BookGeek20

i keep munching on rich tea biscuits yum!

I just finished reading this book and in my opinion it was an enjoyable albeit a little strange to get into read. It was interesting to look into the characters pasts, what happened, how a strange childhood impacted upon the central characters life and so on and so forth. I found it a very dysfunctional novel as the theme of death and sadness ran throughout. The main character Helen was cold, unfeeling and unsympathetic towards her family and the plot at the end was in my opinion unresolved. It is a strange book and in my opinion should be read only if you are a fan of Alice Sebold's work. On about.com the book review is: "In The Almost Moon, Alice Sebold has created a memorable but wholly unlikable character. Helen Knightly is emotionally cold and distant, even from her best friend. Divorced, she is physically and emotionally estranged from her daughters. That she is mentally ill is readily apparent. Helen is coming to grips with a parable shared by her father when she was a girl. "I like to think your mother is almost whole," he said. "So much in life is about almost, not quites." "Like the moon," Helen had responded. The whole moon is always there in front of us, although we cannot always see it in its entirety. Except on those nights when it is full, we can do no more than almost see it. So it is with Life. Our life and the lives of those around us are always there in front of us; however, we seldom see the fullness of Life. We almost see it, then it is gone. In this dark and unsatisfying novel, no one seems to be whole. Death permeates everything. "When all is said and done, killing my mother came easily," reads the first sentence. "When I was a teenager, I thought every kid spent sweaty summer afternoons in their bedrooms, daydreaming of cutting their mother up into little pieces and mailing them to parts unknown." As the next twenty-four hours unfold, we see into the murky depths of her relationship with her mother, her father, her ex-husband, and her daughters. There is nothing there to make the reader connect and care about a single one of them, and we never fully understand what drove any of them. Her "mother's core was rotten like the brackish water at the bottom of a weeks-old vase of flowers." Her mother was severely agoraphobic. Her father, who went away for 90 days "to visit family," was warm and caring, but came home one evening and put a bullet through his head. At that point, Helen assumed the burden of caring for her mother. And, we quickly learn, it was a burden. A major theme of the novel explores in a superficial manner the choices we make as individuals and as members of a family. As the pressure to care for a contemptible mother grew, Helen had choices to make; the choice which led to the murder of her mother is never made clear. The interior monologues simply do not ring true, and the plot remains unresolved. Never has one novel had more dysfunctional characters. No one is whole, barely "almost whole." Everyone in Helen's family has issues; her mother's neighbors have issues. Her father used to say, when Helen's mother was off to a bad start in the morning, "It's a hard day." Helen, who likes hiding in "my own darkness" is having a hard day from which there seems to be no release. Sebold's first, highly acclaimed novel, The Lovely Bones, is a cheerful walk in the park in comparison. It provided a protagonist for whom we felt great sympathy, as did Lucky, a memoir of her rape, published in 1999. In an interview with David Weich of Powells.com in July of 2002, Sebold said, "When people say, "I enjoyed Lucky," and hesitate, my response is, 'Yes, thank you.' It's a book. It's meant to be read. Even if it's about something horrible, it should be written in such a way that you enjoy it as a reading experience." The Almost Moon does not rise to the criterion of being an enjoyable read. In the acknowledgments to his most recent novel, John Hart writes, "I have often said that family dysfunction makes for rich literary soil, ... the perfect place to cultivate secrets and misdeeds, grow them into explosive stories." Even in fertile soil, one has to plant good seed stock and tend it appropriately. Sebold's novel simply does not succeed on this level." I agree with this point of view in the fact that after finishing the book it left me unsatisfied and didnt really meet my expectations whereas i have read The Lovely Bones before and enjoyed it. Anyway, lets hope that No Time For Goodbye will be a better read! My rating: 5/10

i agree ^^ i was freaked out by E.T too, which might explain why alien horror films make me poo my pants! Also The Shining, i watched it last year on sky once with my parents and man it was a freaky film, its psychological mainly and how you can just go crazy in a big abandoned hotel in the middle of nowhere... I am happy that the ending was ok!

For me my scariest film has to be The Descent! I loved it, yet scared everytime i watch it. I love the ending and stuff. I went to watch Paranormal Activity last year which was rubbish until the ending which was scary too. Uhm I love horror films, but i really cant stand alien films, ever since i watched Signs, ive been freaked out by aliens ever since!!!

Wow i am amazed at the amount of people that put His Dark Materials on their lists, its one of my favorite trilogies i read when i was younger, i bought it with money from my nan. Im thinking i might have to read it again, however it is all the way in Guernsey... Btw you guys who are fans of good old Victor Hugo? did you know he was exiled to Guernsey? Ive been round his house and everything! *smug grin* *sigh* i do miss Guernsey (my home) at times whilst at uni but anyway on with the topic here are my top 5: 1. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman 2. The Old Kingdom Trilogy- Garth Nix 3. Romeo and Juliet- Shakespeare (By far my fave play ever and i enjoyed studying it at school!) 4. The Lovely Bones- Alice Sebold 5. The Memory Keeper's Daughter- Kim Edwards.

Hmm indeed how very insightful Vinay, i am so close to finishing my book atm :/ I think this forum will definitely encourage me to read more

Thank you guys for support, i think i shall read it next after the almost moon, nearly finished it, just keep running out of time what with uni work, social life, sleep etc :/

Hehe thanks vinay, but tbh i buy loads of books from charity shops so its all for a good cause, charity shops are like a treasure trove for book lovers!

Thank you all again! I am loving this place And i totally agree Bigwords about the victorian leather bound books, i found a great bookshop called the eagle bookshop here in bedford where i bought 4 books under 5 pounds

Welcomes My mum loves Catherine Cookson books, i dont read them myself, but it was because of her that i got into books at an early age! (im new too, just signed up today!)

Hey Thanks, I kind of read half of the time travelers wife lost my place and then never got back into it. And I am looking forward to reading growing up again!

Jan: Started reading The Almost Moon. Feb: Finished The Almost Moon. Started Reading No Time for Goodbye. Finished No Time For Goodbye. Started Reading Where or When. Mar: Apr: May: Jun: Jul: Aug: Sept: Oct: Nov: Dec:

Hey, I have to say that i love Twilight too! but anyway, You will really enjoy Marian Keyes- This Charming Man. I read it around this time last year and i really got into it after watching a her in a TV interview. It is really interesting how all the characters connect in the book and how all the different plots are interwoven to make a very good read. I might just have to re-read it! Oh and i am a huge fan of Trudi Canavan's books. The Magicians Guild trilogy is by far one of my favorite trilogies and she really inspired me to start writing. So best of luck with your reading list!

Well so far i am very much behind on my new year reading what with university life, studying and what not but i do have plenty of new books to be reading this year. 2010: Purple: Read Red: Currently Reading Green: TBR The Almost Moon- Alice Sebold. Love Lies- Adele Parks The Time Travelers Wife- Audrey Niffenegger Rogue- Danielle Steel The Sisterhood- Emily Barr The Memory Keepers Daughter- Kim Edwards (Read this last year, but want to reread it.) The Believers- Zoe Heller Burning Bright- Tracey Chevalier Growing Up Again- Catriona McCloud Not What You Think- Melissa Hill The Jewel Box- Anna Davis The Bostonians- Henry James (Got to have a classic!) Where or When-Anita Shreve The Remedy- Michelle Lovric No Time for Goodbye- Linwood Barclay Taft- Ann Patchett Touching Distance- Rebecca Adams The Infidelity Chain- Tess Stimson Hopefully all of these will be read this year!

but its better if you do- Panic! At The Disco <3

Thank you guys, i feel welcomed already!

Hi! I was googling for a cool forum such as this one for somewhere to discuss my most favorite pastime of all, reading. (I write as well occasionally). My favorite genres of books include: Chick Lit, General Novels, Crime Thrillers, Fiction Fantasy and Biographies. Amongst many others that i find it hard to put into a genre! I love novels that make me think and that have interesting story lines and characters which is why i am a fan of authors such as Alice Sebold, Audrey Niffenegger and Kim Edwards. What else about me? Well i am 20 years young and studying in my first year of my degree. I am studying Early Years Education and i aim to work with children in some capacity one day. I love films, walks, animals and music as well! I was very happy to have a sony reader for christmas, but still nothing beats a book! (Don't you just love the smell of an old or a new book?!) Anyway thats it! Looking forward to seeing people around on the forums! Bookgeek