The Half Moon

About the book

'Best Book of 2023' in Vogue, Entertainment Weekly, People, Book Page, Literary Hub

'It's such a pleasure to sink into Keane's quietly luminous prose . . . she manages to find the extraordinary grace in our achingly ordinary world' NEW YORK TIMES

'Mary Beth Keane writes to the heart of the human heart . . . I could not put this book down' MIRANDA COWLEY HELLER

'Prepare to lose yourself in this book' SARA COLLINS

'Her insights into matters of the heart, longing and restlessness especially, have astonishing delicacy' US VOGUE

'Allows us to look around our own lives with respect and kindness, and is therefore a great gift' ANN NAPOLITANO

'Compelling, touching, exquisitely crafted' LIANE MORIARTY
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There are two sides to every story - and every marriage in crisis . . .

Malcolm, bartender at the Half Moon, has always dreamed of owning a bar, and when his boss finally retires, he seizes his chance.

His wife, Jess, has devoted herself to her law career, but after years of trying for a baby, she's struggling to accept the idea that motherhood might not be in her future. She finds herself slipping away from both her career and her marriage. The bar is Malcolm's dream, and as she feels her youth start to fade, she wonders how to reshape her own life.

When a blizzard hits their upstate New York town on the same day that Malcolm learns some shocking news about Jess, and a regular at the bar goes missing, everyone is frozen in place for a single, pivotal week, forcing Malcolm and Jess to confront their uncertain future.

The Half Moon carefully explores a marriage in crisis, what it takes to make a life with another person, and the true meaning of family.
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'A quietly marvellous story of dreams, disappointments and second chances, but, mostly, love' Charmaine Wilkerson, New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake