This novel is a series of episodes from the
endgame of the forlorn but irrepressible Peter Becker, Wellington’s self-styled
‘connoisseur of love’. The novel’s other main character is Wellington itself.Peter Becker, a German immigrant, is not entirely at home in his adopted city, but there’s no place on earth he’d rather be. Neither Peter nor Wellington will last forever, and each is
acutely aware of this bittersweet reality.
An eccentric public servant, estranged from his family, Peter stalks
Wellington’s second-hand shops and cafés, cycles its streets, battles on its
tennis courts, and performs his music — never quite connecting with anyone or
anything.
The Germans, as you might expect, have a word for Peter’s underlying sense that all is not well: Torschlusspanik — literally, ‘gate-closing panic’ — or in his case, the angst of growing older as life’s options narrow. Not that long ago, he seemed to have all the time in the world. Now his world is shrinking, and grace has not arrived.
The Germans, as you might expect, have a word for Peter’s underlying sense that all is not well: Torschlusspanik — literally, ‘gate-closing panic’ — or in his case, the angst of growing older as life’s options narrow. Not that long ago, he seemed to have all the time in the world. Now his world is shrinking, and grace has not arrived.
About the author:Gary Forrester is the author of two previous novels, Houseboating in the Ozarks and Begotten, Not Made; a book of verse, The Beautiful Daughters of Men; and a memoir, Blaw, Hunter, Blaw Thy Horn. Before moving to New Zealand he worked in Australia, the USA and South America as an academic, legal aid lawyer, and professional musician/composer. He now makes his home in Wadestown on Te Ahumairangi hill, and lectures in ethics at Victoria University of Wellington.
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