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Other Halves
An older woman, a younger boy - a relationship that society still feels awkward about. And she is white and middle-class, he Maori and a street kid.In this powerful, prize-winning novel of their love, Sue McCauley writes from the heart and from the gut, and from experience. She glosses over nothing, and takes her characters back to the bare bones, to where there can be no more hope . . . then lets their love triumph.Exploring ethnic, gender, age and class differences, this classic novel won both the Wattie Book of the Year Award and the New Zealand Book Award for Fiction.'not only a good love story but also good ethnography' - Times Literary Supplement'Resoundingly every situation clangs of truth' - New Zealand Times
272 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1983
3 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Sue McCauley
17 books3 followersMcCauley, Sue (1941 –), fiction writer, scriptwriter and journalist, was born in Dannevirke, grew up on a farm in rural southern Hawke's Bay and was a boarder at Nelson GC.
She worked as a copywriter and journalist in Napier, Wellington, New Plymouth and Christchurch, beginning her writing career with radio and TV plays and short stories in the 1970s.
Her first novel Other Halves (1982) won both the Wattie Book of the Year Award and the New Zealand Book Award for Fiction. An autobiographically based account of a relationship between a separated Pakeha mother and a much younger Maori man, it explored ethnic, gender, age and class differences. It has been frequently reprinted, selling more than 20,000 copies, and was made into a feature film.
Her second novel, Then Again (1986), is set on an offshore subtropical island and deals with the increasingly intertwined lives of several residents.
Bad Music (1990) focuses on the relationships between an ageing rock musician, a young woman half his age and the girl’s mother.
A Fancy Man (1996) also involves an apparent mismatch between an older man and a much younger woman.
McCauley’s novels are characterised by a mix of humour, realism and compassion, with strong sympathy for the underdog. She has also written many scripts for film, television and radio and has published numerous short stories. She has worked as a teacher of scriptwriting and fiction and as a judge of story competitions.
She edited (with Richard McLachlan) Erotic Writing (1992), and wrote the text of Escape from Bosnia: Aza’s Story (1996), the narrative being worked up from recorded interviews.
She was writer-in-residence at the universities of Auckland (1986) and Canterbury (1993). After living in various parts of the North Island 1970s–80s she moved with her husband to Christchurch in 1990.
She worked as a copywriter and journalist in Napier, Wellington, New Plymouth and Christchurch, beginning her writing career with radio and TV plays and short stories in the 1970s.
Her first novel Other Halves (1982) won both the Wattie Book of the Year Award and the New Zealand Book Award for Fiction. An autobiographically based account of a relationship between a separated Pakeha mother and a much younger Maori man, it explored ethnic, gender, age and class differences. It has been frequently reprinted, selling more than 20,000 copies, and was made into a feature film.
Her second novel, Then Again (1986), is set on an offshore subtropical island and deals with the increasingly intertwined lives of several residents.
Bad Music (1990) focuses on the relationships between an ageing rock musician, a young woman half his age and the girl’s mother.
A Fancy Man (1996) also involves an apparent mismatch between an older man and a much younger woman.
McCauley’s novels are characterised by a mix of humour, realism and compassion, with strong sympathy for the underdog. She has also written many scripts for film, television and radio and has published numerous short stories. She has worked as a teacher of scriptwriting and fiction and as a judge of story competitions.
She edited (with Richard McLachlan) Erotic Writing (1992), and wrote the text of Escape from Bosnia: Aza’s Story (1996), the narrative being worked up from recorded interviews.
She was writer-in-residence at the universities of Auckland (1986) and Canterbury (1993). After living in various parts of the North Island 1970s–80s she moved with her husband to Christchurch in 1990.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 18, 2023
An underrated book which was made into a godawful film, (I've heard). Not a lot of fiction from New Zealand gets out into the mainstream (apart from Keri Hulme) and it's a pity. This is a book about a mid-30-year-old woman who becomes romantically involved with a teenage Maori boy with antisocial tendencies. It's a look into racism in New Zealand society but also a look into an interracial, intergenerational romance which seems doomed from the start. This kind of older woman-teenage boy story has been done to death, from comedy to tragic endings but this one seemed to have slipped under the radar, possibly because it WAS from New Zealand, from where not a lot hit the mainstream. Absolutely worth the time, in my opinion.
January 5, 2015
On the face of it, 'Other Halves' is a captivating love story about a mid-thirties woman’s love affair with a 16-year-old Maori boy. But beneath the fascinating mechanics of how it all worked – the hot sex, drugs, rehab and dawn raids - lies an important snapshot of political and cultural attitudes of late 1970s/early 1980s New Zealand. Soaring oil prices meant unemployment and inflation had increased, and by 1976 New Zealand was in recession. The Waitangi Tribunal had been established in 1975 giving Maori the right to seek compensation from the Crown for treaty breaches. Times were a-changing, but entrenched attitudes of ‘number-8-wire-fixes-anything’ and ‘those-bloody-Maoris’ were hard to break. Overlay this onto the larger picture: New Zealand is two small islands a million miles from anywhere, including its motherland, England.
Within this cultural and political framework, Liz (35 or so, Pakeha, middle class, separated, mentally-broken) meets Tug (16, Maori, illiterate, petty criminal, streetwise). Or should I say, author Sue McCauley meets her second husband Pat Hammond. The spot-on vernacular and the authentic lives and thoughts of the characters are too vivid not to have been personally lived through. This story is utterly heartfelt.
There were a few cultural cringe moments, such as the analogy about hunting crabs to illustrate the idea of their relationship distancing Tug from his inherent ‘Maoriness’. But this might be a case of changing attitudes thirty plus years later.
'Other Halves' is definitely, obviously New Zealand literature – it has that stark grittiness that epitomizes our most famous books and films (The Bone People, Once Were Warriors, and more recently The Dark Horse). I am interested to hear from any non-New Zealanders who read the book and what you make of it.
Unbelievably, there is only one other Goodreads review of 'Other Halves'. It seems New Zealand and the world seems to have largely forgotten this excellent book, despite it winning the 1983 NZ Fiction Book of the Year. I believe it is an important text for New Zealanders and should be studied at tertiary level. Read it.
This review also appears on www.lovewordsmusic.com.
Within this cultural and political framework, Liz (35 or so, Pakeha, middle class, separated, mentally-broken) meets Tug (16, Maori, illiterate, petty criminal, streetwise). Or should I say, author Sue McCauley meets her second husband Pat Hammond. The spot-on vernacular and the authentic lives and thoughts of the characters are too vivid not to have been personally lived through. This story is utterly heartfelt.
There were a few cultural cringe moments, such as the analogy about hunting crabs to illustrate the idea of their relationship distancing Tug from his inherent ‘Maoriness’. But this might be a case of changing attitudes thirty plus years later.
'Other Halves' is definitely, obviously New Zealand literature – it has that stark grittiness that epitomizes our most famous books and films (The Bone People, Once Were Warriors, and more recently The Dark Horse). I am interested to hear from any non-New Zealanders who read the book and what you make of it.
Unbelievably, there is only one other Goodreads review of 'Other Halves'. It seems New Zealand and the world seems to have largely forgotten this excellent book, despite it winning the 1983 NZ Fiction Book of the Year. I believe it is an important text for New Zealanders and should be studied at tertiary level. Read it.
This review also appears on www.lovewordsmusic.com.
February 17, 2015
Very readable novel about a middle class woman in her early 30's and a 16 year old Maori street kid. They meet in a mental health institution and fall into a messy love affair. It's set in the late 70's/early 80's around New Zealand and it gets the tone just right. I liked how the author doesn't glamorise poverty, sex, mental health and parenthood. She tells it how it was and I think for many how it still is.
January 5, 2025
Perplexing.
August 7, 2020
I found this one hard to read. It didn't hold my attention well. And let's be realistic--it's a sick concept of child abuse, right?
October 12, 2019
Another recent re-read for me, clearing out my mum's bookshelves and came across Other Halves which I last read in the 80s or 90s. The cover is a bit cringey, despite being painted by Peter Siddell and my dad rolled his eyes when i picked it up so I guess the degree to which the sexual relationship between the main characters is emphasized was more of a talking point when it was first published in 1982. This didn't take long to read again and I really enjoyed it - the Liz's internal voice, and the dialogue between her and Tug, Tug and his mates, the representatives of law, order and social services all seemed really authentic and quite revealing. Although the racism present was more overt then, and we're starting to move to to an appreciation of inherent racism, the depictions of poverty, life on the margins, the internal struggles to move beyond the behaviours that determine someone as "anti social" and the judgments bestowed by outsiders looking in still seemed very real and relevant. Some elements of life of Aotearoa New Zealand have moved on from the 80s but this novel is a reminder that many haven't and this is still a really worthwhile read. This won the Wattie Book of the Year Award and the New Zealand Book Award for Fiction back in its day.
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April 9, 2023When I first read this novel I was young and single. Now, a long time married, and mother of teenagers, the novel meant even more to me. It beautifully portrays that sense of losing yourself, to the point where you consider committing yourself, giving up on speaking, and being passive to losing your child. I remember I enjoyed it first time round ( though 34 seemed old to me then!). I loved it second time, decades on. I particularly liked that there were no villains (except maybe hideous Ken) or heroes. I liked that it portrayed racism in a raw way, which is commonly done now but suspect not so common at the time. I loved that even the beautiful escape to Wai Bay was not romanticised. Great read. Looking forward to hearing Sue McCauley talk to it at the Auckland Writers Festival because the one thing I did struggle with was not being able to pin down the actual places and I’d love to know why she did this.
One more thing I loved about reading this book, printed in 1983, was the quality of the actual book. The paper quality was luscious and I seemed to fall open to each page easily. Made for an even reading experience.
One more thing I loved about reading this book, printed in 1983, was the quality of the actual book. The paper quality was luscious and I seemed to fall open to each page easily. Made for an even reading experience.
February 25, 2026
This book didn’t jump out at me as a 5-star novel, however it stayed with me for days afterwards and so I’m leaning towards a top rating.
The book is set in 1970/80s New Zealand when getting ahead as a young Māori man would have been difficult, especially with all that was going on politically and economically. This, combined with the gaps in age, race, and class, make the road challenging for Tug and Liz.
It’s an unlikely love story and I found myself thinking the relationship was destructive and perhaps a bit predatory however I also found myself wanting them to succeed. I still don’t think I have come to a definitive feeling about them as a couple but I love that the book is still on my mind. Would recommend!
The book is set in 1970/80s New Zealand when getting ahead as a young Māori man would have been difficult, especially with all that was going on politically and economically. This, combined with the gaps in age, race, and class, make the road challenging for Tug and Liz.
It’s an unlikely love story and I found myself thinking the relationship was destructive and perhaps a bit predatory however I also found myself wanting them to succeed. I still don’t think I have come to a definitive feeling about them as a couple but I love that the book is still on my mind. Would recommend!
June 24, 2023
Really enjoyed this novel, particularly the NZ setting plus the strong message that you can never know the inside of other people's relationships. The author made me examine my own biases and preconceptions and I hope I'll be less judgemental as a result.
October 24, 2022
Got to page 95 and decided that this really wasn't my type of book. I don't like to give up on a book but there are too many others waiting to be read.
November 18, 2023
Sue McCauley is New Zealand's under-rated Colleen McCullough, with a mentally ill protagonist and Maori love interest. Gritty.
February 19, 2024
40 years later the book provides good insight into how people thought and behaved at that time.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews