Anticipation

by Tanya Moir

Janine's mother had an obsession: her ancestry. But what she uncovered was a colourful assortment of characters and their penchant for cruelty. When her mother dies, Janine continues the genealogical search. She buys a run-down house on a tiny island, where she sits and writes up the stories of her forebears, worrying whether the damaging genes have been passed on.
Meanwhile the builder, Jake, is erecting a jetty for her, and it is his presence, along with Janine's discovery about her grandfather, that might offer her hope of redemption.
Startlingly original and superbly written, Tanya Moir's surprising new novel asks how much we really want to know about our futures and our pasts.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Contemporary

256 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2013

About the author

Tanya Moir grew up in a small town in Southland, the deep south of New Zealand, and now lives on the west coast of Auckland with her husband and a large dog.
She is the author of two novels, Anticipation (Random House New Zealand, 2013) and La Rochelle's Road (Random House New Zealand, 2011).

Reviews

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tanya Moir's first book - La Rochelle's road is one of my all time favourite reads. So when I saw that she had put out a second book I was beyond excited.

This book is almost entirely different from her debut novel and while I thought it didn't come close to being as good as La Rochelle's road it is still a good book.

It is a novel that considers what makes up a person and what bearing DNA inherited from ancestors has on their character.

I loved the imagined or fictional accounts of Janine's ancestors. They were such a strange, cruel and interesting bunch.

Tanya Moir's writing is just as wonderful as I remembered it being but I thought that the novel did not have the impact that her debut had.

[Trish McCormack · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read in years. This swirling multi-generational family history draws the reader in. It's hard to say what I liked more - the mystery-laced stories or the brilliant prose. This is a book to read again and savour. It reminded me a little of Kate Atkinson's "Behind the Scenes at the Museum" (one of my favourite books of all time) because of the impressionistic style of the narrative, the dark humour and the crazy family members. So many phrases to savour. The word "genealogy" usually makes my heart sink - but if all family stories were even half as good as this I could change my mind. Loved it!

[Bronwen Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an original and interesting story concept - about how a rare disease tracks down through several generations of quirky characters. In the end, it catches up with the narrator, a 30-something real estate agent called Janine. At first, I found it very hard to get into because the beginning is slow, dear-reader-ish, and sprinkled with odd sentence qualifiers and pronouncements. In fact, it took two goes and the second time I really had to persevere. But once I reached page 40 and met the first of Janine's fascinatingly ghastly ancestors, I was hooked.

[Penguin Books NZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Yvonne) A fascinating look at how family idiosyncrasies and traits, as well as genetics can be passed through a family and the influences they have on the now and the future. Through multiple generations the story swirls around you like a vortex drawing you in.

[Gillian Torckler · Rating 5 out of 5]

here's a link to my official review of this book:
https://booksellersnz.wordpress.com/2...

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories from many generations woven with today - took me a while to get into the writing style but enjoyed the mystery.

[Seonaid Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little hard to get into but found it great once I got going. Found it an excellent read, loved the stories of the individual family members that the Janine and her mother researched.

A good read!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really enjoyable book about "the sins of the fathers" so to speak.