#FlashForwardFridays-‘The Imaginary Life Of James Poneke’ by Tina Makereti

Welcome to another #FlashForwardFriday where I take a look at a new or forthcoming release from Eye Books!

This week it’s the turn of Tina Makereti and her forthcoming, Septemeber release,‘The Imaginary Lives Of James Poneke’

About the book…

James Poneke is a young Maori orphan, raised by missionaries, with a burning desire to travel and explore the world. When an English artist on a tour of New Zealand invites James to return home with him, the boy eagerly accepts and agrees to become a living exhibit at the artist’s London show.

By day, James dresses in full tribal outfit, being stared at, prodded and examined by paying visitors. By night, he is free to explore the city, but anything can happen to a young New Zealander on the savage streets of Victorian London and James is unprepared for the wonders, dangers and unearthed secrets that await.

‘The Imaginary Lives of James Poneke’ is an unforgettable work of historical fiction in the spirit of Sarah Waters and Sarah Perry.

I am going to put my copy on order, how about you?

About the author…

‘Where The Rekohu Bone SIngs’ is Tina Makereti’s first novel. Her short story collection, ‘Once Upon A Time In Aoteroa’(Huia Publishers 2010), won the Ngā Kupu Ora Māori Book Awards Fiction Prize 2011. In 2009 she was the recipient of the Royal Society of New Zealand Manhire Prize for Creative Science Writing (non-fiction), and in the same year received the Pikihuia Award for Best Short Story written in English. In October 2012, Makereti was Writer in Residence at the Weltkulturen Museum in Frankfurt, and in 2014 she is the Creative New Zealand Randell Cottage Writer in Residence. Makereti has a PhD Creative Writing from Victoria University, and teaches creative writing and English at Massey and Victoria Universities. She is of Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Ati Awa, Ngāti Maniapoto, Pākehā and, in all probability, Moriori descent. She now lives on the Kāpiti Coast with her partner, two daughters and unruly dog