‘Tackling a complex, fraught topic – the very essence of what it is to be a New Zealander – with courage, style and insight.―Stuff New Zealand
‘Not a word is wasted. Imagery is of the sharpest level. There is so much to love about this angry, meditative novel that reading it is almost an act of catharsis.'―The AU Review
The present reckons with the past in Attraction, Ruby Porter’s debut novel.
Three women are on a road trip, navigating the motorways of the North Island, their relationships with one another and New Zealand's colonial history. Our narrator doesn't know where she stands with Ilana, her not-quite-girlfriend. She has a complex history with her best friend, Ashi. She's haunted by the spectre of her emotionally abusive ex-boyfriend. And her period's now weeks late.
Attraction is a meditative novel of connection, inheritance and the stories we tell ourselves. In lyrical fragments, Porter explores what it means to be and to belong, to create and to destroy.
‘Attraction peels back the landscape to reveal deeper truths. The writer is right inside her material – a road trip that delivers a political and sexual coming-of-age narrative. The book is a slow-burning fuse that brims with intensely felt experience. Porter is an exciting new talent.’―Lloyd Jones
‘Attraction abounds with sharp imagery, intergenerational relationships and the natural, historic and domestic environments of modern New Zealand. Ruby Porter is a gifted new writer.’―Patricia Grace
‘Attraction is an exquisite story…The prose is emotive and artistic…Attraction is impossible to put down…It is a brilliant, beautiful novel.’―Booksellers NZ
‘A coming-of-age story that is full of evocative sketches of the North Island’s landscapes.’―Traveller magazine
'Porter's style is spare, immediate and pared back...[A]n intriguing new voice.'―Overland Literary Journal
GUEST POST
Deleted scene
[This memory comes when the narrator is in a car with her
not-quite-girlfriend Ilana, about to cross a narrow bridge over the Mohaka
River in New Zealand’s North Island. Mohaka translates as ‘place for dancing’.]
I can’t dance
myself. I’ve never been able to. Moving my legs isn’t too bad, though after a
while I become so aware of my body I can’t even manage that, so aware of the
same swaying motion, the same side step. Repeat. No, I’ve never known what to
do with my arms. I have an aversion to raising them. It’s as if they reach a
point with gravity, right above my waist, where the forces become balanced, all
movement dies.
Year Ten
Social was one of the worst nights of my life. Ashi was always a good dancer, I
didn’t mind. She can have that. But we had this mutual friend, Danielle, who
used to sit with me on the odd few plastic chairs that they’d leave around the
edges, for the odd few like us. We’d bitch about everyone else, what they were
wearing, how their hair looked crimped. But that night Danielle decided that
dancing was easy. She decided that anyone could do it – you just have to give
it a go. The sight of her is one branded onto my cerebellum, hands combing
through her hair and fingers making long pointing gestures, as she sang along
to Rihanna’s Umbrella. She looked
awful. And what terrified me the most was that she thought she looked good. You
can never truly see how you look to others, not from the outside. Especially
when it comes to your body.
About the author:
Ruby Porter is a tutor of creative writing at the University of Auckland. She has been published in Geometry Journal, Aotearotica, Spinoff and Wireless, and a selection of her poetry is available on NZEPC. In 2018, she also won the Wallace Foundation Short Fiction Contest.
Author's Giveaway:
13 comments:
I've not read a book with a New Zealand setting so that alone will draw me in. Thanks for the review.
Based on the reviews I feel this is a must read.
Sounds like a great read.
This book sounds good.
Enjoyed the post, sounds good!
this sounds like a wonderful book, I love the cover too
The book sounds really great.
I love the cover and think the book sounds good.
I like the cover. It has great colors and graphics
abfantom at yahoo dot com
Sounds great, I like the cover.
The cover is so gorgeous and serene!!
This looks like a good read. Thanks for the giveaway!
The New Zealand setting is awesome! The cover color is gorgeous.
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