The Almost Moon was the first book chosen by a newly formed book club, made up mostly of ladies i know from work, with a few additional friends mixed in. I had no idea what this book would be about. I loved The Lovely Bones, also by Alice Sebold, so i was looking forward to this book. That is, until i started reading it.
The Almost Moon is an exploration of insanity. The first line of the book, “When all is said and done, killing my mother came easily,” draws you in, and you think the main character, 50-year old Helen, is the one who is insane. Quickly, you learn it is her mother who has been mentally ill for her daughter’s entire existence. Through many flashbacks and memories, you learn what it was like to live with a parent who is crazy, and what kinds of effects it had on this character.
But wait! Then you discover that, in fact, her father was also crazy! and that has profoundly affected her as well.
How to describe it? I did not particularly like it, although it was definitely interesting. It left me depressed at times, and i was increasingly annoyed at the main character’s bizarre behavior. I can tell it was very good writing because of how i reacted, but i did not like it. I would also say i did not get emotionally involved in the book as i could not identify with any of the characters. And thus when the book ended with a sort of cliffhanger, i was only briefly annoyed that the end wasn’t tied up neatly, and then i promptly moved on with my life.
All in all, it was pretty dark, and not a very enjoyable read. I can’t say that i recommend it. But it was interesting, and i’m not sorry to have experienced it.