Book details

Book description

Varied and accomplished, these stories of sustenance are entertaining, stimulating and original. An ageing taxi driver reflects on mortality and the choices he has made in life as he indulges in a clandestine Italian feast. The friend of a dying woman delivers a sardonic commentary on the frenetic ritual of cake-baking that precedes death and grief. A young boy sets out to save his grandparents' marriage after discovering pornography in his grandfather's memorabilia. This stunning debut collection observes a subtle unravelling of social etiquettes. Often hopeful, always moving, these darkly quirky stories demand the reader's attention beyond the final page. Etiquette for a Dinner Party showcases the breadth of this writer's talent - from the oh-so-recognisable and desperate efforts of a homesick tourist to enjoy the 'perfect' holiday, to the descent into madness of a lonely high-country farmer. Sue Orr is a graduate of Bill Manhire's creative writing programme at Victoria University in Wellington. She has been a journalist and editor, and spent two years as Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright's speechwriter. She has worked in England and France, where two of her three children were born. She now lives with her family in Auckland. From Under the Overcoat was shortlisted for the 2012 NZ Post Book Awards at which it won the People's Choice Award.