Alice Sebold’s second novel is as moving and beautifully written as her first,The Lovely Bones. She takes some very sad and disturbing subject matter and writes about it in a way that completely captivates the reader. This is a story of mental illness and how difficult relationships can be under these circumstances, torn between love and hate, devotion and resentment. An engrossing novel, movingly told.

Synopsis

Helen Knightly has spent a lifetime trying to win the love of a mother who had none to spare. And as this electrifying novel opens, she steps over a boundary she never dreamt she would even approach. But while her act is almost unconscious, it also seems like the fulfilment of a lifetime’s buried desire.

Over the next twenty-four hours, her life rushes in at her as she confronts the choices that have brought her to this crossroads.

Reviews

‘Sebold writes brilliantly . . . The Almost Moon is a mature, salutary and timely novel’ Helen Dunmore, The Times

Exhilarating, unforgettable . . . This is a remarkable novel in which every word is vital, each nuance felt . . . Candid, gut-wrenching, at times horribly funny and often beautifully touching . . . The genius which guides The Almost Moon is its absolute, horrible, multiple truths; its staggering clarity’ Eileen Battersby, Irish Times

‘As moving as it is unquestionably gripping’ Observer

About the Author

Alice Sebold is the author of the memoir Lucky. She has been chosen by the Village Voice as a Writer on the Verge and has written for the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune. She lives in California with her husband, Glen David Gold. Photograph © Jerry Bauer   More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation