KEY POINTS:
LANDINGS
By Jenny Pattrick
Black Swan, $27.99
Confession: I haven't read Pattrick's three previous books. Her first two, Denniston Rose and Heart of Coal, have been almost permanent fixtures on New Zealand bestseller lists.
Landings focuses on the people who lived along the shores of the Whanganui River at the beginning of the 20th century.
Stella is trying to eke out a living on a farm with her unreliable husband, Danny. Bridie McPhee is a beautiful woman whose life is shattered by a boating accident. Charlie Chee, a Chinese market gardener, is victimised by the New Zealand anti-Asiatic League (which actually existed). Lives intersect, gossip is rampant.
Overall, I was not engaged by Landings. The title lacks imagination and so does the telling. It would have been a much more enjoyable read if the tension had been exploited, helping to propel the narrative forward. There is drama aplenty, but it is forever getting hijacked.
One very nice feature though is Pattrick's inclusion of news stories and advertisements from real publications of the time.
- Detours, HoS
