'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.


PRAISE FOR THE LEBS

WINNER NSW Premier's Literary Awards Multicultural NSW Award 2019
SHORTLISTED Miles Franklin Literary Award 2019

'an open-eyed and highly charismatic novel broiling with fight, tenderness and ambition' Big Issue

'wonderfully vivid and compelling . . . utterly authentic' Books+Publishing

About the Author
Michael Mohammed Ahmad is the founding director of Sweatshop Literacy Movement and editor of the critically acclaimed anthology After Australia (Affirm Press, 2020). Mohammed's debut novel, The Tribe (Giramondo, 2014), won the 2015 Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelists of the Year Award. His second novel, The Lebs (Hachette Australia, 2018), won the 2019 NSW Premier's Multicultural Literary Award and was shortlisted for the 2019 Miles Franklin Literary Award. Mohammed received his Doctorate of Creative Arts from Western Sydney University in 2017.

Reviews
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. 9.2 * [ONLINE] Happy Magazine *
The Other Half of You remains obedient to the obligation to transmit saving wisdom between generations. It also concludes Bani's long quest to find new wisdom to impart. * NATIONAL [PRINT], The Saturday Paper, [AUDIENCE: 100,000, ASR: AUD 1,774] *
[...] it's this love, for his non-Muslim wife, their son, and his family and faith, that imbues this novel with such tenderness and insight. * NATIONAL [PRINT], Weekend Australian, [AUDIENCE: 219,242, ASR: AUD 15,265] *
Review * WA [PRINT], Geraldton Guardian, [AUDIENCE: 3,673, ASR: AUD 161] *
A moving and timely novel about balancing the complexities of modern love with the demands of family, tradition and faith. A love story with a difference. * NATIONAL [PRINT] Reader's Digest *



Book Information
ISBN 9780733639036
Author Michael Mohammed Ahmad
Format Paperback
Page Count 352
Imprint Hachette Australia
Publisher Hachette Australia
Weight(grams) 420g
Dimensions(mm) 232mm * 152mm * 30mm