In a park in Tokyo, a young man in a cheap black suit props one side of a plastic crate on to a stick to which a string is tied. Leading to the crate is a trail of hamburger bun crumbs. He sits back. He waits. The bird trap is a failure. The pigeons ignore the bread. A group of women laugh behind their hands.
The slow-paced, staccato opening to Bird Life, the new novel from Wellington writer Anna Smaill, has a palpable tension that permeates this tale of grief, friendship and madness. The crate clatters to the ground, the pigeons take to the sky, the fountain suddenly erupts, an immaculately dressed middle-aged woman walks, one shoe held in her hand, towards a young foreign woman lying eyes-closed on the grass.
If Bird Life were a film, the theatre would already be gripped. Dinah, the young woman in the park, has recently arrived from Oamaru to teach English at Saitama Denki University. She is mourning the death of her twin brother, Michael, a brilliant pianist whose future was cut short through mental illness. As he explained to his sister, "Something down deep in the hammers and wires. Nothing you could do.
You would have had to take the whole thing apart to fix it." Yasuko, the middle-aged woman, is a teacher at the same institution. Her beloved son, Jun, has left home, whereabouts unknown. Dinah and Yasuko offer each other a way through their grief that is reassuring and potentially perilous.
Denne historien er fra November 18-24 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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Denne historien er fra November 18-24 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.