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Backwaters

by Emma Ling Sidnam

Laura is tired of being asked where she's really from. Her family has lived in Aotearoa New Zealand for four generations, and she's ambivalent at best about her Chinese heritage. But when she's asked to write about the Chinese New Zealander experience for a work project, Laura finds herself drawn to the diary of her great-great-grandfather Ken, a market gardener in the early years of the British colony.

With the help of her beloved grandpa, Laura begins to write a version of Ken's story. She imagines his youth in Guangzhou and his journey to a new land-unaware that soon, spurred on by a family secret that comes to light, she will go on her own journey of self-discovery, sexuality and reckoning with the past.

A tender, nuanced novel about the bittersweet search for belonging, Backwaters marks the arrival of a brilliant new talent.
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FICTION & POETRY
AOTEAROA NZ FICTION

AUCK IN STOCK

WGTN IN STOCK

Pages:

288

Published:

26 Sept 2023

Format

Paperback

Publisher

Text Publishing Company

ISBN:

9781922790422

Laura is tired of being asked where she's really from. Her family has lived in Aotearoa New Zealand for four generations, and she's ambivalent at best about her Chinese heritage. But when she's asked to write about the Chinese New Zealander experience for a work project, Laura finds herself drawn to the diary of her great-great-grandfather Ken, a market gardener in the early years of the British colony.

With the help of her beloved grandpa, Laura begins to write a version of Ken's story. She imagines his youth in Guangzhou and his journey to a new land-unaware that soon, spurred on by a family secret that comes to light, she will go on her own journey of self-discovery, sexuality and reckoning with the past.

A tender, nuanced novel about the bittersweet search for belonging, Backwaters marks the arrival of a brilliant new talent.
$38.00