A neat little review of The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt was published under Writing WA Recommends… on the Books page (editor William Yeoman) of the Today magazine in The West Australian on Tuesday 27 August 2013: Tracy Farr’s beautifully written and well-crafted novel combines music and art as she moves the reader around the globe through the dazzling 30s and 40s. This … Read more…
About Tracy Farr
Adelaide Advertiser reviews The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt
Patrick Allington reviewed The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt in SA Weekend magazine, Adelaide Advertiser, Saturday 24 August 2013: Farr’s prose soars…this sparkling debut novel captures the spirit of an accomplished woman as she reflects on the arc of her long life.
Beattie’s Book Blog reviews The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt
Wellington writer and reviewer Maggie Rainey-Smith has written a lovely review, published on Beattie’s Book Blog this week, of The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt. Here are some snippets from the review to whet your appetite. This is a debut novel from a very fine writer…I believed in Lena. I still do, and she lingers with me…Farr has a gift … Read more…
Keeping it short and sweet
It’s been a week for (very) short fiction, for me — a nice change from the long slog of the novel. Back in May this year, as the deadline for 2013 National Flash Fiction Day (NFFD) competition — for stories of 300 words or fewer — was approaching, the NFFD folks (in NZ Society of Authors Newsletter Friday 17/5/13) asked 2012 … Read more…
Crossing the ditch: guest review in Perth webzine The Starfish
It’s always bothered me how little known in Australia are even some of the best New Zealand writers. When I was asked to write a trio of mini-reviews for Perth webzine The Starfish, it seemed the perfect opportunity to rave about New Zealand writers; maybe I’d even be introducing them to a Perth audience. So … Read more…
When I first held you
Fifteen years to the day since I first held my real-life baby, I held, for the first time, my brand new baby. Yes: the advance copy of my debut novel, posted last Friday from my publisher in Australia, arrived in today’s mail. Lena has landed in New Zealand. I’m feeling a lot less exhausted today … Read more…
Books+Publishing Reviews features The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt
The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt was reviewed in Books+Publishing Reviews (feature review, 30 May 2013 newsletter). Grateful thanks to Books+Publishing for permission to quote the full text of this subscriber-only review here. The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt (Tracy Farr, Fremantle Press, September), 4 stars, reviewed by Katie Haydon, Books+Publishing Reviews, 30 May 2013. To encompass a person’s whole life in … Read more…
The old woman and the sea
The first review of my novel was published last week (in Books+Publishing Reviews, 30 May 2013, reproduced here with permission), and reviewer Katie Haydon (who gave it four stars) said it would be appreciated particularly by, among others, “lovers of the sea”. I’m pleased she mentioned that. Water flows through the novel; it’s almost a character in it. It’s … Read more…
It’s instrumental
In my novel, The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt, the eponymous Lena Gaunt – musician, octogenarian, junkie – is Music’s Most Modern Musician; theremin player of legend. So, I’ve been thinking a lot about theremins for the last few years, while I’ve been writing the novel. I may even have become a little obsessed with them … Read more…
Yargnits
They walk on the crunch of gravel and shells. There are voices from the marae, kids and grownups all outside and inside and the noise of them carrying on the still-warm night air. To the left of them is the sea, flat, like a lying down window. Dark like a window at bedtime, with only … Read more…