Delirious – Damien Wilkins

READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS

Retired cop and librarian Mary and Pete are struggling with ailments and deciding whether to move into a retirement home or stay in their family home. Then the police ask to speak to them about the accident that killed their son 40 years ago. A book about the dilemmas that come with being lucky enough to reach old age, and the enduring impact of the past.

With her now tiny legs folded up against her body as the sling raised and lowered her, she looked like a delicate animal, a foal perhaps, being weighed.

●  The older generation is often stereotyped in fiction so it was nice to read something that had a positive and honest focus on the subtleties of everyday life for this sector of the community. The first part of the story that piqued my interest was the plot line of new information about their son’s death, but I felt like there was too much padding inbetween returning to this narrative. It could have been woven in better. But overall I did like this story. It isn’t grandiose and doesn’t try to be clever, with crazy twists and turns, but rather has realistically crafted characters dealing with bad health, grief, familial relationships, as well as upheavals and second chances. – Rachel

●  A beautifully paced exploration of ageing, family and grief, with a side of reality-of-a-long-term-marriage. There was something captivating about following Peter and Mary and their relatively gentle lives, and looking back through their years was both illuminating and sad. The author did a near perfect job of describing the characters and settings and each person and place we came across seemed utterly recognisable. – Suzy

Published 2024
Te Herenga Waka University Press
312 pages