Masha Traub has a rare talent - to convey the feelings of the characters so that the reader experiences with them, sympathizes with them and tries to understand them, even if he thinks differently. “Half” is a novel about people who really wanted to love, but could not, because they were not taught this. Anna and George got married in despair - just because you have to find someone in the end. But they never became close people so much so that George did not even tell his wife that he grew up in an orphanage. After the divorce, Anna offered to separate the children: Anton remains with his father, the youngest daughter Yulk with his mother. No one thought about what the kids were going to do. Adults, burned by their own pain, were not able to protect children from pain . But fortunately, children are often wiser than their parents.