After an intense and very satisfying stint in Sweden I am now NZ bound with three kiwi novels on my bedside table. I am breaking up the serious stuff with a Sarah-Kate Lynch at the moment and I can hear it calling me so this is going to be brief.Now, Fiona Farrell is a really good writer. Won stuff and been the writer in residence at UC some years ago. Limestone is beautifully written in a way that is both lyrical and local. I wondered aloud to my friend Bev (who is a friend of hers) about the total lack of explanation about the NZ references. We both thought this was great but also acknowledged there could be some danger if people didn't understand the references. Then I thought about Steig and how he wrote in detail about Sweden and just assumed you just knew about it. I liked that and think that this lack of regional explanation shows Fiona is an international writer who makes no excuses for where she writes about. Cantabrians will get most of the references as Fiona is a local writer.
Anyway, Clare is looking for her dad as he buggered off at some point in her life and she is in Ireland following the trail for a relatively short amount of time. There is a ton of back warding and forwarding and I must say I was a bit lost some of the time but that is more about me and not about Fiona. There is some relationship stuff and family politics and other bits and bobs. I would say check this book out at the library and see if you are interested. I did enjoy this book - considered but natural, lyrical but not too waffly. A nice New Zealand read and some lovely writing to boot.
No comments:
Post a Comment