Author Pages:
NZ Book Council
NZ Literature File
Novels:
Waiting for Einstein. Auckland: Benton Ross, 1984.
Dirty Work. Auckland: Benton Ross, 1987. Reprinted, Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2006.
Skylark Lounge. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2000.
Tarzan Presley. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2004.
Responsibility. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2005.
Cowboy Dog. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2006.
1 comment:
Dirty Work is a troubling text for men as it is looks strongly at the emancipation of women in the 1980s, according to the author's note at the end of the novel.
In the past I have been barely tolerant of feminist ideology for the usual masculine reasons. So I would like to share with you a small episode I witnessed today (27 March) while out walking. I was so moved that it is included in my 'Creative Response' assignment, so here is an early version, uncut and unexplored:
...Further up the path a woman walking a beautifully kept longhaired spaniel pulled off the walkway to let me pass a long time before I was even near her. She was of average height, reasonably attractive, but refused to look at me except for a solitary furtive glance. I saw anguished eyes on a drawn face.
About fifty metres behind her walked a tall man of solid build and a shaved head. A pair of wraparound sunglasses hid any touch of emotion on the face.
He did not acknowledge our passing but stared impassively ahead, not taking his eyes off the woman with the dog, keeping pace with her as if he held on to her with an invisible leash. He seemed to be walking the woman just like she was walking her beloved pet.
When I had reached a safe distance I turned around for a second look, but they were out of sight around a corner. My heart went out to her and all the other women in similar relationships they could not get out of.
If she left, that bastard would simply hunt her down wherever she hid, and would take it out on the dog if she left it behind.
“Oh, please Lord,” I thought, “please let my next relationship be honest and true and never get like that.”
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