book review :: the almost moon

I will preface this by saying that I loved The Lovely Bones. I cried when I read it. Also, I didn't hear the bad reviews before I pre-ordered this book on Amazon.

I started reading the other night. I got to chapter five and called it a night. Then last night I just finished it. I didn't even realize it was 5:30 a.m. when I called it a night.

This is definitely one of those books where if you decide to continue, you most likely will just finish it because you want to see how it ends. I don't know that it is a page turner, per se, but once you have committed to seeing how it ends, you are probably not going to be willing to wait.

I am not giving anything away here. It is the opening sentence. The main character, 49-year-old Helen, kills her 88-year-old mother, Clair. It isn't pre-meditated. It isn't gory or brutal, but certainly something to consider before reading, although this is not the usual book about mother loss. The story takes place in the span of about twenty-four hours. Of course there are tales from the past told along the way, otherwise none of this would make sense.

Honestly, I think this would be a great book for a book group. It raises some interesting questions. Even beyond the whole mother-daughter relationship, there are larger questions about how your history contributes to who you are, and if you truly can escape it. There are also questions about taking responsibility for one's actions or if it is human nature to try and get away with things, even murder? And of course, what do you think happens next - the ending is well, pretty open-ended.

This is not The Lovely Bones, so if you are expecting that, you will be disappointed. Overall I think I would give it a 3.5 out of 5.