The highly-anticipated new novel from the New York Times bestselling author

For fans of Sorrow and Bliss and The Paper Palace

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


'I could not put this book down' MIRANDA COWLEY HELLER

'Compelling, touching, exquisitely crafted' LIANE MORIARTY

'Prepare to lose yourself in this book' SARA COLLINS

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There are two sides to every story. . .


Malcolm is a bartender at the Half Moon in Upstate New York. He has always dreamed of owning a bar, and so when his boss finally retires, he seizes his chance, despite his wife's protests.


Jess has devoted herself to her law career. 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.


When a blizzard hits 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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**An Indie Next Pick and Amazon Editor's Pick**

'A quietly marvellous story of dreams, disappointments and second chances, but, mostly, love' CHARMAINE WILKERSON, New York Times bestselling author of BLACK CAKE

'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

'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

About the Author
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. Born in the Bronx to parents from the west of Ireland, she currently lives in New York, with her husband and their two sons. She is the author of The Walking People, Fever, and most recently, Ask Again, Yes, which spent eight weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. To date, translation rights to Ask Again, Yes have sold in twenty-two languages. The Half Moon is her fourth novel.

Reviews
Mary Beth Keane writes to the heart of the human heart. She shows us how love can deepen, how love can stall - hang in the sky like a half moon, waxing and waning in the same moment, equal parts shadow and light. I could not put this book down' -- Miranda Cowley Heller, author of Sunday Times bestseller The Paper Palace
Absorbing ... Keane excels at moments of interior deliberation ... it's such a pleasure to sink into Keane's quietly luminous prose ... Her recordings of the small, significant moments of life have a way of standing for something larger... [Keane's] perceptive, generous observations and attention to her characters' inner lives make for a book that is much, much more than the sum of its characters. She manages to find the extraordinary grace in our achingly ordinary world * New York Times *
I adored this compelling, touching, exquisitely crafted story about a marriage in crisis. As a devoted fan of Mary Beth Keane, I'm already looking forward to whatever she chooses to write next! -- Liane Moriarty
I fell in love with The Half Moon from the first page, and barely looked up until I'd finished. Mary Beth Keane has written another brilliantly absorbing novel about complicated marriages and family dynamics - how they shape us, yes, but how they undo us as well. Prepare to lose yourself in this book -- Sara Collins, bestselling author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton
Mary Beth Keane is one of our finest writers on the interior complexities of marriage and family. She shines a flashlight on the intricate clockwork of love and longing that runs inside us; and because of the thoughtfulness of that examination, beauty and possibility are visible. I ran my finger over sentences while reading, thinking: Yes, exactly. This kind of fiction recognizes us, and allows us to look around our own lives with respect and kindness, and is therefore a great gift -- Ann Napolitano, author of New York Times bestseller Dear Edward
Keane writes in a sturdily realist vein-the vivid, domesticated world of Anne Tyler, of William Trevor, of Elizabeth Strout-but her insights into matters of the heart, longing and restlessness especially, have astonishing delicacy * Vogue US *
A quietly marvellous story of dreams, disappointments and second chances, but, mostly, love -- Charmaine Wilkerson, New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake
Keane explores the sacrifices of a marriage . . . The tension is undeniable and deeply compelling . . . with an unexpected twist, Keane's charming, tautly-paced, and introspective novel will delight * Booklist *
Here, a full marriage story is compressed within the span of a single week as charming, gregarious bartender Malcolm and his conscientious lawyer wife Jess confront the longtime fissures in their union and the many dreams deferred * The Best in Upcoming Fiction, Entertainment Weekly *
You'll root for both sides in this deftly written novel * Grazia *
A man walks into a bar... at the start of this remarkable novel, and how does Mary Beth Keane do it? Because I walked right on in there after him, into this sublime, shaken snow globe of a story. A story that unpeels the human psyche with compassion and wisdom and extraordinary insight. She is hands down one of my favourite writers -- Fran Littlewood, author of Amazing Grace Adams
I LOVED The Half Moon. She's an extraordinary writer who explores the complications of human relationships with so much perceptive brilliance. Every character in this wonderful book is so nuanced - I've thought about it often since finishing -- Caroline Lea. author of Prize Women
Poignant * LA Times *
Keane is an expert at writing about the complexities of marriage and family * Good Housekeeping *
Another beautifully written book * Hello! *



Book Information
ISBN 9780241546840
Author Mary Beth Keane
Format Hardback
Page Count 304
Imprint Michael Joseph Ltd
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 413g
Dimensions(mm) 225mm * 145mm * 27mm