Unspeakable
Secrets of the Aro Valley (Victoria University Press - $35) is a confident first novel which delivers all that
the title suggests. A colourful mystery that occasionally spans continents and time,
it never really leaves the confines of the eponymous, shadowy Wellington valley.
The
author, Danyl McLauchlan, has chosen a protagonist in the form of a ne’er-do-well
writer called Danyl; a device both post-modern and as old as writing itself.
Here, it is employed as part of the playfulness of the storytelling as the
character reveals himself as both arrogant blunderer and wise detective.
To
say too much about the plot would risk spoiling the fun; something the
marketeers have had a crack at by labelling this debut as a “classic kiwi comic
mystery erotic horror adventure novel”. It certainly is a comic mystery, but to
throw the kitchen sink at it somehow devalues the confidence of this debut.
A
misunderstanding leads into the realms of a dark cult and a search to solve a
mystery from the past.
There
is an off-sider to help him; the endearing and funny Steve, who somehow pops up
just when he is needed, to help Danyl stumble through a mystery which the
author weaves, knits, folds, picks, tangles and untangles over 400+ pages.
The
character of a 20-something slacker male is portrayed perfectly: happy to
sponge of his girlfriend while life drifts by, who knows everything about the
world but is unable to get out bed (because his feet are tangled in the
sheets).
I
laughed out loud many times.
Having
spent some time in Aro Valley, I can believe there is a strange cult getting up
to mischief in the pursuit of their holy of holies; that there is a dark
Satanist sniffing around the edges, and that an over-imaginative writer has the
time to unpick the mystery while he tries to seduce the exotic and voluptuous
Stasia. If, at times, she reads like a fantasy then that’s just what someone
who has just been thrown out by his girlfriend, Verity, would fixate on.
The
book, itself, has a lovely cover and feel, but it really could have done with a
friendly edit as the story often flags while characters regurgitate information
onto the page. And, yes, it’s a mystery but there are sections which seem just
to be questions, followed by questions, ended with question marks. Which is a
shame given the tight focus of the setting and nicely limited core of
characters.
That
said, if you’re looking for a fun tale and a good chuckle, there is plenty here
to enjoy. I certainly look forward to reading further novels by this new writer.
And
while my name is Campbell, and I like to walk in Aro Valley, I need to
emphatically state that I am not the book’s cult-leader, known as the
Campbell Walker (or am I)???
No comments:
Post a Comment