I am thrilled to be hosting
a spot on the ATTRACTION by Ruby Porter Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the
giveaway!
About the Book:
Title: ATTRACTION
Author: Ruby Porter
Pub. Date: May 7, 2019
Publisher: Text Publishing
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 280
The present reckons with the past in
Attraction, Ruby Porter’s debut novel.
Three women are on a road trip,
navigating the motorways of the North Island, their relationships with one
another and New Zealand's colonial history. Our narrator doesn't know where she
stands with Ilana, her not-quite-girlfriend. She has a complex history with her
best friend, Ashi. She's haunted by the spectre of her emotionally abusive
ex-boyfriend. And her period's now weeks late.
Attraction is a meditative novel of
connection, inheritance and the stories we tell ourselves. In lyrical
fragments, Porter explores what it means to be and to belong, to create and to
destroy.
‘Attraction peels back the
landscape to reveal deeper truths. The writer is right inside her material – a
road trip that delivers a political and sexual coming-of-age narrative. The
book is a slow-burning fuse that brims with intensely felt experience. Porter is
an exciting new talent.’―Lloyd Jones
‘Attraction abounds with
sharp imagery, intergenerational relationships and the natural, historic and
domestic environments of modern New Zealand. Ruby Porter is a gifted new
writer.’―Patricia Grace
‘Attraction is an exquisite
story…The prose is emotive and artistic…Attraction is impossible to
put down…It is a brilliant, beautiful novel.’―Booksellers NZ
‘A coming-of-age story that is full of
evocative sketches of the North Island’s landscapes.’―Traveller magazine
‘Tackling a complex, fraught topic –
the very essence of what it is to be a New Zealander – with courage, style and
insight.―Stuff New Zealand
‘Not a word is wasted. Imagery is of
the sharpest level. There is so much to love about this angry, meditative novel
that reading it is almost an act of catharsis.'―The AU Review
'Porter's style is spare, immediate and
pared back...[A]n intriguing new voice.'―Overland Literary Journal
Playlist:
Grimes – Flesh Without Blood/Life In The
Vivid Dream
Grimes is the first mention of music in
Attraction. She’s described as
“saccharine and sultry” and the only artist all three main characters like.
It’s an upbeat place to begin – the sort of song you play in the car at the
start of a road trip.
Demi Lovato - Cool For The Summer
Attraction
is set in early 2016 – summer in New
Zealand – and there’s a sense of riding a hangover from 2015. Songs like “Cool
For The Summer” are just starting to slide back down the charts. It has that
sense of impermanence that I think Attraction
does too: things which can’t last, people who will leave.
Beach House – Myth
The characters are all off to stay in a
beach house (in New Zealand, we call this a “bach”) so a song by them is
mandatory.
DIIV – Doused
The tension builds, in Attraction, as the relationships between
Ilana, Ashi and the narrator shift. The frenzied, insistent guitar in “Doused’
captures this well.
Cat Power – Nude As The News
Attraction
moves between the past and the present – so it would be wrong not to have some
older songs in this list. This is one I listened to a lot in the year I wrote
my novel.
Fur Patrol – Lydia
This is a New Zealand song, one that
would’ve been on the radio when my characters were growing up. Romantic
jealousy also plays a big part in Attraction.
Mazzy Star – Fade Into You
I imagine this song playing in one of
the (few) tender moments between the narrator and Ilana.
Lana Del Rey – High By The Beach
Self-explanatory, really.
Cigarettes After Sex – Affection
On first listen, this is a simple love
song. But there’s an undercurrent and it’s darker – it suits the kind of
relationships in Attraction.
Mitski – I Bet On Losing Dogs
A beautiful, defeated song, for when
your optimism is waning.
T.A.T.U. – All The Things She Said
A certifiable gay banger, even if the
women in T.A.T.U. are straight.
Brian Jonestown Massacre – Fingertips
Another song I listened to a lot the
year I wrote Attraction. There’s
something almost hypnotic about a lot of Anton Newcombe’s music.
The Strokes – Is This It
The Strokes taught me to keep my
expectations for my twenties low. An anthem for disillusioned millennials (i.e.
my characters).
Banks – Fuck With Myself
Because let’s be honest, the narrator
does fuck with herself more than anybody else.
Bonus Track:
Ocean – The Velvet Underground (Live
from The Matrix, San Franscico)
The title says it all; a perfect
companion to my cover.
About Ruby:
Ruby Porter is a tutor of creative writing at the University of
Auckland. She has been published in Geometry Journal, Aotearotica, Spinoff and
Wireless, and a selection of her poetry is available on NZEPC. In 2018, she
also won the Wallace Foundation Short Fiction Contest.
Giveaway
Details:
1
winner will receive a $10 Amazon GC courtesy of Rockstar Book Tours, International.
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
4/6/2020
|
Excerpt
|
|
4/6/2020
|
Guest Post
|
|
4/7/2020
|
Guest Post
|
|
4/8/2020
|
Guest Post
|
|
4/8/2020
|
Guest Post
|
|
4/9/2020
|
Guest Post
|
|
4/9/2020
|
Excerpt
|
|
4/10/2020
|
Review
|
|
4/10/2020
|
Excerpt
|
Week Two:
4/13/2020
|
Excerpt
|
|
4/14/2020
|
Excerpt
|
|
4/14/2020
|
Review
|
|
4/15/2020
|
Review
|
|
4/16/2020
|
Review
|
|
4/16/2020
|
Excerpt
|
|
4/17/2020
|
Review
|
|
4/17/2020
|
Review
|
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.