Description
Book Synopsis1920, deep in the New Zealand bush, a settlement of Christian fundamentalists live a life of austerity and isolation. It is a place where there is little space for compassion, particularly for the women who can never rid themselves of Eve’s original sin. The elders rule over the women, children and young men, meting out punishments for transgressions as ordinary as self-reflection. Sisters Juno and Hannah have grown up in the community, but when a stranger washes up on the river bank and Hannah goes to his aid, she finds herself accused of necromancy. The girls flee but are quickly forced to accept help. Hannah, unsure who is friend or foe, finds herself dependent upon and attracted to the man into whose lips she breathed life. Juno and Hannah is a remarkable novella. The vivid New Zealand landscape reflects the journey of the sisters with its bounty of beauty and resources but also with its scars, wrought during the early days of colonisation.
Trade ReviewThe characters are memorable, especially Hannah, the sister who holds it all together and in many ways mirrors our own confusion at a world we arent familiar with and dont really understand. Ngaire Atmore, BookieMonster
I strongly recommend Juno and Hannah to readers who like their fiction to be mysterious and emotional and to those willing to face the problems of the vulnerable in our midst. Md Brady, Me, you, and books
High gothic bush yarn, Juno and Hannah has all the ingredients of love, quest, humour and endurance played out against a background of rural 1920s life, eugenics and cult religion. Simply told, fast paced, Beryl Fletcher's new novella abounds with vivid evocations of the natural world and some unforgettable female characters. Stephanie Johnson author of The Open World and The Writing Class.
