I read Sharon Harrigan’s novel, HALF, in two sittings. It was that good.

HALF is a story about identical twins named Artis and Paula, named for Zeus’s twins, Artemis and Apollo. They live with a father who is a monster and a mother who enables him. Told in the first-person plural, Harrigan credibly creates a magical world where the twins speak with one voice, read each other’s thoughts and sense each other’s experiences, even when they are miles apart. The magical realism does not end there. Moose, their father, can control the elements, flinging storms from the sky at will. Later, the twins believe that they possess similar abilities, that one can stop a car with her thoughts.

The prose is crisp and riveting, with much of the book sounding like a prose poem. Harrigan is a master at creating, sustaining and building narrative tension.

Moose is a father who intentionally harms his children both with physical and emotional abuse and by abandoning them in dangerous situations, yet this complex man is not all bad. Harrigan includes scenes where he tenderly cares for the girls while they are sick.

Moose is the king of gaslighting. His wife, Sera, (also called Hera) seems to believe every assertion he makes. Occasionally, she tries to make a run for it, but she always returns, figuring out a way to justify his abusive behavior. From an early age, the twins see through Moose’s contortion of reality. They name his cruelty, neglect and abuse for what it is. Interestingly, though, as adults, they begin to second guess their perception of shared experiences.

HALF is not always an easy novel to read. Although her descriptions are never gratuitous, Harrigan does not shy away from showing us what neglect and domestic abuse looks like and its long-term effects on a family system. The authenticity of this novel impressed me. The words rang true on every page.

Told in three sections, the story reminds me of a Greek tragedy. Moose (perhaps standing for Zeus?) is the flawed character who can’t help but damage all he touches. Sera is also flawed in that she chooses to enable a man whose actions harm his family. The twins play the Greek chorus, their one voice observing and commenting all that happens.

Three-quarters of the way through the book, I wasn’t sure where Harrigan was going. I couldn’t see how she planned to tie in a couple of the plot points. However, she did not disappoint. Harrigan crafted a satisfying ending that wraps up the tale by merging the two themes of the book: an exploration of the experience of identical twins and all that a life of domestic abuse entails. The story is tragic, yet there is a flicker of redemption at the end. I highly recommend this book