“I’ve been holidaying in Paekākāriki since I was six months old. My aunt had a bach there and now our family have a different one overlooking the sea. Three decades ago I plumbed our wee bach from scratch. I love the village and although Kāpiti Coast has appeared in other novels – Catching the Current and Harbouring – I wanted to give it a starring role! Paekākāriki inhabitants have a reputation for being creative, alternative and often argumentative when it comes to local body laws: so good material for a novel. Locals along the coast are arguing right now about sea encroachmets and managed retreats – topics which are central to my story. Lorna’s house in Sea Change is, in my mind, our bach. I never call the village Paekākāriki but anyone can recognise it from the map drawn by my grandson Ben – a properly qualified plumber.”
Look out for Jenny Pattrick’s new novel from Bateman Books and now available through all good bookstores and online.
A tsunami has devastated a small Kapiti Coast community. The government mandates managed retreat – a decision manipulated by Adrian Stokes, a powerful businessman with an agenda of his own.
A resourceful and colourful collection of villagers defy the order to retreat. They persuade reclusive Lorna, blind Toddy and young, traumatised Eru to join them as their properties are key to Stokes’s plans.
It soon becomes apparent that to survive they must work together. Close bonds are formed, and problems are solved in surprising ways. Stokes tries repeatedly to uproot the determined community, but it seems he has underestimated their resilience and adaptability.
Sea Change is topical, dealing with managed retreat issues. It also highlights the difference between rich and powerful and poor but resourceful citizens in present times when ingenuity and clever solutions are needed.
Jenny Pattrick 