Description Hide Description- Show Description+
**LONGLISTED Miles Franklin Literary Award 2022**
A novel as potent and powerful as the Miles Franklin shortlisted The Lebs, driven by a tender and defining love.
'I only ever asked you for one thing,' my father said, a quiver in his voice. 'Just this one thing.' It was as though I had smashed the Ten Commandments.
'Oh father,' I cried, grovelling at his ankles while my mother and siblings looked on. 'The one thing you asked of me - is everything.'
Bani Adam has known all his life what was expected of him. To marry the right kind of girl. To make the House of Adam proud.
But Bani wanted more than this - he wanted to make his own choices. Being the first in his Australian Muslim family to go to university, he could see a different way.
Years later, Bani will write his story to his son, Kahlil. Telling him of the choices that were made on Bani's behalf and those that he made for himself. Of the hurt he caused and the heartache he carries. Of the mistakes he made and the lessons he learned.
In this moving and timely novel, Michael Mohammed Ahmad balances the complexities of modern love with the demands of family, tradition and faith. The Other Half of You is the powerful, insightful and unforgettable new novel from the Miles Franklin shortlisted author of The Lebs.
Author: Michael Mohammad Ahmad
Paperback Published 26 May 2021 270 pages
“Michael Mohammed Ahmad's character Bani Adam is back, walking the streets of his town, railing against stereotypes, working the heavy bag in a boxing gym, reading books and trying to please his family. But now he has a baby, a child he addresses as he tries to make sense of his new identity as a father, in The Other Half of You (Hachette).”- Kate and Cassie ― NATIONAL [RADIO] ABC RN The Bookshelf
“In the eagerly awaited follow up to the Miles Franklin-shortlisted The Lebs, Michael Mohammed Ahmad delves into faith, love, and the demands of family. A poignant tale, it traces Bani and the relating of his life story to his son, Kahlil. The worldview that was forced upon Bani by his own parents is explored, as well as his own alternate perspective. At times confronting, this ultimately empathic novel is a delight. “ Happy Magazine