Tuvalu

Tuvalu

by Andrew O'Connor

Allen & Unwin, HK$149

It's no surprise that Andrew O'Connor's Tuvalu won Australia's Vogel literary award. Praise for the book, his first, ranged from 'original' to 'accomplished' and included comparisons to the father of modern Japanese literature Natsume Soseki and Haruki Murakami. O'Connor's Mami character probably sparked the latter association: a self-absorbed, rich girl whose recklessness and disconnection are strangely alluring, she's the live wire that rouses protagonist Noah Tuttle, an Australian ESL teacher, from his life of inertia. Tuvalu - the dream land or life people work towards - is the furthest place from Tuttle's digs: a cheap hostel in Tokyo, where he lives with his girlfriend, Tilly. When the novel opens, however, she's back in Australia and Mami is insinuating herself into Tuttle's life. Not surprisingly, the Japanese girl's presence sours the couple's relationship. O'Connor, an English teacher who has done time in Japan, brings Tokyo to life with none of the willful misunderstanding that blights the work of many foreigners. Does his protagonist end up in Tuvalu? Read the book to find out.