Half Life

Roopa Farooki’s strong fourth novel, Half Life, is a intricate story about love, obligation, and finding one’s place in life. The small cast of beautifully complex characters, all haunted by their own personal demons, shortcomings and disappointments, are well developed and realistic. Farooki is unapologetic as she meticulously layers circumstance over mishap and tosses her flailing characters into the fray to fend for themselves – it is not always a pretty scene. The story unfolds in such a manner that the reader is unsuspecting of the twists and turns right to the very end. The author handles her story delicately, so it never comes off as overwrought or implausible. While some of the characters are despicable in their actions show more (the main character, Aruna, in particular), Farooki allows the reader to empathize and sympathize with them, giving them depth and dimension that helps one to understand why they behave the way they do. Unlike Farooki’s previous books, Half Life is not a predictable, run-of-the-mill tale of Indian diaspora. The author has truly had a breakthrough with this thoroughly original, engrossing story. show less

I sat down with this book yesterday, intending to read just a few pages, and found myself unable to put it down. Though at first I was uncertain about Roooney and Jazz, as the novel progressed I grew to understand them and their unique and troubling situation. I thought the author's handling of the sensitive subject matter was masterful, and appreciated that she let the truth build slowly, revealing itself only gradually (both to the reader and to the main characters).

The prose flowed freely, and did an excellent job of capturing the essence of the shifting locales. Both Rooney and Jazz grew emotionally throughout the novel, and I found the ending quite satisfying and realistic. This book was not what I expected, but quickly became more show more than I could have hoped. Highly recommended! show less

"It's time to stop fighting, and go home," reads Aruna, so she walks out the front door, barely stopping to dress, put on shoes, and grab her purse. She heads immediately to the London airport and catches a flight to Singapore to face her past.

There is a simplicity to the story and the style of this book. The writing is very lyrical, but it doesn't try to hard, instead the use of metaphor pulls you down into the room to sit beside each character as you read. She handles several challenging subjects, the kind of things that could jerk you out of the story with disgust in the hands of another writer. However, Farooki manages to approach the subject with a sense of loving forgiveness for her characters. She presents a world in which life show more is both brutal and beautiful, and even though perfect resolution is not always found, there is hope and the possibility of joy. show less

This was a well written book but I could not always follow references to earlier parts of the book that didn’t stand out to me at the time

'It's time to stop fighting and go home', the line Aruna finds in a book that draws her back to Singapore to try and sort out the life she left behind.
Intertwining the story of the life she has made for herself in running away, and the twists of the life she left behind, Aruna and Jazz seek the truth - and to lay the past to rest.
An interesting, at times heart-wrenching, read.

This story changes settings and characters very often, yet I was never once confused over time, place, or character. Just as the story’s context changes rapidly, so too did my emotions. I felt like I was on an emotional roller coaster reading this book (in a good way)! I felt the characters’ joy and pain right along with them. I sympathized with Aruna even though I was also frustrated with her at times (at the same time, I would feel guilty for feeling angry at her because she suffers from a mental issue).
The plot takes an unexpected turn at one point, and from then on, you are drawn in, trying to figure out what will happen next. You don’t know whether to cringe or to smile.
Overall, I recommend it! It's well written, but still show more an easy read. I will definitely check out more books by Roopa Farooki. show less

I like how the book is sinuous; the transitions between the characters' points-of-view are smooth. Within those sections, however, the writing can get very choppy and inconsistent. Furthermore, although I feel like I understand the characters of Hari Hassan, Jazz, and even Zaida, I do not understand Rooney's motivations at all, and, by extension, any part of any other character's life that overlaps hers. She just seems to do things just to do them and there is no explanation as to why she behaves so deplorably aside from "it's the bipolar disorder!" People with bipolar disorder have motivations, just exaggerated ones.

I enjoyed the conclusion to one of the plotlines but not the other. I like how the mystery about the siblings' show more relationship feels like it is solved but remains a fluid, incomprehensible thing, but I did not understand why Aruna would return to Patrick. The novel is spent describing how she uses him for comforting, unemotional sex, and then she suddenly wants to return to him? It would have made more sense if she had only returned to him with the hopes of resuming their old life, but the ending seemed to hint at them ending up truly happy -- how would that be possible? show less