Book of the week
Fishing for Ma¯ ui
by Isa Pearl Ritchie (Te Ra¯ Aroha Press) $35 Depression and mental health awareness are thankfully well out of the closet now and into the open, and fiction has been tremendously helpful to many people dealing with their own dark times. Fishing for Ma¯ ui will have, for some, characters struggling with their own demons that readers can identify with, situations that will resonate, feelings they know only too well. And there are plenty of characters,
each given their own voice to traverse their inner lives.
There’s Michael, whose dark thoughts begin to overcome his otherwise laid-back surfie wellbeing. Michael is trying to identify with his Ma¯ ori heritage, leading to recurring renditions of the legend of Ma¯ ui, and issues with te reo and marae protocol. His brother John seems to be filled with anger at school, his family and life in general.
Their mother, Valerie, is beset with ever-present guilt at not being there for her children because she is so taken up with the patients at her general practice. Her daughter Elena is so busy blogging about
what she believes to be healthy food for her pregnancy that she misses her partner Malcolm’s increasingly serious dalliance with one of his university students. Malcolm’s ‘‘rock’’, his grandmother, also has a voice, as does Valerie’s ex, Caleb, a stereotypical bloke obsessed with rugby, racing and beer. Michael’s partner Evie is a committed animal welfare activist and vegan, inclined – like Elena – to preach rather a lot about food values and the environment.
The preachiness does get a bit wearing after a while, especially coming at us from two of the main characters, sometimes in
succession. No sooner are we getting over the cruelty to chickens sermon than we’re plunged into an evils of baby wipes or dangers of additives diatribe. The only reasonably contented character seems to be 8-year-old youngest sister Rosa, who unsurprisingly can see all is not well with her unhappy family.
A large cast of characters, each taking their own short chapters to put forward their part of the story, lead us towards an awaited climax. But the problem with covering nine points of view of not always likeable people in one novel is that the reader can find it somewhat overwhelming, switching in just a couple of pages between one and another, just getting the feel for one character before several more pour out their heartfelt thoughts.
It’s unfortunate, because Isa Pearl Ritchie is a good writer and she has quite a compelling tale to weave of overcoming depression, finding yourself through your heritage, searching for wellbeing, and just how different and complex each member of a family can be.
With fewer characters putting forward their own points of view and more in-depth focus on the main characters this could have been a much more engaging read. – Felicity Price
Isa Pearl Ritchie has quite a compelling tale to weave of overcoming depression, finding yourself through your heritage, searching for wellbeing.