The Half Moon

March 6, 2023
Keane (Ask Again, Yes) takes a nuanced look at a troubled marriage during a fraught week of blizzards and power outages in a predominantly Irish New York City suburb. “Handsome and charming” Malcolm Gephardt, 45, finally recognizes that “middle age is looming,” and that the Half Moon, the bar he owns, is in dire straits. His wife, Jess, an attorney, left him several months earlier, having been worn out by seven years of failed fertility treatments and discouraged by Malcolm’s refusal to include her in financial decisions. He has held out hope that Jess will come back, until he learns she’s involved with a fellow lawyer who has three young children. Keane surrounds her main characters with a crew of nosy people who regularly check in on Malcolm (“part of him suspected these friends, grown men, all in their mid-forties, loved the excuse to leave their families on a Saturday afternoon”), and livens the proceedings with juicy subplots about a shady loan with terms enforced by even shadier goons, the mysterious disappearance of a bar patron, and Malcolm’s mother, who, unbeknownst to Malcolm, has been carrying on an affair with the neighbor who plows her driveway. Keane pulls off a quiet, contemplative novel about the dwindling time for second chances. Agent: Chris Calhoun, Chris Calhoun Agency.

June 10, 2024

Malcolm Gephart has always dreamed of owning the Half Moon, the bar where he works. He dreams of the bar's potential and stretches his finances to make it work after his boss's retirement. Good-looking and gregarious, Malcolm is loved by the patrons. After years of failed attempts to conceive a much-wanted child, his wife Jess is staring down a future that may not include a child of her own. Told over the course of a week, when his former boss goes missing, secrets are uncovered, and a blizzard hits, as everyone learns the power of forgiveness. Keane's (Ask Again, Yes) latest is a heartwarming, satisfying listen that explores the complications of small-town life and the many definitions of family. Norbert Leo Butz and Rebecca Lowman narrate Malcolm and Jess as they navigate their hurts, expectations, and midlife crises. Butz provides a subtle, almost gentle narration of Malcolm, capturing both his desperation and his confusion. Lowman's narration of Jess is that of a wounded yet determined woman who will stop at nothing to have the family of which she dreams. VERDICT A heartfelt, complex novel that examines the thorny questions of marriage and middle age.--Elyssa Everling

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