The Wee Librocubicularist's Reading Journal: The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold

The Almost Moon
Alice Sebold

Front cover

Date read: 19 - 25 April
Length: 291 pages
Published: 2007

Helen helps to care for her mother, a woman in her 80s with dementia. On her latest visit, her mother soils herself. This leads Helen down an unexpected path, and the next 24 hours will seal her fate. Told with flashbacks, we learn how her past may have led her to where she is now.

The Almost Moon has a very shocking beginning! I was totally unprepared for what happened and very much taken by surprise.

As I read more of the book I began to realise I don't much like Helen. She is a very strange character and doesn't really seem to have a strong connection with everyone. All her relationships with people are weird. She has two grown up daughters that she doesn't really seem to keep in touch with, an ex husband who she doesn't even know where he lives, yet he's suddenly back in her life, and a best friend, who she doesn't actually seem to care all that much for. Not in a selfish way, almost in a not able to way.

Some things seem obvious that she seems oblivious to, mainly the state of the mental health of her parents, particularly her mother, but though flashbacks it's also revealed that her father was struggling too. In a way I can see how growing up with a mother with mental health issues might just seem normal to her, but even when she was a teenager I would think she would begin to realise what's really going on, yet she seems totally oblivious to it all.

One part I didn't really like was the ending. It was a very unsatisfying ending, it almost seemed rushed. Without saying too much, basically there were three options for Helen at the end. Yet when the end came, there was no real conclusion and it's basically up to us to decide which ending happened. There are clues to point you in the right direction I suppose, but still unsatisfying.

So my real rating for this book is probably between 2 and 3 stars. I went with 3 because some parts were interesting and kept me going, but in general I wasn't really a fan of this book. It's a shame because I read The Lovely Bones, and although it is also about really difficult subject matter, it was a good book! This one, I'm sorry to say, not so much.