Notes

"This novel is a companion volume to a non-fiction book, The Villa at the Edge of the Empire, both prompted by the earthquakes that struck ... Christchurch in 2010-11, and their aftermath."-- (Author's note). A fascinating novel about a house with a fanciful little turret, built by a river. The tumultuous events of the twentieth century from war to economic collapse, the deaths of presidents and princesses to new waves of music, art, architecture and political ideas all leave their mark in some fashion upon the house and the people who call it home. Unfolding within its rooms are lives of event and emotional upheaval. A lot happens. Meanwhile, a few metres away, another creature follows a different, slower rhythm. And beneath them all, the planet moves to its own immense geological time. With insight, wide-ranging knowledge and humour, this novel explores the same territory as its non-fiction twin, The Villa at the Edge of the Empire. Writing in a city devastated by major earthquakes, Fiona Farrell rebuilds a brilliant, compelling and imaginative structure from bits and pieces salvaged from one hundred years of history. A lot has happened. This is how it might have felt.