Set in India, London, an unnamed African country that is likely Mozambique, and briefly in Berlin, Half a Life is the story of a man who spends two decades in search of a life he can call his own. Willie Somerset Chandran was born to an educated father who rejected materialism and ambition and, instead, married a poverty-stricken woman, who later gave birth to Willie.
The story begins with Willie questioning his father about his middle name, Somerset. When dissecting his full name, Willie discovers that his middle name came from a famous British writer, Somerset Maugham, who once visited his father. His first name is of a Christian nature, and his last name reveals his blended ancestral roots. This knowledge leaves Willie looking for a heritage of which he can be proud, a whole existence as opposed to a half.
Willie knows his mother's social and financial status is on the bottom rung of society's economic ladder, and he is ashamed of that fact. Subsequently, his survival instinct leads him to a fantasy world, one in which he pretends to be someone he is not, someone he does not need to be embarrassed by.
This deceit becomes an everyday occurrence for Willie, as he weaves quite a tangled web of lies about who he is and where he comes from. His hatred for his partial existence and for his parents drives Willie to leave the nest in search of himself.
He first travels to London, hoping to find himself there while studying literature and becoming a writer; instead, he finds himself trapped in uncertainty, uninterested in neither his studies nor making any effort to better himself.
Willie, who has had very little experience with sexual liberation, enters into intimate affairs with women who are already involved with his friends, hoping to educate himself in the art of lovemaking. However, each experience leaves him even more unfulfilled than the last. His visitations with prostitutes carry the same results. Having completed his education and exhausted the possibility of finding his future in London, Willie journeys to Africa.
Willie now has to learn a third language, which is a direct result of his wanderings. He feels so bewildered by communication that he develops difficulty expressing himself, so he settles for silence. Just as his three names are a combination of origins, the three separate languages create an even greater rift between Willie and his own existence.
Willie eventually settles down with Ana, a Portuguese-African woman, accompanying her to Mozambique. The couple makes their home there for eighteen years, living among an eclectic population of people with whom they manage to coexist.
Much as the civil war that has befallen Mozambique during his time there, the same conflict resides within Willie's relationship with Ana. Willie revisits his former habit of sleeping with prostitutes, but he remains unfulfilled and unsatisfied with his life and feels powerless to escape its confines.
After living in Africa for eighteen years, Willie finally faces reality, telling Ana that he is miserable with their life and needs to find his own. Ana agrees because she has been feeling as dissatisfied with her life as Willie has with his, and they go their separate ways, each in search of something that may not even exist.
The story begins with Willie questioning his father about his middle name, Somerset. When dissecting his full name, Willie discovers that his middle name came from a famous British writer, Somerset Maugham, who once visited his father. His first name is of a Christian nature, and his last name reveals his blended ancestral roots. This knowledge leaves Willie looking for a heritage of which he can be proud, a whole existence as opposed to a half.
Willie knows his mother's social and financial status is on the bottom rung of society's economic ladder, and he is ashamed of that fact. Subsequently, his survival instinct leads him to a fantasy world, one in which he pretends to be someone he is not, someone he does not need to be embarrassed by.
This deceit becomes an everyday occurrence for Willie, as he weaves quite a tangled web of lies about who he is and where he comes from. His hatred for his partial existence and for his parents drives Willie to leave the nest in search of himself.
He first travels to London, hoping to find himself there while studying literature and becoming a writer; instead, he finds himself trapped in uncertainty, uninterested in neither his studies nor making any effort to better himself.
Willie, who has had very little experience with sexual liberation, enters into intimate affairs with women who are already involved with his friends, hoping to educate himself in the art of lovemaking. However, each experience leaves him even more unfulfilled than the last. His visitations with prostitutes carry the same results. Having completed his education and exhausted the possibility of finding his future in London, Willie journeys to Africa.
Willie now has to learn a third language, which is a direct result of his wanderings. He feels so bewildered by communication that he develops difficulty expressing himself, so he settles for silence. Just as his three names are a combination of origins, the three separate languages create an even greater rift between Willie and his own existence.
Willie eventually settles down with Ana, a Portuguese-African woman, accompanying her to Mozambique. The couple makes their home there for eighteen years, living among an eclectic population of people with whom they manage to coexist.
Much as the civil war that has befallen Mozambique during his time there, the same conflict resides within Willie's relationship with Ana. Willie revisits his former habit of sleeping with prostitutes, but he remains unfulfilled and unsatisfied with his life and feels powerless to escape its confines.
After living in Africa for eighteen years, Willie finally faces reality, telling Ana that he is miserable with their life and needs to find his own. Ana agrees because she has been feeling as dissatisfied with her life as Willie has with his, and they go their separate ways, each in search of something that may not even exist.
