Eddy, Eddy

LoveReading Says

Set in Christchurch in 2012, two years after the first earthquake, Kate De Goldi’s Eddy, Eddy is a wise and haunting coming-of-age novel populated by authentically flawed characters that command undivided attention. It’s also cleverly haunted by Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, with a dead dog named Marley, a countdown to Christmas, and Dickens’ three ghosts replaced by women who come into the young protagonist’s life as he struggles with grief and identity.

Two years on from the earthquake that shattered his city and life, orphan Eddy lives with his uncle Brain in the suburbs of Christchurch, where he works in a supermarket and minds pets of all varieties – from dogs to frogs. Through his pet-minding work, Eddy makes connections with people as well as animals, not least with older women who seem drawn to him, and he also meets Boo.

Nuanced and courageous, subtle and intense, with a very powerful, heartachingly surprising denouement, Eddy, Eddy is a brilliantly bittersweet treasure of the kind you’ll most likely want to re-read. In fact, after reading it in one swift sitting, I feel the need to go right back in.

Joanne Owen

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