A taste of rural New Zealand

Dr Ashwin Ghadavi arrives at Gabriel’s Bay — a small coastal New Zealand town — from England to take up residence as the local GP. It’s a place where everyone knows your name and your business. As Ash adjusts to rural New Zealand life, the cultural idiosyncrasies that he initially finds repellent, he slowly warms to as the locals become the family he never had.

He falls for the beautiful but unattainable Emma who seems to glide effortlessly through life until her well-meaning but misguided intentions blaze a trail of destruction through Gabriel’s Bay. That she is the daughter of Jacko Reid, the rather intimidating stalwart of the Boat Shed restaurant and Mac, Ash’s inimitable receptionist, makes his attraction all the more complicated.

The characters are a diverse and entertaining lot whose life conundrums are highly relatable and will appeal to a wide audience although, at times, it’s slightly cliched. With each chapter narrated by a different character, the order and pace of these multiple perspectives works well and, as the story unfolds, we gradually learn how their lives are intertwined as the themes of the novel come together in a cohesive way.

Ash’s awkwardly shy and self-conscious internal chatter makes him instantly likeable as he assimilates into his new life and starts to feel confident to be himself. The dialogue is laden with Kiwi jargon, with references to Ma¯ ori and Pa¯ keha¯ life.

The themes — loneliness, insecurity, gender and sexuality, environmentalism and farming, and the impact of economic forces on provincial New Zealand — are pertinent and Robertson makes sure to give viewpoints from both sides of the fence.

A strong local community prevails as the characters’ self-realisation and acceptance of differences see them form closer bonds than ever. All in all, it’s an endearing and humorous read, which can be read as a stand-alone novel or as part of the Gabriel’s Bay series, with a cast of characters that will leave you hankering for the next instalment.