Denis Baker: On a Distant Island

By MICHAEL LARSEN

Unsurprisingly, a New Zealand author has finally tackled, in depth, the ramifications of the great Kiwi OE.

It is such an embedded part of our natural psyche that it is not necessary to ask if someone has spent time in Britain, but when they were there. What is gratifying is how well Baker approaches this phenomenon.

His debut novel uses Paul Burton to tell this intricately woven and totally engrossing story.

Paul has been in Britain for 10 years, has set up a group of successful cyber-cafe outlets, but their success has been at the expense of his nine-year relationship with Angela. When she commits an infidelity, he uses it as an excuse to come back to New Zealand to sort his head out.

Through a friend he meets Larry, and a group of friends who congregate at his bach on the shores of Lake Taupo, near to where Paul spent many youthful summers.

The story follows Paul's burgeoning friendship with this intelligent, well-travelled group but, in particular, with the silent, pensive Larry.

For, and this gives nothing away, Paul recognises Larry from Britain, where he was Dave and was involved in an unsolved incident.

Larry uses Paul and his fishing trips, and the beautiful silent backdrop, to slowly reveal the truth behind his story, his new identity and his retreat from the rave world of London 1990 to the quiet Tokaanu life of 2002.

What Baker does brilliantly is play with time. As Larry reveals his story, we flip through time frames and countries, as if leafing through someone's OE photos, identifying characters supposedly long gone.

The slow unfolding of Larry's story reveals more than one person who has changed their name and their life, and slowly Paul realises that almost everyone he has met is somehow involved in Larry/Dave's deception. And the problem Paul poses is that he has brought this past back to life.

Amidst all this, Paul is still trying to resolve his relationship with Angela, and his relationship with this country that he once called home.

Angela's unexpected arrival in New Zealand forces Paul to make some decisions, something he is loathe to do. But worse, it forces Larry to confront his past and his deceptions, for Angela too is aware of his secret.

Despite all the negotiable honesties, the differing landscapes, the brilliantly intricate characterisations and the various plots, not once does the novel get complicated.

Baker writes simply but passionately about our intriguing land and, like a number of local books I have read lately, water plays a major part of the backdrop, or undercurrent, if you will.

The ending is beautifully executed, without being pat.

There is so much to this book, from the characters - who are delightfully our own people - to the plot, to the differing locations, that not only did it occupy me for some time after I'd put the book down, it made me want to pick it up almost immediately and re-read it.

One of the best books I have read this year.

* Published by David Ling, $24.95

* Michael Larsen is an Auckland freelance writer.