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Mary Beth Keane

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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: 3.86 · 254,284 ratings · 23,989 reviews · 5 distinct worksSimilar authors
Ask Again, Yes

3.93 avg rating — 206,526 ratings — published 2019 — 54 editions
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The Half Moon

3.39 avg rating — 28,976 ratings — published 2023 — 17 editions
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Fever

3.73 avg rating — 16,512 ratings — published 2013 — 6 editions
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The Walking People

3.90 avg rating — 2,244 ratings — published 2009 — 7 editions
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Whale Harbor

4.96 avg rating — 26 ratings — expected publication 2026 — 4 editions
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Mary’s Recent Updates

Mary Keane is now friends with Amie's Book Reviews
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All That Is Left of Life by Roberta Recchia
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All That is Left of Life is just mesmerizing, and Roberta Recchia is a master storyteller. I’ll read everything she ever writes.
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Whale Harbor by Mary Beth Keane
Whale Harbor
by Mary Beth Keane (Goodreads Author)
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Unbiased review
Mary Keane rated a book it was amazing
Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy
Mother Mary Comes to Me
by Arundhati Roy (Goodreads Author)
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“I learned that day that most of us are a living, breathing soup of memory and imagination — and that we may not be the best arbiters of which is which.”
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Etna by Paul Yoon
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There is something incredibly healing about Etna’s story. I was so moved by this book and I hope everyone reads it.
Mary Keane and 4 other people liked Anderson McKean's review of Whale Harbor:
Whale Harbor by Mary Beth Keane
"I am stunned by Whale Harbor, the breathtaking, beautifully written new novel from the one and only Mary Beth Keane. As she did with Ask Again, Yes, Keane has crafted an emotional, unforgettable story of love, loss and the enduring bonds of family. T" Read more of this review »
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Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
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Mary Keane made a comment on her review of Exit Party
Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel
" Sorry! Worth the wait imo. Plenty to read between now and then! I’m starting Kin today. "
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Strangers by Belle Burden
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Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel
Exit Party
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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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“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 — 9878 members — last activity 7 hours, 43 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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