Author(s): Shonagh Koea

New Zealand Fiction

When the parcel first reaches Rosalind's mail box she is unable to take it out or even to contemplate opening it. It throws her into a series of painful recollections and comic-tragic events which gradually reveal the nature of the unfortunate experience she has undergone, and, for the reader, superbly satisfying resolution of her pain and distress. Staying Home and Being Rotten combines the robust good humour of Henry Fielding, with the sensitivities of Jane Austen and the satirical playfulness of Evelyn Waugh. This delightful combination produces a black comedy of manners which, once taken up, can't be put down.