Chad Taylor’s Departure Lounge kept me gripped in a way that most New Zealand novels do not. It crackles and snaps like a Guy Ritchie movie, combining sleazy authenticity with smart, throwaway observations and pared-back dialogue.
But when I came to the end, I was left with a curious feeling of detachment. Normally, when I race through a book like this, I’m sad to finish it.
This is nothing to do with the undoubted writing skills of Mr Taylor. And I’d be very happy for him to use the opening paragraph of this review as a quote, because he deserves the compliments.
The problem comes from the locations rather than the writing. I walk down K Road nearly every day, so that particular milieu holds no magic for me any more. Taylor’s description of the Waiheke Ferry is spot on, down to the feeling of being afloat in a factory canteen, but it doesn’t tell me anything I don’t already know.
Overseas readers will probably enjoy the book’s settings much more, and will find the Auckland locations much more intriguing. The book is published in the UK, US, France and Italy, and I suspect that’s partly on the strength of these locations. Reviewers have also picked up on this, including the Chicago Tribune:
There's so much pleasure and bafflement to be derived from this thriller by novelist Chad Taylor that it seems like an afterthought to point out that it's also a fascinating portrait of life in modern-day New Zealand ... A fine read and an interesting look at unfamiliar terrain.
The one plot device that started to grip me was centred on Mount Erebus, but it only makes fleeting appearances throughout the story. As a Pom who has lived in New Zealand for about nine years, I find Erebus morbidly fascinating. I subconsciously wanted Taylor to return to Erebus more often; New Zealanders obviously view the disaster in the way that British people view the Lockerbie bombing or the Heysel tragedy.
Shoddy proofing in the Jonathan Cape edition reveals the odd typo here and there, such as repeated references to a ‘Ducatti’ rather than Ducati motorbike. And like many contemporary thrillers, this book occasionally feels like it was written with one eye on the DVD player. (Yes, it’d make a good noir art house movie, something with a sense of otherworldliness and dislocation, like Lost In Translation.)
But that’s enough griping. At long last, it seems that New Zealand has a novelist who understands how to write a good thriller - as opposed to the oft-lauded 'New Zealand novel'. Taylor’s biggest achievement is that he’s written a book that will resonate with readers outside New Zealand.
There’s just enough of New Zealand in Departure Lounge to give it the necessary exotic feeling for overseas readers. And we're spared the usual navel-gazing, obscure cultural references and general angst that bores European or American readers.
Taylor puts me in mind of Martin Amis: if Amis was a Kiwi, he’d probably write something like this. You could say that Departure Lounge is Taylor’s Rachel Papers; and if he sticks to his literary guns, there’s a real chance that his London Fields will follow.
16 Jul 06 | Filed by Chris | Add your comment (8 so far)
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Comment by steve ~ July 16, 2006 5:52 PM
Am I the only one on the planet who found this book forgettable and boring?
Comment by Darryl ~ July 17, 2006 11:23 PM
Sorry, this isn't about Chad Taylor though there is a slight connection - I'm recently back from a couple of years overseas so I've seen a few departure lounges . . . Anyway, thought I'd give myself a crash course in NZ lit and picked up the latest Landfall. Looked stylish. (I bought it ahead of the Sport magazine beside it which seemed a bit dowdy but I promise to read that too.) Gotta say though I was saddened - okay sickened - by the level of personal hostility towards Bill Manhire in the Landfall. Is it just me or are people out to get the man? And for what? Someone had sent me a copy of Manhire's latest, Lifted, and it's great. I mean not just another good book of poems but my God, it's a great book. Okay, so the Landfall reviewer might not like it - fair enough. I didn't understand a word of the review but that's his opinion. But then Manhire pops up as the bad guy again in Robert Sullivan's review and AGAIN in a review of 3 women poets, all apparently damaged by contact with Manhire. He must be some evil guy. Sorry but my only contact with him has been as a reader (a grateful one) and whenever he's in public he is almost bent over double being generous to others. Am I missing something here?
Comment by fergus ~ July 17, 2006 11:59 PM
Dowdy -- ouch! Is it the homespun cover (must be the first NZ book cover in some time to earn a woolmark)? Or the "let the writing speak" typography? But you must have a point, Darryl, because you're spot on about everything else.
Comment by Chris ~ July 18, 2006 8:37 AM
I agree that Lifted is a sensational book - it's perhaps my favourite book of NZ poetry from the past few years - but given the subjective nature of poetry, there's always going to be someone who doesn't like it. And maybe there's also a little of the tall poppy syndrome here. Manhire has been pivotal in lifting the level of literature in NZ, with not only his own work, but also the courses he runs. So he's got a pretty high profile, and eventually people are going to take pot shots. I'm sure he's big enough to take it.
Comment by Darryl ~ July 18, 2006 3:44 PM
Right, Fergus - must have been the jersey! And the beard. (I presume you're Fergus Barrowman?) To my shame I haven't read any Nigel Cox. The Listener article really piqued my interest. Looks like Responsibility is the place to start. And I forgot to say neat neat site, people.
Comment by Islander ~ July 18, 2006 8:32 PM
Chris- I think people have already taken potshots (I recall Pat Evans 'article' in the Listener last year e.g.) And, however genial & nice a bloke Bill is, and however talented a poet he is, and however much initiative & entrepreneurship he shows apropos his IML, resentment almost automatically accrues when one academic body captures a lot of funding (yep, I know, we know, Bill went out & sourced the funding, but-)
Comment by Robert Sullivan ~ July 27, 2006 12:58 PM
I was just reading through the older postings and came across this one. I totally agree with Darryl that the Landfall review by Richard Reeve of "Lifted" was very unfair. I think also that my essay has been misinterpreted by Darryl. Bill Manhire's presence is a very generous and nurturing one in our literature.
My essay aims to highlight the absence and even erasure of Maori, Polynesian and Asian voices in our official literature.
Comment by Chris ~ July 27, 2006 1:27 PM
Pardon my ignorance, but what is 'official literature'?
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