Ask Again, Yes: The gripping, emotional and life-affirming New York Times bestseller
Aug 2019 · Penguin UK
4.6star
5 reviewsreport
Ebook
384
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About this ebook
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND RADIO 2 SUMMER BOOK CLUB PICK
'The new Little Fires Everywhere . . . The perfect summer read' STYLIST
'Stunning! An absolutely brilliant, gorgeously-written novel. A must-read for our time' LISA TADDEO
'Immersive and deeply moving' ANNA HOPE
'I absolutely adored it' LIANE MORIARTY
*Features an extract from Mary Beth Keane's new novel The Half Moon!*
_____________
Two ordinary families. One life-changing day . . .
When the Gleesons and the Stanhopes become neighbours, lonely Lena Gleeson wants a friend. But Anne Stanhope - cold, elegant, unstable - wants to be left alone.
It's left to their children - Lena's youngest, Kate, and Anne's only child, Peter - to find their way to one another.
To form a friendship whose resilience and love will be almost broken by the fault line dividing both families, and a tragedy that will engulf them all.
A tragedy whose true origins only become clear many years later . . .
When everything has fallen apart, can their children's love pull it back together again?
_____________
A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN PRIMA, VOGUE, PEOPLE, ELLE AND NPR
'It's an absolute stunner, an ode to family and forgiveness that has been crafted with compassion and insight' Sara Collins, bestselling author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton
'Keane takes on one of the most difficult problems in fiction - how to write about human decency . . . a compelling case for compassion over blame, understanding over grudge, and the resilience of hearts that can accept the contradictions of love' Louise Erdrich, National Book Award winning author of The Round House
'Leaves one shaking one's head in frank admiration. A triumph' Matthew Thomas, bestselling author of We Are Not Ourselves
**THE HALF MOON, the new novel by Mary Beth Keane, is available to pre-order now!**
'The new Little Fires Everywhere . . . The perfect summer read' STYLIST
'Stunning! An absolutely brilliant, gorgeously-written novel. A must-read for our time' LISA TADDEO
'Immersive and deeply moving' ANNA HOPE
'I absolutely adored it' LIANE MORIARTY
*Features an extract from Mary Beth Keane's new novel The Half Moon!*
_____________
Two ordinary families. One life-changing day . . .
When the Gleesons and the Stanhopes become neighbours, lonely Lena Gleeson wants a friend. But Anne Stanhope - cold, elegant, unstable - wants to be left alone.
It's left to their children - Lena's youngest, Kate, and Anne's only child, Peter - to find their way to one another.
To form a friendship whose resilience and love will be almost broken by the fault line dividing both families, and a tragedy that will engulf them all.
A tragedy whose true origins only become clear many years later . . .
When everything has fallen apart, can their children's love pull it back together again?
_____________
A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN PRIMA, VOGUE, PEOPLE, ELLE AND NPR
'It's an absolute stunner, an ode to family and forgiveness that has been crafted with compassion and insight' Sara Collins, bestselling author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton
'Keane takes on one of the most difficult problems in fiction - how to write about human decency . . . a compelling case for compassion over blame, understanding over grudge, and the resilience of hearts that can accept the contradictions of love' Louise Erdrich, National Book Award winning author of The Round House
'Leaves one shaking one's head in frank admiration. A triumph' Matthew Thomas, bestselling author of We Are Not Ourselves
**THE HALF MOON, the new novel by Mary Beth Keane, is available to pre-order now!**
Ratings and reviews
4.6
5 reviews
Grace J. Reviewerlady
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August 8, 2019
This is a solid read, demanding full attention and not a book you can lightly skip through. Moving out of the city, newlyweds Lena and Francis look forward to settling into their new home in the suburbs and raising a family there. When another young couple move into the house next-door, Lena makes friendly overtures but finds herself swiftly rebuffed. However, as both their children grow up, their lives are bound to overlap and mingle - with unforeseen consequences for them all. This is a packed read. Full of information and detail, it's one I found myself really absorbed into in a very short time. Not only did I like the characters and found that they interested me, I was also interested in each of them and where it was all heading. Could I have guessed? No, definitely not. This is very much a family saga but with lots of extras and I found it both mysterious and surprising, holding my focus all the way through. If you love a good saga, then you can't go far wrong with this one. It's certainly brought Mary Beth Keane to my attention and I'll be keeping an eye out for any future novels from her. I consider this easily a four star read.
2 people found this review helpful
Charlene Murphy
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August 21, 2019
Ask again, yes
1 person found this review helpful
About the author
MARY BETH KEANE attended Barnard College and the University of Virginia, where she received an MFA. In 2011, she was name one of the National Book Foundation's '5 Under 35', and in 2015 she was awarded a John S. Guggenheim fellowship for fiction writing. She currently lives in Pearl River, New York, with her husband and their two sons. She is the author of The Walking People, Fever and Ask Again, Yes - a New York Times bestseller, BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick, and winner of the Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show Summer Reads Book Club 2019.
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