REVIEW: Gripping read from Carterton novelist

LOCAL AUTHOR: Gaye Sutton's novel is a compelling read about a serious issue.

Violent marriages, fractured parent-child relationships, professional rivalries and a forbidden romance are all brought to life in the first novel by Carterton's Gaye Sutton.

And it's one hell of a read.

But For The Grace, a decade-long labour of love for storyteller, celebrant and counsellor Sutton (pictured), is an unflinching, at times brutal exploration of domestic violence in New Zealand told through the the eyes of battered women and the community workers fighting to bring them justice.

Given the subject matter, it's not an easy read. But it is certainly an important and gripping one, with razor-sharp pacing, an array of colourful characters and earthy, blisteringly honest prose.

Set in the 1990s, But For The Grace is the tale of feisty, straight-talking 30-something Leah Gunn, who, while carrying her own scars from an abusive relationship, runs a support group for battered women at a community house.

Leah's world is thrown into turmoil when the Department of Social Welfare demands an audit of her practice to be carried out by the prim and neatly-coiffed academic Dr Mandy Brook, with whom she instantly clashes.

We also meet Chris Mort, the disillusioned leader of a treatment group for violent men, who is often at loggerheads with Leah and to whom Mandy is almost obsessively drawn.

As part of her audit, Mandy asks Leah's clients to keep journals, which reveal both the horror and complexity of their relationships.

Later, a story told in the group leads to tragedy, transformation and the forging of an unlikely bond.

What made the novel so enjoyable was Sutton's multi-faceted and relatable characters. Leah sometimes makes for an unlikeable protagonist -- her stinging abrasiveness, distrust and at-times shoddy treatment of those who love her make her hard to digest. But still the reader feels admiration for her lived experience and fierce protectiveness of her clients.

Mandy seems a first an object of disdain, with her tailored suits and rigid, methodical approaches to life, but we can't help rooting for her once her own vulnerabilities are revealed. And behind Chris' compassionate facilitator persona is a man cynical about his work, withering towards feminist ideals, and barely able to keep his marriage afloat.

No less interesting are the supporting cast, particularly Leah's clients -- sprightly Melissa, private school-educated Cassandra, fretful Caroline, shy Averill and slightly disturbed Shona.

Several of the men's group characters are also well-drawn, with their own fragilities and tragic stories emerging.

Sutton's prose is certainly proficient -- straight-forward, but with vivid flashes which feel incisive and viscerally painful. Especially her frank descriptions of the abuse.

If I had to be critical, some of the characters speak in long monologues, which felt unnatural and slowed down an otherwise well-paced story.

But on the whole, a brilliant thrill-ride of a book.

One which explores a serious issue in society, and deserves to be savoured, cover to cover.