Paddy's Puzzle. By Fiona Kidman. Hardback 1st edition

Paddy's Puzzle. By Fiona Kidman.

Hardback, very good condition, minor scuff marks and name inside, with dust jacket in very good condition, minor shelf wear. Published by Heinemann (NZ). 210pp. Scarce Hardcover First Edition (1983).

An internationally acclaimed novel, shrewdly balanced between earthy tenderness and the dreadful trauma of disillusionment: a grave yet limber narrative-and a very welcome import. Clare Bentley grows up in Hamilton during the Depression, mainly cared for by her older sister Winnie. Winnie is conservative and in Clara’s eyes dull. When life goes wrong for Clara, she goes to Auckland to look for work, and finds it in a chocolate factory. The chocolates represent sweetness and excitement, particularly as they are rationed for the troops, and forbidden to the locals. Clara becomes ill, and has to give up work. She goes to live in Paddy’s Puzzle across the road and there, she is cared for by her lover, Ambrose, a black American soldier. The choices she makes about love and leaving, and eventually about life and death are central to the story and its themes.