Catherine Robertson reviews homegrown fiction
INTO THE WORLD by Stephanie Parkyn (Allen and Unwin, $33)
This immersive historical debut grabs from the first line. It’s 1791 and Marie-Louise Girardin places her newborn son in the care of a French revolutionary and leaves disguised as a man, determined to create an independent life that will allow her to return one day and claim back her child. Stephanie Parkyn’s novel is based on the extraordinary true story of Marie Louise, who joined a French expedition to sail the Pacific, searching for the missing explorer, La Perouse. She is on board as Louis, a male steward, and the struggle to maintain her disguise is compounded by the animosity between revolutionary crew and royalist officers. Parkyn has done a superb job of researching this book but only adds detail where necessary and keeps the main focus on the characters and action. Even though it could be seen as a French tale, it’s about New Zealand’s history and the colonisation of the Pacific. Most of all, it’s a real page-turner, with a terrific female lead. Look out for Parkyn’s second novel, Josephine’s Garden ,tobe published next year.
PHOTOS OF YOU by Tammy Robinson (Hachette, $30)
Otorohanga-based Tammy Robinson’s Photos of You is out just in time for Christmas. This is the second novel to be snapped up by an international publisher who spotted Robinson’s first book, Differently Normal, online and rightly recognised its quality. Photos of You is about Ava, who at only 28 has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. (Don’t worry — this isn’t a spoiler.) There’s only so much she can do in the time she has left, so Ava decides to hold her own wedding in place of a funeral because she wants to celebrate with her loved ones before she dies. Her mum and two best friends launch with gusto into the organisation, having no clue that James, the photographer they commission, will transform Ava’s last months. Comparisons with Jojo Moyes are inevitable but Robinson pulls on our heartstrings without excess schmaltz or manipulation. Her characters are normal people experiencing normal emotions during a tough time, and, amazingly, maintaining their sense of humour. This keeps the novel grounded firmly in a reality we can all relate to, which makes its emotional impact all the greater.
A YEAR AT THE HOTEL GONDOLA by Nicky Pellegrino (Hachette, $35)
Given that this novel has spent so many weeks on the best-seller lists, any recommendation might well be redundant. Nicky Pellegrino goes from strength to strength and A Year at Hotel Gondola shows her skill in full flight. Her main character, Kat, has built a successful career as a TV food presenter, jetting around the world, having fun being single. However, now she’s turned 50, Kat’s worried that the best of her life is behind her and she’ll spend her remaining years envying her younger self. Being a goaloriented person, Kat plans a new adventure. She will live with an Italian man she adores but barely knows and spend a year helping him run his boutique Venice hotel. What could go wrong? For her legion of fans, Pellegrino ensures there’s plenty of Italian life and, most importantly, food. But she adds real depth by making her heroine older and employing a clever structure that highlights the discrepancies we often create between actual reality and the one we’d like to be true. If you enjoy intelligent, clear-eyed writing — and great recipes — this is the book for you.
Catherine Robertson’s latest novel, What You Wish For: a Gabriel’s Bay Story (Black Swan), is out on January 8.