Eileen Merriman tells Eleanor Black what she's reading
Currently I'm halfway through Brannavan Gnanalingam's Sprigs, a novel centred around the gang rape of a 15-year-old at a party – not exactly cheery fodder but it's skilfully told and raises issues of toxic masculinity, racism and the misdirected power of theprivileged. As always, Gnanalingam's dry wit weaves throughout the book and he has a real gift for dialogue.
I recently devoured Rose Carlyle's debut novel, The Girl In The Mirror, which was fast-paced, very clever and extremely well-written. Last weekend I finished Caroline Barron's Ripiro Beach, a brave, enlightening, beautifully written journey of self-discovery. There were so many times where I thought, "Yes, yes, yes" - and perhaps this is where Barron's memoir has its greatest power — to hold a mirror up to its reader to say that they are not alone.
While on holiday recently, I bought Sarah J. Maas' House of Earth and Blood and enjoyed losing myself in an alternative universe where sexy vampires, shapeshifters, sprites, witches and werewolves (to name a few) mingle with humans. There is a lot of swearing, recreational drug use and sex but also a great plot. I'm looking forward to the second in this series.
Another recent read was David Mitchell's Utopia Avenue. I love the genre-less nature of Mitchell's books and the way he introduces supernatural elements into his novels in a seemingly effortless fashion. Why aren't his books fantasy then? Well, because they just aren't. There are several links to characters from previous novels, and the depiction of Jasper's schizophrenia is especially well done.
Next on my list is Best of Auckland, a short-story collection recently released by Writer's Cafe, which features one of my short stories, The Singularity of Sleep.
The Silence of Snow, by Eileen Merriman
The Silence of Snow, by Eileen Merriman (Penguin, $36) is out now.
