CK Stead's latest novel is certainly fun to dissect, writes Cushla McKinney. At the heart of the story is Max, a New-Zealand born professor of literature at the Sorbonne, around whom three women revolve in non-intersecting orbits. Max is in love with Sylvia (or at least the idea of her), is sleeping with Helen, and longs to re-establish his old routines with Louise. In many ways this is the epitome of one of Stead’s most familiar tropes, featuring writer-narrators whose self-referential reflections on the creative process and the relationship between word and meaning invite the reader into the authorial mind. For those who love Stead’s writing, however, I’m sure it will be a welcome addition to an extensive and illustrious body of work.

Source: Otago Daily Times November 19, 2017 16:18 UTC