The Other Half Of Me by Morgan McCarthy

Now I don't really have a particularly dramatic or close family, but I do love a good story about a the traditional family, and how behind closed doors, things are not as simple as they look. And this is exactly what I have in store for you this week fellow readers: a dramatic family tale. And before you say anything, yes I did read this book mostly based on the fact that the family surname is Anthony (basically my name) and the main characters' name is Jonathan (my middle name). Fairly selfish reason I'm sure you will agree...

Set in rural Wales, The Other Half Of Me focuses on the not-troubled-for-money Anthony family. The story is told from Jonathan Anthony's point of view, as we criss-cross different times in his life, with details about the plot slowly being revealed as we go. McCarthy achieves this with such grace and elegance, it's hard not to admire the way she manages to reveal everything throughout so many different time periods. From the outset, we can tell that whilst they may have no money worries, they have plenty else to deal with.

Morgan's novel

 Jonathan's younger sister Theo (yes that confused me for a very long time, boy or girl?) is an intriguing character even at such a young innocent age, asking strange questions and following Jonathan about like a lost puppy. This continues into the latter stages of their lives, when they have both moved to London and Theo is completely dependent on Jonathan. But their relationship is told so well, you almost start to feel sorry for Theo, and the fact she can never hold down a job and gets bored very easily. Reading the parts about her, I struggled to not agree, yes work can get boring, why not just not turn up sometimes? But unfortunately, as reading is an escape from the real world, this idea soon fades.

There are many other family characters who continue to intrigue and fascinate throughout as well, including Theo and Jonathan's mother Alicia, who is never referred to as Mum or Mother and only ever Alicia. This little detail highlights to us just how distant she is from her children, and they constantly rely on each other for entertainment, or the multiple staff that work in their huge country house. Along with the mother is their estranged father, whom either child knows about, and are both told died in Australia. This absentee father bases the majority of the story, as Theo always until her tragic demise, wants to find out about and know what happens to him. This continues to haunt Jonathan throughout his adult life until he gets some truth (I won't ruin it for you) and you will be satisfied with the ending.

The character that clinched my interest the most was their grandmother Eve. A former US government worker, there are many names dropped throughout, including Nixon and JFK himself. Now a international hotel owner, Eve plays a somewhat impermanent fixture in Jonathan's life, and she is the character I enjoyed the most. She is the one who carries the family secrets to her death bed, telling Jonathan almost everything just before she passes towards the end of the novel. She was such an complex character, with plenty of history, that I was always a little saddened when she disappeared again and again from the novel. Maybe this is one downside; not enough Eve.

This is not to say that Jonathan doesn't tell a good story. He kept my attention at all times, as he described his long lust for their almost neighbour Maria, but it does get a bit creepy after awhile at just how many years he thinks about her and just how many relationships he lets it effect.  But all in all, I found this book hugely enjoyable read, not to complex, not graphic but plenty of mystery, plenty of fantastic characters and PLENTY of family dirt. A must read.

The Other Half Of Me by Morgan McCarthy is published by Headline books in the UK.