The Almost Moon

The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold

I have only read one other book by Alice Sebold, The Lovely Bones, and it was creepy - so is this one.

A woman crosses a line and then has to deal with the aftermath. In just a moment of unplanned action, her entire existence is altered. The book bounces back and forth between her childhood and the current time but it isn't difficult to follow or disorienting the way it can be in some books.

The book covers just over 24 hours of time but much occurs and many choices are made by the character that make you want to cringe.

This was a good book and I recommend it to anyone who likes her books and/or who likes psychological thrillers - it's a little on the disturbing side.

Forgive Me

Forgive Me by Amanda Eyre Ward

This was a fast read. It was, in large part, about a woman examining her life without wanting to examine her life.

The main character, Nadine, is a foreign correspondent who seems to thrive on blood, gore, and tragedy. She is constantly moving and never letting anyone really get close to her.

Briefly in Mexico, the story is mostly in the Cape Cod and Nantucket area and South Africa. The scenes in South Africa are haunting and heart breaking in many ways.

This is a good read that made me want to keep on reading.

Ethan Frome

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

I used to think that Romeo and Juliet was the best of all tragic love stories. You know, no one gets their true love and everyone dies. I may have to re-evaluate this.

Ethan Frome is a bleak and desolate book set in a bleak and desolate locale. It is a short novella and you don't really find out for sure "what happened" until the end. I don't want to be a spoiler but I have to say this. The best of all tragic love stories is one where the lovers are crippled for life and forced to rely on the care of the one person who keeps them apart, thereby keeping them from being happy. What more could you ask for in a tragedy?

Edith Wharton was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize but it wasn't for Ethan Frome. Ethan Frome was published in 1911 and it was 1920 when she published The Age of Innocence for which she won the Pulitzer. Summer, published in 1917 was apparently the companion to Ethan Frome. I am tempted to read Summer (especially if it is as short and easily read as Frome). I already have The Age of Innocence on my list of books to read (I read it years ago but I don't remember much about it).

For anyone who is a fan of tragedies or of Edith Wharton, I would recommend reading this book. If for no other reason, because it is only 130 pages long.