The Wandering Nature of Us Girls

In these small stories Frankie McMillan balances transgression and wit showing a cast of unmoored characters with her signature warmth and compassion. Bursts of vivid poetic writing blur the line between reality and surrealism as she explores all kinds of wandering: children wander adults drift into unexpected relationships and footholds can never be certain. Water too meanders like a river in the collection a powerful presence linking disparate lives: the girls raised by swans swim towards what they hope is a better future in the West a grandmother swims naked in an isolated bush lake Magdalene's behaviour on the fishing boat is under scrutiny by her sisters while the taniwha Kaiwhakaruaki looms over lovers hiding under a wooden dinghy on the beach. In settings as unexpected as a European post-war circus or an inflatable pool in suburban Aotearoa the enduring bonds of family real or imagined take centre stage. Frankie McMillan has given us a collection that is poignant revelatory and bitter sweet.