Mary Beth Keane is masterful at creating nuanced characters. The main characters in The Half Moon, Malcolm Gebhardt and Jess Ryan Gebhardt, are so well developed in the novel that I believed they were real people and wondered about them when I wasn’t reading and even after I finished the story. Malcolm dreams of owning the Half Moon, a bar he has worked at for over twenty years. His wife is an attorney and dreams of becoming a mother. They both come from a small town named Gillam, a NYC suburb and setting for the bar and most of the story. Of course, their families and old friends live close, stay connected, and folks know everybody’s business.
Malcolm and Jess have been unable to conceive a baby after years of working with fertility experts and unsuccessful in vitro fertilization. After deciding not to try any longer and Malcolm’s purchase of the bar without consulting Jess, the couple separates. Then, there is suspicious activity at the bar, a horrible snowstorm, and life becomes complicated. The detailed descriptions of Malcolm and Jess’s actions and decisions as they deal with their angst are so true-to-life, and the feelings conveyed are palpable.
Keane forces one to consider marital expectations and secrets between spouses. The implications of honesty and lying in marriage and life play out fascinatingly. The plot explores old and new friendships and conflicted friends when a couple splits. Additionally, the value of family is a significant theme; defining a nuclear family and appreciating extended family are considerations for the characters. Taking into account the educational status of the main characters and their circles of acquaintances leads to subtle and noticeable class differences. Malcolm and Jess’s choices and focus on lifetime dreams lead to heartbreaking events, and financial issues do not help.
