* Copy courtesy of Transit Lounge *
Miranda and Richard answer an advertisement in a nature magazine and agree to stay on an island off the coast of Tasmania for a period of six months. They'll be taking over from the previous caretakers but otherwise they'll be on their own in the remote wilderness the entire time. Taking all of their own supplies, the couple will be responsible for looking after the automated lighthouse and recording regular weather observations.
Miranda is recovering from a near death experience and the couple is reeling from Richard's infidelity. The environment is hostile, with winds so fierce that animals blow off the cliffs and down onto the rocks below. Yet somehow Miranda and Richard believe the seclusion, shared experience and time together will offer them the chance to heal their marriage. Yeah right! Obviously things were going to go wrong but I could never have guessed how.
Miranda is a Marine Biologist with a love of the ocean and spreadsheets.
"Keeping spreadsheets was not enough to distract her. She had revelled in the sorting and labelling of their produce, bought sticky labels for the bags, noting the date of drying, the variety of apple or pear or orange. She listed the total weight on each bag. When she had sealed one she lined it up next to all the others. The various colours and shapes were pleasing. This task appealed to something in her nature, perhaps the same thing that had drawn her to a career in marine biology." Page 21The beginning of the book was easily my favourite part. Their arrival at the island demonstrates just how remote and cut off from the rest of the world they are, and the list of maintenance items was enormous. The weather takes a toll on every fixture and fitting and they're both energised by the physical challenges ahead. I especially enjoyed Miranda's planning for their trip.
"Her skills were easily transferrable to the planning for the island. She had measured out each meal - breakfast, lunch and snacks - planning them six months in advance, adding a few extra weeks of food in case the weather turned and stranded them on the island for longer than expected." Page 15Getting set up and unpacking their supplies as the wind was howling outside my own bedroom window made me wish I could watch all of this unfolding on the big screen. Their optimism burst from the page and I was quick to share it. However, it soon becomes apparent Miranda is going through a lot more than first realised; she's physically recovering from a nasty accident, going through menopause and was already a person in flux.
It would be a spoiler to mention how things shift, but I can tell you there's a lot of sex in the book. If you're uncomfortable reading graphic sex scenes - and I'm not - then this is not for you. Having said that, the narrative goes further than just lots of sex and I think I'd call it dark erotica bordering on erotic horror.
There's quite a lot of poetry included in the book but much of it felt personal to the author and I had trouble connecting it to the narrative. There's also a heavy emphasis on Miranda feeling a lack of belonging her entire life and being different from everyone else that I couldn't relate to. It made me wonder if perhaps this was more of the author bleeding through into the character on the page.
And what's with the cover? I love the cover design, it's suggestive, erotic and intriguing but having read the book I can't see the relevance whatsoever. While the conditions are frigid, Miranda does take her clothes off on quite a few occasions however this isn't her body type. The reader is frequently reminded that Miranda is overweight:
"Miranda's body held its own in his company. She was corporeal. Short but fat, sturdy. She weighed more than he did, even though he was easily a head and shoulders taller than her." Page 175After that one description - and there's plenty more - it's clear the woman on the cover is not Miranda. I also have no idea what the significance of the blackberries and blackberry juice smeared on her abdomen is all about. Perhaps it's suggestive or evocative of blood and something to do with menstruation but the torso of the woman doesn't look menopausal. It's a great cover, I just didn't understand the relevance.
The author mentioned in a recent interview that the idea for the book came after their friend sent them an ad just like this, thinking Kris might consider it a writing retreat of sorts. The position didn't appeal but they took the idea and ran with it and I hope the friend passes on more ads in the future.
I originally wondered if the title of The Rite of Spring was a reference to the piece of music by Stravinsky, but in the same interview I referenced earlier, I learned there are going to be four books with themes of queerness, gender, science, nature and the supernatural; one for each season.
The ending of the book reaches an exciting climax (pun intended) although I was left with unanswered questions in the denouement about the supernatural element. The Rite of Spring by Kris Kneen is dark erotic Australian fiction and will appeal to literary readers open to self discovery, sex and the supernatural.
Carpe Librum!
