Teen reads: The Haystack

The Haystack. Photo / Supplied

From master storyteller Jack Lasenby - the young person's Ron Morrieson - comes another tale of between-the-wars Waharoa. Lasenby brings the Depression-era Waikato town - a blip on the radar on the way to somewhere else these days - to life.

In large part it's the story of Maggie's relationship with her dad, who's bringing her up after the death of her mother. Maybe he doesn't do everything the right way - imagine washing clothes on a Saturday instead of a Monday - but he and Maggie rub along just fine. It's also a story of people looking after one another, from the little family to the friends and neighbours who rally round to keep an eye on Maggie, even though she doesn't realise they are doing it, to the wider community who join together in times of need, such as when the hay needs bringing in or saving from the threat of fire.

Maggie's a trooper. She never feels sorry for herself, despite the deprivations she faces and the chores she has to do, which would have most modern youngsters running for cover. And she finds joy in the small things - a cat to call her own, a slice of luncheon slipped to her by the butcher.

Lasenby's great talent is to present a child's perception of the world. Through Maggie's eyes we see the effects of big events such as the polio epidemic (the "infantile"), which leaves some of her schoolfriends crippled, and the everyday, like washing clothes in a copper. Told as a series of anecdotes, the story is full of humour, like the time Maggie manages to set fire to the dunny, or her run-ins with the local interfering biddy.

But it's also straightforward about the undercurrents of not-so-niceness beneath the benevolent facade of Waharoa. There's sniffiness about the people down at the local pa, and a farm girl's "RC" boyfriend is not entirely suitable; but Maggie's father is a tempering force.

The aftermath of the Great War is still high in people's minds: Maggie's father thinks it's a disgrace that a man who served his country but has fallen on hard times has been forced out on the swag. This is part of the story that unfolds with tragic consequences.

The Haystack is set in a time when home still meant England and Lasenby does a marvellous job of providing a glimpse into the past for readers whose grandparents are too young to remember those times.

There's a glossary explaining terms that might not be familiar to today's readers and Lasenby urges his audience to seek out the classic books Maggie's dad reads to her rather than "turn their brains to mush" by watching the videos instead. A literary champion.

-Isobel Marriner is the Herald production editor.

The Haystack, by Jack Lasenby, HarperCollins $19.99