Amy Head’s debut collection of short stories, Tough, offers dramatic and nuanced portraits of West Coast life, past and present. Released recently, the book dexterously shifts between present and historical experience, and dramatically focuses the West Coast landscape. The book also ushers into its borders those living on the margins of society. We share a brilliant story from the collection called ‘Maggie Quinn’, and ask Amy Head a few questions to introduce her story:
1. You have a personal connection to the West Coast where the stories are set. What do you find most affecting or curious about the region and its history?
To risk using a catch-all term, it’s probably about a particular atmosphere, which in turn is created by geography. The West Coast is remote, cut off by the Southern Alps. There are settlements that have been abandoned, and some that just look as though they have. There’s plenty of scenic beauty, but also an edge of danger, perhaps connected to the isolation and the rugged coastline. It has its own climate: often rainy, yes, humid and stormy, too, and when the sun comes out, vivid and colourful. And it all contrasts strongly with Canterbury, on the other side of the Alps.
Read the full Q&A and story 'Maggie Quinn' on the Book Council blog Open Book.
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