It's December 1999, the cusp of a new millennium. The tiny Pacific Kingdom of Tonga will be first in the world to usher it in. We travel there with our narrator to see the sun set on the old and the dawn rise on the new. We discover much more.
In a time and place of old customs we see the gentle advance of the new. This Pacific paradise is home to a diverse group of human beings at this unique time. Our journey with our narrator through many human exchanges - quirky, funny, and sad - accompanied by quotes from Hindu scripture echoes through the millennia and asks us what it is to be human in these dark times.
This book constantly entertains and delves beneath a fascinating surface to examine the quality of our age.
It's December 1999, the cusp of a new millennium. The tiny Pacific Kingdom of Tonga will be first in the world to usher it in. We travel there with our narrator to see the sun set on the old and the dawn rise on the new. We discover much more.
In a time and place of old customs we see the gentle advance of the new. This Pacific paradise is home to a diverse group of human beings at this unique time. Our journey with our narrator through many human exchanges - quirky, funny, and sad - accompanied by quotes from Hindu scripture echoes through the millennia and asks us what it is to be human in these dark times.
This book constantly entertains and delves beneath a fascinating surface to examine the quality of our age.
Millennium - A Memoir is a novella-sized slice of life travelogue of about 25,000 words. In capturing the time and the place this book evokes the work of Ernest Hemingway.
"Millennium - A Memoir" by Peri Hoskins
I read this book a few months ago, and in an ideal world would have sat down immediately to write this review. But I didn't, and now I'm struggling! Though I'm not known for my good memory at the best of times, this time I think the book's partly at fault too.
"Millennium - A Memoir" is the debut literary work of Peri Hoskins, who describes it as "a novella-sized slice of life travelogue piece of creative non-fiction". It's set in Tonga in December 1999, the dawn of the new millennium, and follows the narrator as he travels to his ancestral home for the first time, following major upheaval in his life.
Whilst in Tonga, the narrator meets an array of different characters - some locals, some fellow visitors - and this "slice of life" work unfolds through detailed descriptions of each of these short encounters, with a scattering of quotes from Hindu scripture throughout.
The result seemed rather disjointed to me. Plus the whole way through I had the over-riding feeling that there was a meaningful and very personal message that the author wanted me to "get" from his journey - but I didn't.
Maybe that's what helps differentiates a memoir from an autobiography? Perhaps that explains why I prefer the latter?"Millennium - A Memoir" wasn't my cup of tea, but maybe it's yours, so why not give it a go? At 103 pages, it'll only takes a few hours of your time, and it's a pleasant enough, easy read. Just don't expect it to be one of your most memorable reads of the year a few months down the track.
To enter the Draw for this book - CLICK HERE Draw closes Monday 12th January 2015. Open To NZ residents only.
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