The Half Brother: A Novel
by Christensen, Lars Saabye
At the end of World War II, twenty-year-old Vera is brutally raped by an
unknown assailant. From that rape is born a boy named Fred, a misfit
who later becomes a talented boxer. Vera’s young son, Barnum, forms a
special but bizarre relationship with his half brother, fraught with
rivalry and dependence as well as love. “I should have been your
father,” Fred tells Barnum, “instead of the fool who says he is.”It is
Barnum, who is now a screenwriter with a fondness for lies and alcohol,
who narrates his family’s saga. As he shares his family’s history, he
chronicles generations of independent women and absent and flawed men
whom he calls the Night Men. Among them is his father, Arnold, who
bequeaths to Barnum his circus name, his excessively small stature, and a
con man’s belief in the power of illusion.Filled with a galaxy of
finely etched characters, this prize-winning novel is a tour de force
and a literary masterpiece richly deserving of the accolades it has
received.
unknown assailant. From that rape is born a boy named Fred, a misfit
who later becomes a talented boxer. Vera’s young son, Barnum, forms a
special but bizarre relationship with his half brother, fraught with
rivalry and dependence as well as love. “I should have been your
father,” Fred tells Barnum, “instead of the fool who says he is.”It is
Barnum, who is now a screenwriter with a fondness for lies and alcohol,
who narrates his family’s saga. As he shares his family’s history, he
chronicles generations of independent women and absent and flawed men
whom he calls the Night Men. Among them is his father, Arnold, who
bequeaths to Barnum his circus name, his excessively small stature, and a
con man’s belief in the power of illusion.Filled with a galaxy of
finely etched characters, this prize-winning novel is a tour de force
and a literary masterpiece richly deserving of the accolades it has
received.