
It's early 1860 in Ngamotu New Plymouth and the highly contentious purchase of the Waitara Block is being finalised. Pākehā are building stockades around the settlement and militia are pouring in. Māori and Europeans know war between them is imminent. These weeks before the outbreak of the Taranaki Wars act as a historical backdrop to Lauren Keenan's novel.
The novel explores the circumstances of two women, Matāria/Minnie White and Frances Farrington, and also Henry White, husband of Matāria and ex-suitor of Frances, who connects them. Both women are unloved outsiders in Ngāmotu: Matāria has returned after years as a slave for a Waikato iwi and Frances - a spinster with no dowry - is a recent arrival from London.
The exploration of this liminal space, and how it affects the two women's daily domestic lives, is one of the novel's strengths. "I know you say the land is your place," another freed slave tells Matāria. "But we're on our land right now and we are not free.
THE SPACE BETWEEN
by Lauren Keenan (Penguin)
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 30 - April 5, 2024-Ausgabe von New Zealand Listener.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 30 - April 5, 2024-Ausgabe von New Zealand Listener.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden

A hint of mermaids
Erin Palmisano's latest novel once again has food and romance at the heart of its well-plotted story.

Execution over innovation
Big and bold ideas are fine, but being the best beats being first.

Something's wrong with all of them
Engaging dissection of the 20th-century novel likely to send the reader in search for the book under discussion.

Cell warfare
A NZ trial using immunotherapy to beat a form of blood cancer is expanding after promising results – and it's hoped the 'gold standard' treatment will soon be widely available.

The virus that stole all the smells
In this edited extract from The Forgotten Sense, Jonas Olofsson traces the rise in anosmia as a result of Covid-19 infections.

When caring is ‘woke'
Some years ago, I sat in a small plane circling over Punta del Este in Uruguay. There was a delay and we sat in tense silence until we began our descent. Outside the tiny airport, a taxi ferried us past private Lear jets; these had been the cause of the hold-up. The driver pointed to two planes side by side. \"This one is a Trump plane.\"

Getting along swimmingly
The presenters of Endangered Species Aotearoa spend a fair bit of time on and in the water in the second season.

That clingy feeling
Our pets display the same types of attachment behaviours as we do, or so it seems.

The famous furred
A peaceful little spot in LA is the final resting place for the pets of some of Hollywood's biggest names.

Gone girl
She wandered in on Thursday morning looking very wan, and climbed into her bed. I sat on the edge and stroked her back.