LIONESS, by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $36.99)
There’s an exercise Bill Manhire used in his creative writing courses called “Five Things”. Writers are given a list of objects, settings, characters and ideas, chosen at random, and asked to write a story including all of them. I can imagine someone being given the five things exercise, seeing that the list includes Wellington in the 2010s, menopause, property development and a homeware store, and concluding it would be impossible to make an entertaining story along these lines.
But from the opening scene,: a kayaker needs rescuing, a young woman walks out on her husband in hospital, kids get lost, a valuable painting catches fire, family members fight with sustained viciousness. The novel succeeds in prioritising character development and voice without sacrificing narrative. Politics don’t overwhelm the story, but they certainly suffuse it. There is an ongoing sense of activity, and scrutiny.
