Title: The Half Moon
Author: Mary Beth Keane
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Published On: May 2, 2023
Publisher: Scribner
Source: digital (Netgalley)
Pages: 304
Synopsis:
From the bestselling author of Ask Again, Yes, a masterful novel about a couple in a small town who must navigate the complexities of marriage, family, and longing.
Malcolm Gephardt, handsome and gregarious longtime bartender at the Half Moon, has always dreamed of owning a bar. When his boss finally retires, Malcolm stretches to buy the place. He sees unquantifiable magic and potential in the Half Moon and hopes to transform it into a bigger success, but struggles to stay afloat.
His smart and confident wife, Jess, has devoted herself to her law career. After years of trying for a baby, she is facing the idea that motherhood may not be in the cards for her. Like Malcolm, she feels her youth beginning to slip away and wonders how to reshape her future.
Award-winning author Mary Beth Keane’s new novel takes place over the course of one week when Malcolm learns shocking news about Jess, a patron of the bar goes missing, and a blizzard hits the town of Gillam, trapping everyone in place. With a deft eye and generous spirit, Keane explores the disappointments and unexpected consolations of midlife, the many forms forgiveness can take, the complicated intimacy of small-town living, and what it means to be a family.
Content Warnings
Infertility, Infidelity
My thoughts
(Spoiler free)
The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane is a quiet, but memorable novel about the convergence of a struggling couple, a failing local bar, and an epic snowstorm over the course of one week. Tense, passionate, and atmospheric, I didn’t want to put this one down.
“The whole place was full from end to end, and from one group came a sudden swell of people singing. Others joined in from all the way across the room, and it became a call-and-response, a song everyone knew. You might not know how you felt about the song if you were alone in your car, but sung in a local pub? With a drink in your hand? Alongside strangers? Pure Magic. The problem was that if Malcolm wanted the same thing to happen the next night, and the next, just having the thought in his mind and looking for the right moment would make it impossible. The warmth, the feeling of camaraderie, even the night sky swollen with snow—it was like chemistry between people—surprising, impossible to predict—but once the charge was in the air, there was no force more powerful.”
Having read the author’s previous novel, Ask, Again Yes, I knew The Half Moon would be well-written and engaging. And while I enjoyed Ask Again, Yes, The Half Moon surpassed it.
The Half Moon, the town’s local pub, is run by Malcolm who has tended bar there for twenty years, purchasing the bar from the previous owner. Keane does a wonderful job of placing the reader in this setting. I felt like a patron of the bar. I could hear the clinking of the glasses and feel the sticky floors.
We meet Malcolm at a low point in his life. His wife Jess left four months ago, the couple’s relationship having broken under the stress of infertility and finances. The dual point of view alternates between the past and present, letting the reader get to know these characters and what brought them together and tore them apart.
Malcolm and Jess are humanized, flawed, and I appreciated their character arcs. And while they both make some decisions that are questionable, it reflects how we can all make terrible decisions when we’re under the stressors of life that would buckle most people.
I especially appreciated the author’s honest handling of infertility. Portrayed realistically, it’s a devastating ordeal for people longing to be parents that so often gets overlooked and ignored. Friends, family, and even strangers can be cruel without even knowing it, and the author represented that with care.
There’s also a mysterious side story about a missing bar patron which added to the unease and the many demands weighing on Malcolm’s shoulders. It only enhanced the story for me, spotlighting side characters who were also well-rounded and human.
Set during a fierce snowstorm with loss of electricity and connection with the outside world, this would be a perfect novel to read curled up by the fire. It’s odd how I can usually tell a new book has been written during the pandemic even if it’s not set during the time. They always have that feeling of stark uncertainty, hollowed out loneliness, but also weirdly nostalgic. A reminder of how most of us shuttered ourselves in and gathered close with our loved ones, and this novel is a perfect example.
Despite focusing on some heavier subjects, I thought The Half Moon wrapped up satisfactorily, hopeful but realistic. It would be perfect for book clubs to dive into, as well. I hope this one gets all the attention it deserves.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Scribner and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy.
(All quotes are taken from the advance copy and are subject to change in final print.)
Rating: 4.5 stars
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About the Author
Mary Beth Keane
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. She is the author of The Walking People, Fever, and Ask Again, Yes, which was a New York Times Best Seller and was translated into twenty-two languages. Her new novel, The Half Moon, is forthcoming May 2, 2023.
A Song For A Book
One song was mentioned in the book and I thought it was perfect to highlight: “The Parting Glass”, a traditional Scottish song that is also popular in Ireland. It’s been covered by many artists, but I’ll be sharing Hozier‘s haunting rendition.
Of all the money that e’er I had
I spent it in good company
And all the harm I’ve ever done
Alas, it was to none but me
And all I’ve done for want of wit
To memory now I can’t recall
So fill to me the parting glass
Good night and joy be to you all
So fill to me the parting glass
And drink a health whate’er befalls
Then gently rise and softly call
Good night and joy be to you all…
Have you read The Half Moon? Did you add it to your tbr? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering!
Nice review! I liked Ask Again, Yes so I’ve now added this one to my TBR.
Yay! I hope you enjoy it, too. I’d love to hear what you think.
Great review, Dedra. This sounds like a very emotional story. I haven’t read either of these novels, but I am putting them on my TBR.
Oh good, Carla! I think you’d enjoy both of them!
Interesting observation about books written during the pandemic. I have to think about some of the books I read that fit that description.
Yes, I’d love to hear your thoughts on it. I’m slowly accruing a list of them. 😃
I don’t know what it is about epic snowstorms, but I always love stories that are set during them. ;D
Yes!! Me too!!
This sounds like a good, emotional read.
It really was! The good kind of emotional. 😉