The vibrant underbelly of Auckland in the 1940s provides fabric for a new novel, finds Nicky Pellegrino.
It was on his daily walk to work through Auckland's Victoria Park that Nicholas Edlin hit on the idea for his debut novel The Widow's Daughter (Penguin, $40). He was aware that during World War II the American military had been camped in the park and decided to do some research and find out more about it.
"I come from a family that had a grandfather fight in the war and so had got snippets of information, but the American presence in New Zealand wasn't something I knew much about," explains Christchurch-born Edlin, 32. "What intrigued me was that it seemed to be an untold story in popular culture and eventually I had the impetus to craft a novel around it."
Edlin had always dreamed of being a writer but, as he puts it, "life got in the way" and so he ended up studying for a law degree and becoming a solicitor instead.
Enthused by the idea he'd stumbled on, he worked on The Widow's Daughter in his free time, writing in small snatches on evenings and weekends, fascinated by the setting and the characters he'd created.
"It was a fairly intense experience," he says. "Once I got started on it I had to keep charging on towards the end."
The book is the fictional story of an American artist, Peter Sokol, who is pushed into revisiting his memories of his time as a surgeon with the US marines in wartime Auckland when he discovers that a fellow marine is publishing a novel about their experience. Sokol's war involved a passionate and reckless love affair in Parnell with a mysterious immigrant called Emily, who was not at all what she seemed. Twenty years on, and in love in a quieter way with a very different woman, he tries to make sense of this unsettling period of his life.
Writing from an American's point of view was a risk for Edlin - he's never lived in the US. He's clearly made a convincing job of it - publishing rights to The Widow's Daughter have been snapped up by Penguin in the US. "The voice was a struggle at first," he admits. "But I've always been very attracted to American literature and watched so many of their TV shows and movies so I've been surrounded by the culture."
Edlin was less concerned with veracity when it came to the historical aspect of the book. He manipulates 1940s Auckland to suit his needs, filling it with colourful characters, places and events. There's prize-fighting in Western Park, wild behaviour and drunkenness on Ponsonby Rd, a brothel and an opium den ...
"There's a good deal of invention," Edlin agrees. "I didn't want to become a PhD candidate with my research, just get enough to provide a framework for the story. There were commercial brothels near most of the camps so I imagined there would be bars and fights. I needed the detail to be realistic, but I didn't want to be a hostage to my research. Rather than an utterly convincing period piece, I wanted to write an exciting story with a pulse."
Edlin eschewed modern technology while he was working on the first draft of his novel, writing the entire thing in longhand.
"A string of words tends to come to me in a gush and I have to write them down quickly before I forget them or my mind moves on to the next thing ... and I'm a slow typer. Also writing by hand feels more intimate and means I tend to keep going forward. If I tried to write directly into a computer I think I'd keep reworking the same passages and never move on with the narrative."
Edlin isn't certain if this approach affects his writing style. "When you're typing words into a document they spill out easily and are too easy to erase," he muses, citing an interview with Don Delillo he once read, where the author talked about writing his books on a mechanical typewriter because there is something satisfying about punching the words and hearing the clack of them hitting the page.
"He feels words have a sculptural quality and he can't appreciate that on the screen."
Despite the success of The Widow's Daughter Edlin hasn't started on his next novel. Currently living in London, he's been working as a lawyer and enjoying the city.
"It's a fabulous place to live and it's difficult to imagine leaving, but I have to balance that with practical concerns," says Edlin.
"I think it would be difficult to write while I'm here working long hours and commuting. And I do want to keep writing - it will always be what I want to do. So I'll be returning to New Zealand."
