The Almost Moon

The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold
Reviewed by Christine D.

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A confronting topic, the story opens with the main character Helen doing the unthinkable – killing her mother.  As shocking as that sounds, you learn as the story unfolds, what drove Helen to this point.   I almost empathised with Helen as she flashes from the present dealing with what she has done,  back to her child hood growing up with a mother who suffered from mental illness.

Helen’s childhood was strangled by her mother’s demands and challenges which I think ultimately drained the life from Helen and her father.   It drove Helen’s father to suicide, and Helen to eventually kill her mother.    I found Helen to be a cold and emotionally struggling character, but at the same time I could understand why she was – she didn’t get a chance to experience the love and nurturing we experience or expect from our mothers.

I found myself angry at Helen’s mother for being such a horrible and selfish woman, but at the same time angry at Helen for being a victim and not escaping it and leading a different life.   Helen’s father is the glimmer of warmth in a story which is bleak and unsettling.  Helen’s moments with her father are bittersweet and always hint at the regret and resolve to accept that the mother will always be the way she is. A touching conversation Helen has with her father:
“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.