Mary Beth Keane attended Barnard College and the University of Virginia, where she received an MFA. She was awarded a John S. Guggenheim fellowship for fiction writing, and has received citations from the National Book Foundation, PEN America, and the Hemingway Society. Born in the Bronx to parents from the west of Ireland, she currently lives in New York, with her husband and their two sons. She is the author of The Walking People, Fever, and most recently, Ask Again, Yes, which spent eight weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. To date, translation rights to Ask Again, Yes have sold in twenty-two languages. The Half Moon is her fourth novel.
A compelling drama of transatlantic Irish life Marries a deliciously old-fashioned style of storytelling with a fresh take on the immigrant experience . . . A warm, involving family drama * Booklist * An epic story about immigration, identity and family . . . Keane portrays the complex and, at times, challenging lives of these working-class women with tenderness and compassion * Guardian * Atmospheric, moving and brilliantly well-written * Daily Mail * This atmospheric read that spans from 1950s Ireland to modern-day America and follows the fortunes of a woman on the run from a family secret * Good Housekeeping * Engrossing . . . Captures the windswept grittiness of Irish poverty as vividly as the technicolour hustle and bustle of 1960s New York. The Walking People is the kind of novel you simply don't want to end * Daily Express * Keane's previous novel Ask Again, Yes, was on my best Books of 2019, and this is just as good. Its slow, melodic pace proves we don't always need fast action and twists. Set between Ireland and new York, it's about two sisters; one craves adventure, the other, family; both have secrets * Prima, 'Best Books of March' * An American dream story, told over decades, taking its reader from rural 1915 Ireland to the streets of New York and back again -- Mariella Frostrup * Times Radio * A beautifully crafted novel about love, loyalty, culture, family and identity * Irish Sunday Independent * A moving and sweeping story that takes readers from the west coast of Ireland to America, following a family of immigrants across the different decades * Culturefly *