41. "The Almost Moon" by Alice Sebold

Sebold, Alice. The Almost Moon. New York: Little, Brown, and Company, 2007.
291 pages
Reviewed by J. d'Artagnan Love

Alice Sebold is the author of the bestselling novel The Lovely Bones. The Almost Moon is her most recent publication and was debuted in 2007. The Almost Moon is about Helen Knightly who murders her mentally ill mother by smothering her with a towel.

I have not read The Lovely Bones, but I was not impressed with Sebold's second novel (The Almost Moon). The book traces the twenty four hours after Knightly's murder and the flashbacks (tangents) she has about her relationship with her now-dead mother.

This book has plenty of shock and awe, but the writing is clumsy and messy. The characters are drab and the narrative's voice is unoriginal and flat. The constant transitions between past and present tense are amateur and unimaginative.

Bookshelf Project Status: DONATED (to my university's writing club)
1 darts out of 5