Book details

Book description

Part fairy tale and part philosophical exploration, this compelling fictional love story is witty and subtle, full of insight into the peculiar blend of reason and passion that makes up our humanity. When Jack Collingham becomes chauffeur to the Casturians, it seems the perfect arrangement. He is capable and obliging and willing to comply with the oddest requests. All he wants is to save some money and have some free time to work out what to do with his life. But when true love strikes, Jack is suddenly forced into a situation he is ill-prepared for à Â- a dangerous choice between what he cares about most in the world and his own survival. The Beetle in the Box is an exciting development in the work of one of New Zealand's most thoughtful writers. Chris Else is a contemporary novelist known for his dry wit, psychological insight and stylistic variety. He has been an established figure in New Zealand literary affairs since the early 1970s when he was associated with the avant garde poetry magazine Freed. He has published six adult novels and two collections of short stories; his most recent publications are Gith, Black Earth White Bones, On River Road and Beetle in the Box. He has also written plays for stage and radio, and scripts for television. He and his wife, Barbara, run TFS, a Wellington-based literary agency and assessment service, and were instrumental in setting up both the New Zealand Association of Literary Agents and the New Zealand Association of Manuscript Assessors. Chris has twice been National President of the New Zealand Society of Authors (PEN) and has also been chair of the board of directors of Copyright Licensing Ltd. His writing, which ranges from whodunits, to fairy-tale, to romance, to observations of small communities, has been described as à  powerful, well-craftedà  (The Press) and its à  understatement is irresistibleà  (The New Zealand Herald). The New Zealand Listener has described Chris as à  a meticulous observer of people and placesà  and he writes about them with à  authenticity and convictionà  . These qualities were apparent in On River Road, which The Press called à  crisply told and psychologically astuteà  . In The New Zealand Herald, Penelope Bieder described Chrisà  s wit as à  drier than Tio Pepeà  s finestà  . In 2003, Chris was the recipient of the Foxton Fellowship, and he held the 2011 Autumn Residency at the Michael King Writersà  Centre.