Tuvalu
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
Winner of the Australian/Vogel’s Literary Award 2005.
‘Tuvalu ... Everyone has a place like that. A dream land or life they're working towards, however vaguely. ... Some people probably have more than one Tuvalu in a life. It changes as they grow. Or maybe they get to the first one and find it's nothing like they imagined and need a new one. You must have had at least one?'
‘No.’
A love story of sorts, Tuvalu tells the story of Noah Tuttle, who is glumly and aimlessly living a half kind of life in a cheap rundown hostel in the seamier margins of Tokyo, a place overrun with feral cats and cockroaches. He teaches mediocre English to disinterested students, sleeps with his girlfriend, Tilly, when she's around, drinks beer when he can afford it, and generally avoids other people and their expectations. Nothing much happens to him - until, that is, he meets the wealthy, captivating and completely self-absorbed Mami Kaketa, a supremely selfish creature who leaves people like so much litter in her wake, so brazen and capricious she should come with a health warning.
A blackly funny, inconclusive and strangely beguiling story of ennui, escape, exile and dreams.
‘Always surprising, it maps the complex emotional currents of a young man navigating between two cultures, exploring issues of love, lust, honesty and commitment…’ Liam Davison
‘The quality of the writing is high and seemingly effortless ... the prose is assured and fluid and his observations are original ... it has real spark.’ John Dale
‘An assured voice ... an accomplished and interesting writer.’ Jean Bedford
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Winner of the Australia Vogel Literary Award, O'Connor's sordid debut follows Noah Tuttle, who ditches Australia and university to teach English in Tokyo. Noah drifts in and out of jobs, loses money and descends into the seedy nightlife while living in a hostel with girlfriend Tilly. When Tilly returns to Australia for a few weeks, Noah meets a Japanese socialite who nudges him down a path filled with deception, stealing and drugs. As Noah's downward spiral deepens, he isolates himself from his surroundings and becomes more entangled in his love and lust for both women before finally, brutally bottoming out. A rollercoaster plot and crisp, raw prose add a manic tone to this stark picture of Japanese society's underbelly.
