Three days ago, someone left this book on one of the Adirondack chairs on Front Porch’s front porch.  I first noticed it when I went out to water the plants around noon and figured that someone had either walked away from it briefly, or would realize they’d forgotten it and come back to pick it up.  When I closed the shop and left around 7:30 that evening, it was still there… so I figured it was fair game!  I’d never heard of this book before, and only grabbed it because it had a cool cover and I didn’t want it to get stuck in the rain!  My goal is to read a lot this summer and I’m always looking for new books.  It was a busy weekend, though – I ended up tossing The Bone People on the coffee table when I got home and leaving it there until today.  I finally picked it up again this morning and turned it over to read the back cover…

I don’t know how well you can read that print, but the summary starts out “In a tower on the New Zealand sea lives Kerewin Holmes, part Maori, part European, an artist estranged from her art…”

And it goes on from there.  I couldn’t believe it!  Not only is it a book about New Zealand, but it’s a book about New Zealand that specifically has to do with the Māori/pākeha dichotomy.  So funny that this was the book that someone happened to leave at the coffeeshop where I work, on a day when I happened to be working.  I told Sarah about it and she thought the same thing.  I know it’s not a huge deal, but I think little coincidences like this are so cool.  It just feels like something that was meant to be!  A simple twist of fate, as the eternally wise Bob Dylan would say.  And of course, any touch of New Zealand is like a welcome touch of home.  I’ve been feeling more disconnected from it lately because I’ve been getting so settled into life down here on the Outer Banks.  My time in New Zealand was not only halfway around the world, it was integrally a college experience, too.  I just feel very far away from all that right now, geographically and situationally.  It’s not exclusively a sad feeling, because I’m really happy here and I like the grown-up feeling I get from going to work every day, making dinner, and budgeting.  But I do miss college, and I do miss New Zealand.  It’s bittersweet, really.  I want to be where I am and keep moving forward, but I also want the happy times that are past, too.  I’m just greedy, I guess.

As soon as I finish The Annotated “Persuasion,” I’m going to dive into The Bone People.  Hopefully it’ll be like a little trip back to NZed – without a $1500 plane ticket and a 33 hour flight.