Enero-29 / Inglés / Half his Age / Jeannette McCurdy

📚 Half His Age (Debut Novel, Literary Fiction, and Psychological Drama)

Half His Age is a literary novel that explores complex themes of desire, power dynamics, class, and loneliness through the perspective of a yearning teenager. The title directly refers to the large age gap in a highly controversial relationship at the center of the story.

The novel is described as sad, funny, and thrilling, maintaining the author’s signature blend of dark humor and emotional depth that was so prominent in her memoir.

✍️ Author Details

Jennette McCurdy is an American writer, director, and former child actress. Her writing is praised for its candidness, sharp wit, and insightful examination of trauma and abuse.

• Nationality: American.
• Profession: Writer, Director, Former Actress.
• Notable Work: I’m Glad My Mom Died (Memoir).
• Genre: Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Psychological Drama, Dark Humor.
• Style: McCurdy uses a piercing, immediate, and darkly funny prose style. She is known for creating uncomfortable and deeply perceptive narratives that condemn abuse through the narrative itself, rather than through explicit moralizing.
• Key Themes: The complexities of desire and sexual agency in youth, power imbalances in relationships, loneliness and the need to be seen, consumerism, and the emotional wreckage of neglect and early trauma.

💬 Plot Summary and Focus

The story centers on Waldo, a ravenous, angry, and endlessly wanting seventeen-year-old girl. She develops a complicated relationship with Mr. Korgy, her older, married creative writing teacher who is, literally, about half her age.

The novel uses this relationship to examine a dangerous mix of emotions and circumstances:

• The Pursuit of Desire: Waldo is determined to pursue Mr. Korgy, seeing him as a source of validation, intellectual passion, and perhaps a kindred spirit, or simply the only person who sees her.
• The Power Dynamic: The narrative expertly captures the imbalance of power and experience between the seventeen-year-old student and her adult teacher. Mr. Korgy’s abuse and manipulation are subtly, yet sharply, documented through Waldo’s eyes.
• Escaping Trauma: The protagonist’s desperate yearning for Mr. Korgy is intertwined with her own internalized struggles and past neglect (parallels are often drawn to her relationship with her mother). Waldo’s efforts to assert her maturity constantly remind the reader of how young and vulnerable she truly is.
• Waldo’s Voice: The book offers a rich character study of a yearning young woman who disregards all obstacles in her effort to be loved, showcasing her sharp judgment of others and her own self-delusion.

Half His Age is an unflinching look at a difficult topic, told with the unique perspective of a writer who has a lived understanding of complex and abusive power structures.