A woman steps over the line into the unthinkable in this brilliant, powerful, and unforgettable new novel by the author of The Lovely Bones and Lucky. Helen Knightly has spent a lifetime trying to win the love of a mother who had none to spare. And as this electrifying novel opens, she steps over a boundary she never dreamt she would even approach. But while her act is almost unconscious, it also seems like the fulfilment of a lifetime's buried desire. Over the next twenty-four hours, her life rushes in at her as she confronts the choices that have brought her to this crossroads. Sebold writes brilliantly ...The Almost Moon is a mature, salutary and timely novel' Helen Dunmore, The Times Exhilarating, unforgettable ...This is a remarkable novel in which every word is vital, each nuance felt ...Candid, gut-wrenching, at times horribly funny and often beautifully touching ...The genius which guides The Almost Moon is its absolute, horrible, multiple truths; its staggering clarity' Eileen Battersby, Irish Times As moving as it is unquestionably gripping' Observer