Brodeur, author of Wild Game
A quietly marvellous story of dreams, disappointments and second chances, but, mostly, love -- Charmaine Wilkerson, New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake
Keane explores the sacrifices of a marriage . . . The tension is undeniable and deeply compelling . . . with an unexpected twist, Keane's charming, tautly-paced, and introspective novel will delight * Booklist *
Here, a full marriage story is compressed within the span of a single week as charming, gregarious bartender Malcolm and his conscientious lawyer wife Jess confront the longtime fissures in their union and the many dreams deferred * The Best in Upcoming Fiction, Entertainment Weekly *
A man walks into a bar... at the start of this remarkable novel, and how does Mary Beth Keane do it Because I walked right on in there after him, into this sublime, shaken snow globe of a story. A story that unpeels the human psyche with compassion and wisdom and extraordinary insight. She is hands down one of my favourite writers -- Fran Littlewood, author of Amazing Grace Adams
I LOVED The Half Moon. She's an extraordinary writer who explores the complications of human relationships with so much perceptive brilliance. Every character in this wonderful book is so nuanced - I've thought about it often since finishing -- Caroline Lea. author of Prize Women

Author Bio

Mary Beth Keane attended Barnard College and the University of Virginia, where she received an MFA. She was awarded a John S. Guggenheim fellowship for fiction writing, and has received citations from the National Book Foundation, PEN America, and the Hemingway Society. Born in the Bronx to parents from the west of Ireland, she currently lives in New York, with her husband and their two sons. She is the author of The Walking People, Fever, and most recently, Ask Again, Yes, which spent eight weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. To date, translation rights to Ask Again, Yes have sold in twenty-two languages. The Half Moon is her fourth novel.