The Almost Moon: A Novel
by Alice Sebold
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Book Summary Information
Author: Alice SeboldEdition: Hardcover
Published: 2007-10-16
ISBN: 0316677469
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Book Reviews of The Almost Moon: A Novel
Book Review: The Almost Positive Review
Summary: 2 Stars
With nothing else to do but watch TV or go online on a weekday since I was sick, I ended up going over the rather haunting The Almost Moon, the second fictional piece by The Lovely Bones author, Alice Sebold.
I bought the book last week after recognizing who authored it. I was all praise for Sebold's first book so I wanted to see what her second book was about.
When it comes to deciding what rating I should give this book, I'm rather confused.
Plot-wise first, here's how the story unfolds: The main character (Helen) seems to be a dutiful daughter in that she looks after her elderly mother (Clair) who suffers from dementia. But as her mother loses control of her bowels and Helen doesn't know what to do, she suddenly gives in to a childhood impulse and decides to smother her mother and eventually kill her.
The rest of the book chronicles the relationship that Helen had with her mother, father, ex-husband and daughters, her job as a nude model for artists, and her friends. In the process of remembering the past, Helen slowly comes to terms with the present. In the process of recognizing her hatred for her mother, Helen discovers the kind of unique love she apparently does have for her.
On the one hand, I have to give props to Sebold for her extraordinary use of the English language. She has somehow mastered the art of weaving together words one normally wouldn't weave in the same sentence. She also has mastered the art of jumping from one time frame to another effortlessly. One would notice that practically every other paragraph is a jump from past (Helen recalling incidents in her childhood or early years as a wife and mother) to present.
Aside from this, Sebold's writing really makes you sit and pay attention, your breath catching in your throat as you wait and see what happens next. The first sentence alone, where Helen, in the first person says that she killed her mother, is enough to make you want to see what the book is about.
On the other hand, the book is too twisted and morbid for my own liking. I have read books in the past that tend to lean on the disturbing side, but to read a book about a woman who "casually" (I say this because it was an impulse at that moment for her to smother her mother with a towel) decides to kill her own mother is difficult.
Maybe it's because this book is a little too real for me. My own grandmother also suffers from dementia and some of the symptoms manifested by Clair are what my grandmother experiences as well.
Yet for the life of me, I cannot and will not ever imagine ending another person's life. Especially the life of a family member. You really have to be disturbed or mentally ill yourself to be able to do that. I just don't know if Helen has realized that she, too, might be equally as ill as her own mother but in a different way.
The book has too many plot holes that have no resolution. I have not understood the inner workings of Helen's brain as it is mostly full of illogic and absurdity. The things she does (i.e. cutting up her mother's braided hair after the murder and keeping it because she wanted to feel close to her) are questionable, almost unbelievable, and definitely unlikeable.
I like books that make me connect to the characters and when it comes to Helen (the entire book is really about her perspective), I never felt drawn to her in any way. The opposite happened when it came to digging deeper into Helen's character: I got turned off by her.
I see now why the general impression of people who've read and critiqued the book is that of disappointment; even disgust. It might be unfair to compare this work to that of The Lovely Bones, which, as people know, is the total opposite in terms of tonality (light, optimistic, charming).
Yet because of Bones, people expected Sebold's next fictional piece to be equally riveting, if not better. But for me, this wasn't the case.
Don't get me wrong, however. I still like Sebold as a writer though. Her experiences in the past have definitely strengthened her ability to understand people better and to write from the gut.
I just hope that if she does come out with a third book, she'll be able to wow everyone again and make them fall in love with her work. I'll still be one of those who anticipates what she comes up with.
Summary of The Almost Moon: A Novel
A woman steps over the line into the unthinkable in this brilliant, powerful, and unforgettable new novel by the author of The Lovely Bones and Lucky.For years Helen Knightly has given her life to others: to her haunted mother, to her enigmatic father, to her husband and now grown children. When she finally crosses a terrible boundary, her life comes rushing in at her in a way she never could have imagined. Unfolding over the next twenty-four hours, this searing, fast-paced novel explores the complex ties between mothers and daughters, wives and lovers, the meaning of devotion, and the line between love and hate. It is a challenging, moving, gripping story, written with the fluidity and strength of voice that only Alice Sebold can bring to the page.
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