The
life journeys of two women weave the fabric of this part-historical, part-present-day
New Zealand novel.
The
weft is the Frenchwoman Brigitte Dujardin, who arrived in Akaroa in 1840. The
warp is her descendant – contemporary Sue Spencer, who is tracking her
genealogy.
Zelas
judiciously employs the parallel storyline technique to good effect. She
achieves complementary roles for each, and harmoniously merges the historical
echoes into the 21st century.
The
two women’s lifestyles are drawn as a study of contrasts, yet they are bonded
by more than a bloodline. Both confront relationship difficulties, mortality and
racial, specifically anti-Maori, prejudice.
Dujardin
flouts the social and moral conventions of her time, and takes a bold, almost
confrontational stand on several issues. Spencer discovers kinship and finds
her spine in the face of family opposition. While Dujardin’s chosen path was
the stonier, Spencer’s track is strewn with more insidious obstacles.
Their
experiences resonate against a background of historical and contemporary
Akaroa, and the plot moves to France and back to New Zealand. This exploration
of how two women mature and find inner independence is sensitive and trenchant.
Threads
of hypocrisy and racism provide lively trigger points. In particular, Zelas
takes a healthy swipe at the double standards and posturing of a white,
academic, middle-class Kiwi male. Her aim is unerring.
She
has produced a novel that sits comfortably in its New Zealand skin. The
storyline maintains a steady pace while ranging over some thought-provoking
aspects of our heritage and current social climate. Key characters are fleshed
out into realistic personalities, and there is an acute eye and ear for nuance.
With
poetry and short stories already in her literary portfolio, Zelas’ foray into
the novel genre ha[s] achieved depth.
–
Bronwyn Dorreen, in the Waikato Times
Republished by Interactive Publications, Brisbane, 2012. Available as ebook and print-on-demand at http://ipoz.biz/Titles/PastP.htm . Within New Zealand, available as paperback at www.KarenZelas.com (first edition: Wily Publications, Christchurch, 2010).
