Secrets

As my contribution to World Book Day, I am sharing a book I have just finished reading: The Book of Secrets by Fiona Kidman.

When we were in New Zealand and making our way back to Auckland for the last time, we made a detour to the coast and came across a small town called Waipu. (It has been suggested that the makers of Imodium missed a golden opportunity by failing to adopt this place as their product's brand name!!)

We were fascinated by the place and its history. The original 934 British settlers came from Scotland via Novia Scotia and Australia between 1853 and 1860. They were led by a charismatic preacher, Norman McLeod. The town is proud of its Scottish roots and, for example, on New Year's Day hosts a Highland Games with caber tossing and the lot.

There is an Aberdeen granite monument topped by a Scottish lion rampant in the centre of the town and it records details of the ships that brought the settlers to Waipu. There is a lot of historical information dotted around the place and the museum is supposed to be very good. Unfortunately we did not have time to linger and had to miss this.

I did buy the book though and that was quite an investment, as books in New Zealand cost three times what they do in the UK. The book tells the story of the settlers, as they went from Scotland, to Canada and finally to New Zealand, through the lives of three fictional women, representing three generations. It certainly brings to life the incredible journeys that were made and the lives that the families led under McLeod's harsh leadership. I enjoyed the book. finding it quite absorbing, although I found the last part a little confusing, as 'secrets' were revealed. In many ways I would have preferred to read a straightforward telling of the story in a factual way, but that's probably just me. It is an amazing tale, however it is told.

I have a feeling that someone on Blip has mentioned this book fairly recently, but I cannot for the life of me find the reference.