"Shane is a dairy farmer without a farm. He and his young wife read the 'Farm Employee Wanted' advertisements, and finally set off to the Waikato to work on a bachelor's farm. From wages they graduate to sharemilking and buy a herd of cows. Their friendships; their winter treks to new farms; their disappointments and adventures as they gain experience of dairying, and save towards buying their own herd and land are told with vivid detail and sympathy."--Publisher description.
An enthralling novel of individual bravery versus silent, collective complicity, set in a vividly drawn farming community in 1970s New Zealand. The Baxters do not know their place. On the first of June every year, sharemilkers load their trucks with their families, pets and possessions and crawl along the highways towards new farms, new lives. They’re inching towards that ultimate dream — buying their own land. Fenward’s always been lucky with its sharemilkers: grateful, grafting folk who understand what’s expected of them. Until now, when grief-stricken Ian Baxter and his precocious daughter, Gabrielle, arrive. Nickie Walker is enchanted by the glamour and worldliness of Gabrielle. Nickie's mother finds herself in the crossfire of a moral battle she dreads to confront. Each has a story to share. This is a coming-of-age story for two young girls who hold a mirror up to the place and people they love. It’s a coming-of-age story, too, for a community forced to stare back at the image of a damaged soul. The question is: who will blink first?
Varied and accomplished, these stories of sustenance are entertaining, stimulating and original. An ageing taxi driver reflects on mortality and the choices he has made in life as he indulges in a clandestine Italian feast. The friend of a dying woman delivers a sardonic commentary on the frenetic ritual of cake-baking that precedes death and grief. A young boy sets out to save his grandparents' marriage after discovering pornography in his grandfather's memorabilia. This stunning debut collection observes a subtle unravelling of social etiquettes. Often hopeful, always moving, these darkly quirky stories demand the reader's attention beyond the final page. Etiquette for a Dinner Party showcases the breadth of this writer's talent - from the oh-so-recognisable and desperate efforts of a homesick tourist to enjoy the 'perfect' holiday, to the descent into madness of a lonely high-country farmer.
