From Goodreads:
A woman steps over the line into the unthinkable in this brilliant, powerful, and unforgettable new novel by the author of The Lovely Bones and Lucky.
For years Helen Knightly has given her life to others: to her haunted mother, to her enigmatic father, to her husband and now grown children. When she finally crosses a terrible boundary, her life comes rushing in at her in a way she never could have imagined. Unfolding over the next twenty-four hours, this searing, fast-paced novel explores the complex ties between mothers and daughters, wives and lovers, the meaning of devotion, and the line between love and hate. It is a challenging, moving, gripping story, written with the fluidity and strength of voice that only Alice Sebold can bring to the page.
My review: I wanted to like this book, I really did. I liked The Lovely Bones. To say that this book was a disappointment would be an understatement. I want to know what the hell Alice Sebold was thinking when she wrote this book. We all know she can write. So how to explain the travesty that is The Almost Moon?
The main character was unlikeable. I don’t need them to be likable to like a book. This one was so one dimensional that it was hard to see past what she did to garner any sympathy for her. The secondary cast were not fully developed so no connection there either.
One thing that really irritated me, especially as a person with mental illness is that it seems she to failed to research what a real live person with the condition really acts like. I kept reading and was like you are making it sound all bad. As if we are one dimensional beings without any other traits. I really wish she had done more research or yet spent time with someone who has a mental illness to see how we really behave and such. I was offended to be honest with you.
I tried to find something that I liked about this book. That is why I kept on reading til the end. I kept thinking, there has to be some redeeming value. I will give it this it was short so I don’t feel as if I wasted to much time on it.
I am willing to give her one more shot. I hope she writes another book that is on par with The Lovely Bones.
