Aué / Becky Manawatu
[Livre]
Edité par Makaro Press
2024
"Auē" 1. (verb) to cry, howl, groan, wail, bawl. 2. (interjection) expression of astonishment or distress. Taukiri was born into sorrow. Auē can be heard in the sound of the sea he loves and hates, and in the music he draws out of the guitar that was his father's. It spills out of the gang violence that killed his father and sent his mother into hiding, and the shame he feels about abandoning his eight-year-old brother to a violent home. But Taukiri's brother, Arama, is braver than he looks, and he has a friend, and his friend has a dog, and the three of them together might just be strong enough to turn back the tide of sadness" (4e de couv.)
Avis
Avis des professionnels
-
‘Stories are more precious than pearls’ p.117 - Auē means to wail, howl
I was utterly absorbed right from the start. Straight into the story of 8- years-old Ari ((Ārama) and his older brother Tauk (Taukiri). A family tragedy has happened and Taukiri is dumping his younger brother with aunty Kat and vicious uncle Stu, in Kaikoura, before zooming off in his car, Snoop Dogg on full volume. Becky Manawatu gives the reader the ‘what, who and where’ -just enough to get the story going- but the characters’ gaps in information and the oblique references to past events create an enigma that had me turning page after page. This is a tight read. Every paragraph, every line, matters. Excellent writing in the sense that it’s invisible. It's the characters who have those insightful thoughts, make those blunt comments, stun with their one-liner understatements, impress with their cool sense of humour (I outright laughed many times), their staunch kindness and compassion in horrendous circumstances. Points of views switch, chapter by chapter: Ari’s, Tauriki’s, Jade’s and Toko’s; plus –I love this- a ghost. Auē’s sound track includes gangsta rap (trigger warning: drugs and violence); but also, waiata/songs such as ‘Whakahonohono Mai’ meaning ‘to join together’ (glimmers of hope); Eddie Lovette (Reggae); and Cat Stevens. The sea has an equally crucial role in this novel –one superb passage reminds me of the surfing scene in Maylis de Kerangal’s Réparer les vivants. The writing also brings to mind novels by Carson McCullers and Penelope Fitzgerald’s Offshore –the children (Ari and his friend Beth), very much left to their own resources, are so well depicted. Auē has themes of love, domestic violence and the struggle to leave; I had to pause reading several times, especially nearing the end, because of the tension. ‘Raw and sublime’ according to editor’s burb. Exactly that. PS For the close reader, I’d recommend having alongside you Bones Bay (Au vent des îles), the excellent translation by David Fauquembert –his additional phrases help with words in te reo/Māori, NZ slang and the few NZ-specific cultural references. -Mia Farlane, author of Footnotes to sex. www.miafarlaneauthor.com
Mia Farlane (écrivaine néo-zélandaise) - Le 26 avril 2025 à 17:33