Waipā author David Farrell, pictured, has followed up his successful first novel Chameleon with another in the fictional story of the Wilde family.
Where the Birds don’t Fly, which came out last week, sees the Wildes emigrating from Africa, where the first in the series is based, to New Zealand.
And if that sounds familiar, it is exactly what Rhodesian-born Farrell did himself 16 years ago moving from England to settle in Cambridge.
After taking 20 years to write his first novel, Farrell has now become a prolific writer already working on his third and fourth novels.
He has had a fascination for human behaviours for decades, with a particular interest in autism.
See: Out of Africa, into Cambridge
Review by Shirley Field
Shirley Field discusses his latest book with author David Farrell
David has written a book that appeals to me because he seems to be speaking to me as a person who has lived in two countries.
I was born in New Zealand and now live in the UK and there are noticeable differences in pronunciations which can lead to confusion.
Customs, spelling and written instructions illustrate these differences and mean newcomers have to relearn words, pronunciations and sayings.
For example, Rory Wilde on his arrival in New Zealand from South Africa said to the taxi driver: #Take an eye, North Shore please# The Taxi driver said #You mean Takanini.
Mr Wilde, originally from Rhodesia, now known as Zimbabwe, was a quick learner and made himself understood thereafter.
He found in New Zealand that the differing races were treated as fellow humans. He learned, as a kind person, and waiting for his family to arrive from South Africa was able to smooth the ground for them.
I very much enjoyed this book – his writing style is very good and left me always wondering what would come next in the book.
I am looking forward to reading his next two books.
- Shirley Field is a member of the Staines Mac Book Group in Middlesex, United Kingdom and a former secondary school teacher in New Zealand. She is a prolific reader.
