Te Kauhanga: A Tale of Space(s)

In the town of Te Kauhanga … Montreal Perec is an accomplished cartographer with unusual powers of perception. He lives as a recluse in his lighthouse-like home, determined to locate the treasure of his ancestors. Sharon Pellerine works for the local council. An attractive woman, she is desired by various rural and municipal courters, until they discover her sad secret. Stanley Kowalczyk is an insurance adjuster with an obsession with straight lines and a weakness for beautiful women. These characters’ lives revolve around the apparently perishing tree of Taumata-an enormous tree, one of the legendary legs of Tane Mahuta and a taonga to local Maori. As debate rages in the township about the tree’s future, Perec is led closer to his treasure by the activities of his fellow residents. Te Kauhanga is a highly entertaining and mysterious tale of spaces that examines how our position and movement in this world influence others. This book races along. Amazing characters, whacky as hell, brilliantly structured and hugely entertaining. - James Russell, author of The Dragon Brothers Trilogy