This is a charming book, full of humanity and perceptiveness about characters' motives. The plot is magical and inventive, and the author presents an altogether uplifting portrayal of the many characters in the book.
When three delinquents hole up in an
abandoned general store after their most recent robbery, to their great
surprise, a letter drops through the mail slot in the store's shutter. This
seemingly simple request for advice sets the trio on a journey of discovery as,
over the course of a single night, they step into the role of the kindhearted
former shopkeeper who devoted his waning years to offering thoughtful counsel to
his correspondents. Through the lens of time, they share insight with those
seeking guidance, and by morning, none of their lives will ever be the same. By
acclaimed…
I liked this book because of the very original and largely unwritten about description of what it is like to be an Asian woman in facing the male gaze and assumptions of Caucasian men. The author's anger and insight shine through in a way which was uncomfortable at times to read. I found it to be enlightening, and the author deserves a great deal of posthumous credit for her voice and the elegant way in which she expressed herself.
'With The Fetishist, Min has left the world something original and highly potent' INDEPENDENT
'Savage, horrible and very funny' i-D MAGAZINE
In this hilariously savage, poignant novel by acclaimed author Katherine Min, a grieving daughter's revenge on the man who caused her mother's death sets off a series of unexpected reckonings. On a cold, gloomy night, twenty-three-year-old Kyoko stands in the rain with a knife in her hoodie's pocket. Her target is Daniel, who seduced Kyoko's mother then callously dropped her, leading to her death. But tonight, there will be repercussions. Following the…
This is a gentle satire of the hypocrisy and at times ludicrous nature of bourgeois life in modern New Zealand, and of how a woman who married "up" into money struggles with it all, especially as the financial security unravels. Many of the characters are hilarious in their unwitting shallowness. The novel was deservedly acclaimed as New Zealand's best novel of the year at the awards ceremony earlier this year.
** AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER & WINNER OF THE OCKHAM NZ BOOK AWARDS**
'The most exciting novel I've read in ages... I gulped it down, so readable, so EXCELLENT about people. Read it' Marian Keyes
'This novel is perfection' Glamour
'A coolly ironic look at modern womanhood... This is an excellent novel' The Times
You know how we say we devoured a story, and also that we were consumed by it? Eating and being eaten. It was like that with Claire, for me.
From humble beginnings, Therese has let herself grow used to a life of luxury after marrying into an…
Ernest Hemingway wouldn’t approve of all the glowing adjectives, but there’s no denying that Hemingway’s Goblet is smart, witty and at times uproariously funny.
Dermot Ross has created a memorable and flawed lead character named Nick Harrieson, a divorced middle-aged law professor who is popular with students at his university in London but haplessly (and hopelessly) naive and noncommittal when it comes to his relationships with women. Nick doesn’t help himself when he allows himself to be drawn into an ill-advised relationship with one of his masters students, a Korean woman named Adrienne. Soon he finds himself the subject of a sexual harassment allegation.
Forced to take a one-month leave while the university investigates, he learns that his grandfather was in Pamplona in the 1920s, and in due course he finds out that the goblet sitting on his sister’s mantlepiece with a mysterious inscription was a gift from Hemingway to Grandpa Harrieson in 1925. Nick’s quest to learn more about his grandfather and the goblet leads to his joining forces with Adrienne as they uncover some unsavory revelations about the great author. Nick also is forced to confront a number of aspects about his own character and life.
This is much more than a novel. It takes readers on a wild ride from London to Auckland to Thailand to Hemingway’s Spain. Dermot Ross provides a gentle leg-pull on many of Hemingway’s renowned and toxic characteristics, but without disrespecting the quality of Hemingway’s writings. The portrait of the Nobel Prize winner that emerges is comical and at times scandalous.
The book is part mystery, part romance, part historical fiction, and all parts delightfully rollicking.
