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Mary Beth Keane

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Born
in Bronx, New York, The United States
July 03

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September 2008

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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. She is the author of five novels, including ASK AGAIN, YES, which was a New York Times Best Seller and was translated into twenty-two languages. Her new novel, WHALE HARBOR, is forthcoming November 3, 2026.

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Mary Beth Keane THANK YOU! This comment means a lot to me because being preached at is the thing that most annoys me when reading fiction. I don't think readers ever …moreTHANK YOU! This comment means a lot to me because being preached at is the thing that most annoys me when reading fiction. I don't think readers ever want to be told how to feel, or what to think. I try to avoid describing emotions whenever I can, or directing reader responses in any way. I'd rather all the revelatory emotional stuff to happen inside YOU, and I figure if I pick the right details to report, you'll get there.(less)
Mary Beth Keane Read! Read the caliber of work you hope to write. Read all the time.
Average rating: 3.85 · 257,142 ratings · 24,340 reviews · 5 distinct worksSimilar authors
Ask Again, Yes

3.93 avg rating — 208,525 ratings — published 2019 — 54 editions
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The Half Moon

3.39 avg rating — 29,376 ratings — published 2023 — 17 editions
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Fever

3.73 avg rating — 16,770 ratings — published 2013 — 53 editions
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The Walking People

3.90 avg rating — 2,294 ratings — published 2009 — 4 editions
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Whale Harbor

4.55 avg rating — 177 ratings — expected publication 2026 — 6 editions
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Lake Effect by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
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Partita by Barbara Kingsolver
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Take What You Can by Naima Coster
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Whale Harbor by Mary Beth Keane
"MBK writes painfully human characters"
Mary Keane and 1 other person liked Rita Brutsch's review of Whale Harbor:
Whale Harbor by Mary Beth Keane
"A multi generational family saga set in Ireland, Montana and New York. I was drawn into the story of the Joyce family right from the start. Perhaps because the author draws inspiration from her own family it felt very real and heartfelt. I read every" Read more of this review »
Mary Keane and 1 other person liked Melissa's review of Whale Harbor:
Whale Harbor by Mary Beth Keane
"Mary Beth Keane really knows how to bring an epic family saga to life. I loved following the Joyce family through the years and getting to experience all of their ups and downs as they grew, changed, and tried to find their way.

The disappearance of t" Read more of this review »
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Lake Effect by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
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The Orphanmaster by Jean Zimmerman
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Quotes by Mary Beth Keane  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“We repeat what we don’t repair,”
Mary Beth Keane, Ask Again, Yes

“The thing is, Peter, grown-ups don't know what they're doing any better than kids do. That's the truth.”
Mary Beth Keane, Ask Again, Yes

“They'd both learned that a memory is a fact that has been dyed and trimmed and rinsed so many times that it comes out looking almost unrecognizable to anyone else who was in that room or anyone who was standing on the grass beneath that telephone pole.”
Mary Beth Keane, Ask Again, Yes

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This poll will stay open until April 19th.

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“In the end, everything will be okay. If it's not okay, it's not yet the end. ~Fernando Sabino, translated from Portuguese”
Fernando Sabino

“I think that before he turned and walked away from me I said that I was sorry. In this life there are those that apologise and those that do not. I am a person who says sorry if a passer-by stands on my foot.”
Barbara Trapido, Brother of the More Famous Jack

56898 Shut Up & Read — 9925 members — last activity 15 hours, 58 min ago
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Kristine Mary~Thank you so much for taking me on as a friend. Love your writing and also the books you are reading. Excited for The Half Moon. Looking forward to just seeing the cover. Congratulations 🎉


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