Style: October 30, 2020

Style | Read 89
WE’RE READING
Charlie Tangaroa and the Creature
from the Sea (NZ)
TK Roxborogh
(Huia NZ, $25)
Burnt Sugar
Avni Doshi
(Penguin Random House,
$35)
Among six titles shortlisted
for the 2020 Booker Prize,
Burnt Sugar is the debut
novel for New Jerseyborn
Avni Doshi. It is the
voice of Antara’s mind as
she recounts her life in
Pune, India, in and out of
an ashram and pitted with
challenging relationships
– in particular that with her
mother, who is starting to
lose her mind.
“When she no longer has
a complete consciousness of
who she is and who I am, will
it be possible for me to care
for her the way I do now, or
will I be negligent, the way
we are with children who
are not our own, or voiceless
animals, or the mute, blind
and deaf, believing we will
get away with it, because
decency is something
we enact in public, with
someone to witness and rate
our actions, and if there is no
fear of blame, what would
the point of it be?”
Described as ‘a poisoned
love story’, it is unsettling
yet revealing.
– Kate Preece
Half-brothers Charlie and Robbie are doing beach clean-up in Tolaga Bay, when
they see a mermaid lying in the rocks. Robbie, who has always wanted to be famous,
wants to call the police or tell the media – and poke it with a stick. They take her
home and put her in the pool. A few nights later, Charlie sneaks out to see the
mermaid, who starts talking to him… in Māori. The Māori gods Tangaroa and Tāne
have caused a big war between land and sea. Pō-nuia (the mermaid) leads Charlie
and his friend Jenny to the heart of the forest to talk to Tāne, who does not listen.
And, as they make their way back to the homestead, Charlie’s grandpa is swallowed
up by the land. Terrible things keep happening to Charlie’s loved ones and he
becomes angry and performs a hākā to both the gods saying that the war is not right.
By the end of the story, Charlie has learnt something not even his mother knows
about him.
– Ava Preece (10)
Aimed at children 8–12 years old.
Just Like You
Nick Hornby
(Penguin Random House, $37)
Lucy is a 40-something teacher and single mother of two. Recently separated from
her addict husband, Lucy begins to dip her toe into the dating world. But when she
asks 22-year-old Joseph – an aspiring DJ, who works at the local butcher’s shop – to
babysit, Lucy’s idea of a suitable partner is thrown on its head. Completely unlike
each other in every way, Lucy and Joseph must learn to negotiate the pitfalls of their
age gap and their interracial relationship.
Written from the perspectives of both characters and set during the Brexit
referendum, Nick Hornby’s new offering is not a romance novel; at its heart, it’s a
love story about differences. While the backdrop of Brexit may not be everyone’s
cup of tea, the time highlights the characters’ contrasts and how two people can
grow together from uncommon ground.
– Nichole Grey