No need to write about the story, others will tell that. But know that you will fall in love with Augusta, and you’ll feel better for having met her. I loved Augusta. I loved her determination to make something of her life even though there were so many obstacles in her path. Julia is equally inspiring, for different reasons. The parents – let's say that they would not be on my Christmas list, but play a hugely important role in this complicated storyline. The Other Half Of Augusta Hope reminded me of a whirlpool with two powerful stories chasing each other, getting ever closer. There is violence and destruction in the vortex but also beauty and hope. The narrative switches between Augusta and Parfait who are both complex characters with wildly different upbringings but who, at the same time, seem to have things in common. Their eventual meeting seems inevitable but getting to that point is a vivid, emotional and sometimes dark rollercoaster ride. I don't think I can praise this book highly enough, to be honest. It's beautifully written, the prose often laugh out loud which I did, simply because the family dynamic described often resembled my own, and although I didn't laugh at the time felt I could when reading about it. Augusta and Julia are twins. They were born at roughly the same time which made them twins but that is where the similarity ends. They are very different people, Julia beautiful and ready to please, Augusta different, quirky, a little offbeat. I liked her immensely. She loves words, reads the dictionary endlessly and loves etymology. I recognised her immediately. I was the same when I was young and I have autism, so I'm guessing she may also be autistic. Augusta is also an adventurer and wants to see the world, particularly Burundi which she has a special interest in simply because she liked saying the word, and then discovers she wants to know more. Her story is narrated side by side with Parfait, born in Burundi and witness to many atrocities, particularly those which involve his own family.

I loved this book. Augusta is such a quirky character, an unusual child who grows into an unusual woman. You will wonder how two such uptight parents could have such a daughter. A strangely compelling debut novel, Kingdomtide begins when the elderly – but never frail – Cloris survives a plane crash in the Bitterroot mountains in Montana. The scene is set for a Touching the Void-style survival epic, but then the action switches to a Fargo-like town where forest ranger Debra seems less determined to find Cloris than her next bottle of Merlot. The two stories don’t entirely cohere – although an entire novel devoted to the prim Cloris would also have been too much. But there’s enough here, particularly in the vivid nature writing, to allow Kingdomtide to pull through. The Other Half of Augusta Hope And now that she's an adult, Augusta has no interest in the goings-on of the small town where she lives with her parents and her beloved twin sister, Julia. When an unspeakable tragedy upends everything in Augusta's life, she's propelled headfirst into the unknown. They navigate their way through adolescence to adulthood and then comes a significant event on holiday that is alluded to by Augusta before we learn of it. This is a turning point for the whole family and points everything in a new direction. This story is about home, the feeling of home, where home is not a place but a person...it is both as simple and as complicated as that and the storytelling beautifully encapsulates the simplicity and the complexity of this search for home.By the time the book finished, I was totally in love with the story and the characters and I did not want it to end. It is very rare that a book makes me cry, but The Other Half of Augusta Hope came very close. It was beautifully written and it all felt so real. She and Julia are very close; their different natures bring out the best in each of them. Life changes and their relationship changes after a two week holiday in Spain. A moving tale… sure to make you cry… Parfait [is] a convincingly serious, sweet, clever and funny person who ends up carrying the story… an epic hero … It’s going to be all over every book club in Britain before you can say Burundi” - The Times

What an extraordinary book filled with glorious pictures constructed from words. Words that you want to wrap up and keep in a special place in your head and your heart. A truly awesome book. I loved the wordiness, the descriptions, the quirkiness that Joanna Glen has used to tell this epic tale. When Parfait enters the story, it's a bit confusing. He is part of a large family in Burundi during the political unrest and the tribal horrors between the Hutus and the Tutsis. Assassinations, massacres, starvation, rapes, all impact Parfait, making him dream of taking his family across Africa by foot and then crossing to Spain over what looks to him like a narrow sea. A set of twins are born minutes apart which gives them different birthdays. This difference defines them forever. One dark and one fair. One studious and one not so interested. One serious and the other flighty and in the moment. Augusta is precocious and interested in the world and words. As a young child she spins the globe and puts her finger on the spot that will be her favorite--Burundi.And now that she’s an adult, Augusta has no interest in the goings-on of the small town where she lives with her parents and her beloved twin sister, Julia. blogtour Adventure Ancient Egypt Art History Australia Book Blogger Bookliterati Book Recommendation Book review Christmas Contemporary Fiction Crime Del Rey Doubleday Emmeline Kirby and Gregory Longdon Mystery Fantasy Festive Reads Florence Folklore Harper Collins Historical Fiction History Independently Published Italy Karen Swan Literary Fiction Magic Mantle Books Melville House Murder Mystery Myth Orenda Books Pan Macmillan Penguin Random House Psychological thriller Romance Secrets Simon and Schuster Supernatural Suspense thriller Venice Women's Fiction Zaffre Books Book title Search for: Search Search Recent Comments

Augusta's story (and that of her twin sister Julia) is interwoven with that of Parfait from Burundi. For me, this added a different dimension to the story telling, and I loved seeing how the two stories developed. How the lives and stories of these two characters intertwine, is a testament to the brilliance of the author, and I did wonder... 'Who actually was the other half of Augusta Hope?' at the end. A fantastic read. The Other Half of Augusta Hope tells the story of Augusta, a twin, who loves words, facts and has big ambitions to leave her town and be somebody and Parfait a refugee from war torn Burundi who ends up in Spain and working as an artist. The novel explores issues of belonging, family, grief and holding onto dreams. It’s about being brave, being yourself and the consequences of our actions.We also hear from Parfait, a young boy living in Burundi who at first seems quite random, how will he fit into the story? Of course, it soon becomes clear.