cover image Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Andrew O'Connor. Allen & Unwin Academic, $14.95 (347pp) ISBN 978-1-74114-871-8

Winner of the Australia Vogel Literary Award, O'Connor's sordid debut follows Noah Tuttle, who ditches Australia and university to teach English in Tokyo. Noah drifts in and out of jobs, loses money and descends into the seedy nightlife while living in a hostel with girlfriend Tilly. When Tilly returns to Australia for a few weeks, Noah meets a Japanese socialite who nudges him down a path filled with deception, stealing and drugs. As Noah's downward spiral deepens, he isolates himself from his surroundings and becomes more entangled in his love and lust for both women before finally, brutally bottoming out. A rollercoaster plot and crisp, raw prose add a manic tone to this stark picture of Japanese society's underbelly.