The Half Moon: The compelling new novel from the New York Times bestselling author

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I think when you’re young, you think, ‘Love is enough,’ but after a while, love is really not enough,” Keane says. “At some point, you have to start figuring out how to protect yourself and your personhood within this unit.”

The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane | Goodreads

A big thank you to NetGalley for a complimentary early release copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Malcolm and Jess have been married for several years.. he a bar owner, she a lawyer…problems with the debt of keeping up a rundown bar, student loans and also of many rounds of intervention because of miscarriages and infertility problems for Jess they are both maxed out… other avenues open up for Jess that threaten to end their marriage.. it all comes to a head during a major blizzard that keeps everyone trapped in place during power outages, etc.. Could not get into the story(ies) at all. There were so many. Instead of focusing on one, you have to focus on many but none were in-depth enough to hold my interest or I just didn’t find it interesting. This story takes place over the course of a week, is dual perspective between the husband and wife, and frequently falls into large sections of past memories of what happened in their lives along the way.As both dreams begin to falter and fade, it creates tension, sadness and blame between Malcolm, Jess, and their marriage. Living in the small community where they grew up, even the most well-meaning family members and friends cause unnecessary interference and complications. As time passes, we find Jess and Malcolm estranged, their marriage strained by the weight of unfulfilled dreams and sacrifices made along the way. Jess seeks solace in the familiar embrace of her mother, who had reservations about Malcolm from the start. Meanwhile, Malcolm fights tooth and nail to keep his dream of owning the "Half Moon" bar alive. It was a dream that consumed him, passed down from his own father. But the price he paid for this ambition was steep, entangling him in a web of financial woes and threats from unscrupulous characters associated with the bar's previous owner.

Book Review: ‘The Half Moon,’ by Mary Beth Keane - The New

Mary Beth Keane wrote characters that are believable. They are selfish and arrogant at times but also heartbroken and relatable. I liked Malcom more than I liked Jess. She made some choices that I didn't agree with. I did feel bad for her not being able to get pregnant. Malcolm also made huge decisions without getting much input from Jess. In addition to the hot mess story and characters was what I consider hot mess writing. Aside from seemingly stream of consciousness sentence structure, the timelines and POVs were all over the place with no hallmarks. Malcolm gives off Ryle vibes from It Ends With Us. Hasn’t he ever heard the phrase, “Happy wife, happy life?” After middling success with Ask Again, Yes, I felt like Keane was a very strong writer, but that the aforementioned book just didn't have relatable characters...and that this was the sole reason I couldn't get into it fully. After reading The Half Moon, I've come to realize that it isn't just the characters: Keane's storytelling is simply too slow and meandering for me. I figured with different subject matter (marriage, for one!) at the forefront, that this would have that sort of small-town, charming feel despite the dramatic nature of Malcolm and Jess' failing relationship. However, Keane spent SO much time going over details that not only felt unnecessary, but weren't particularly interesting, that I lost focus and interest in the plot over and over again.

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Malcolm’s boss is retiring and Malcolm decides this is the time to make his dream of owning a bar a reality. He has years of ideas he’s collected to make it attractive to a broader clientele, and therefore more prosperous. The problem is that while he’s spent years there as a bartender, knows his side of the business inside and out, he knows very little about owning and running a business successfully. The Half Moon has been rolling with the good times at Putney Bridge on the banks of the Thames for decades. Whether it’s the live music or a rumbling belly that brings you to our doors, we’re sure you’ll like what you find inside. From expertly poured pints & seasonal British pub food, to live entertainment and private parties, we do it all, and we do it well. Main characters who are in their forties but behave as if they are in their twenties. Jessica and Malcolm have many secrets from each other despite their long relationship. This should have made them realistic, but their baseless self-pity and shoddy decision-making made me loathe them instead of rooting for them. When I can’t feel sympathetic even towards a woman who is desperate to be a mother, the book is a lost cause. The two main characters: Malcolm and Jess who are supposed to be mid-40’s and late-30’s respectively but act more in line with someone in their early 20’s. Yet there's something about the prose overall. I can't even put my finger on what I liked about the book in the end, but as I kept reading the book grew on me and I did mostly enjoy it in the end. There aren't enough real-life stories about marriages, so I do appreciate Keane's choice to make this a central plot point.