Family rescue story of love and war
Roderick Fry is a respectedNewZealand designer, who has worked in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Shanghai and nowlives in Paris. For the last 20 years he retraced the route taken by Vincent Broom, his maternal grandfather, across China during the Second World War to rescue his wife and children in Japanese-occupied Hong Kong. AMessage for
Nasty is the result— an historically accurate novel based on this incredible story of love and war.
Roderick Fry appears in an event at the Auckland Writers Festival on Sunday, August 28, 2pmfollowed by a public book launch at 3.30pm at the Aotea Centre.
Youdescribe your grandfather as a ‘Kiwi’, wherewashefrom?
Mygrandfather immigrated toNZwith his family from Liverpool, England, when he was about 4, and they settled in Gisborne. Aftermy grandfather rescued his family, he brought them back to Tauranga wheremymother and sisters went to school. In Tauranga there's still a large statue of the virgin and child in the Catholic church thatwas ordered bymygrandmother from the Vatican as part of a promise shemade in her prayers during the moments she most feared for her ownand her children's lives during the occupation.
This book took you 20 years to write. Whywasit so important to you?
It's a project that was very important tomy mother and her sisters— they adored their father, so initially it was for them. As I got into it though, I discovered howemotionally rich the story was, and that it conveyed a lot of the of values and types of humanexperiences that I think are universally interesting.
AMessagefor Nasty is such a powerful love story. Didyouset out to write it this way, orwere you more interested in its aspects of war?
Mygrandmother was PortugueseChinese and, in these cultures, ‘family' is the foundation of everything, and formygrandfather the love of his children and wife was just a natural part of his DNA, and this prioritisation really linked them together. In writing the story, in reading their letters and notes, and revisiting their family photos, their love, the love that motivated them to take such risks for each other during the war, is apparent everywhere. I think that they both felt extremely lucky that the other had chosen them to fall in love with.
Doyousee yourself asan historian or a novelist?
I think there's a third category that might be attached to this book, and that's as the work of a ‘raconteur'. I've effectively taken other people's stories, and then filled in gaps and details usingmyown experiences and devices to help the reader visualise and sense the story better.
Howhave your familymembers reacted to the book, especially thosewhoare featured in it?
There have been a fewtears brought about by things that they've learned for the first time, and that have onlycome out or been clarified by other research and cross referencing that I did.
Your family’s rescue is so extraordinary, it could so easily have notworkedout. What qualities do you think your grandfather and grandmother possessed thatmadeit possible?
Afundamental, right-to-the-bone sense of family love and responsibility to see that the other members are protected and don't suffer is part of it. But also, so muchof the help they received from others came fromhow they lived andhow they'd treated people before the occupation. There were cases where favours and goodwill were simply being returned, but there were also many instances where people sensed automatically that they were dealingwith decent people. They sensed that they were helping someone with a very righteous cause, and that if they did things like lendmygrandfather money when he most needed it for his voyage, that they knew they'd get it back, and they did.