Half Lives novel explores intimate partner violence and migration — Daily Maverick

In South Africa, Daily Maverick book editor Daily Maverick Joy Watson, in her review of Krystle Zara Appiah’s novel Half Lives, noted its multilayered portrayal of intimate partner violence, migration, motherhood and the relationship between two sisters. The book begins in the 1970s in Takoradi, Ghana, where sisters Evelyn and Maggie dream of marriage and a grand life in America.

The story of two sisters

Evelyn marries a doctor and moves to New York, while Maggie remains in Ghana. The novel shows how the sisters love, irritate, protect and betray one another at the same time. They remember their family history differently, which causes their versions of the past to clash at times.

Appiah pays considerable attention to the sense of place — smells, colours, sounds, food and details of everyday life. During a conversation at the Open Book Festival, the writer said that food has a communal character. In the novel, it helps portray the heroines’ cultural environment, their memories, way of life and the changes associated with moving.

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Migration and violence

Watson emphasises that Half Lives does not present migration to countries of the Global North as a simple solution to problems. For the heroines, moving means an opportunity to study, change their lives or open up new prospects, but it can come at a significant personal cost. Ghana in the novel appears both beautiful and restrictive, while life elsewhere offers opportunities but has its own difficulties.

Intimate partner violence is an important part of the plot, yet the author does not turn it into a spectacle. Appiah explained that she did not want to make the book sensational or melodramatic: violence is important to the story, but it does not exhaust it. Evelyn is portrayed not only through fear, isolation and a loss of confidence, but also through her aspirations, dreams and attempt to build a life of her own.

In Watson’s assessment, the novel’s heroines are not symbols of resilience or instructive examples. They are characters who make decisions with incomplete information, have conflicting desires, love and hurt one another, and try to understand how to live.