Golden Deeds

by Catherine Chidgey

When Colette receives a letter from "The Friends of Patrick Mercer" about a man lying unconscious in a hospital on the other side of the world, she has no idea who the man might be. Why is she being written to? Patrick Mercer lies hospitalized in England, attempting to reconstruct his life through memory, dreams, and the inspiration of his treasured illuminated manuscripts. And half a world away, Colette is adjusting to new classes, a new apartment, a new job, all while the mysterious "Patrick" letters that keep arriving.

Genres: Fiction, Novels, 21st Century

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Catherine Chidgey is a novelist and short story writer whose work has been published to international acclaim. In a Fishbone Church won Best First Book at the New Zealand Book Awards and at the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize in her region. In the UK it won the Betty Trask Award and was longlisted for the Orange Prize. Golden Deeds was Time Out’s book of the year, a Notable Book of the Year in The New York Times and a Best Book in the LA Times. She has won the Prize in Modern Letters, the Katherine Mansfield Award, the Katherine Mansfield Fellowship, the Janet Frame Fiction Prize, and the Acorn Foundation Fiction Prize for The Wish Child. Remote Sympathy was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award and the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, and was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. The Axeman's Carnival won the Acorn at the New Zealand Book Awards - the country's biggest literary prize.

Raised in Wellington, New Zealand, Chidgey was educated at Victoria University and in Berlin, where she held a DAAD scholarship for post-graduate study in German literature. She lives in Cambridge and is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Waikato.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one. It's one of those "see how our lives all interact" stories. A young college student gets a letter addressed to "The Friends of Patrick Mercer", a newsletter his family is sending out to keep everyone up to date about his accident, hospital stay and subsequent recovery. Oddly, although it is addressed specifically to her, Colette doesn't know any Patrick Mercer. The letters keep coming and she learns a bit about herself over time, culminating in the inevitable trip to see Patrick for herself.

Entwined with that is the story of a tragedy in the family that Colette babysits for - their teenage daughter Laura disappeared, and you get just enough information to eventually draw the full picture for yourself. Definitely 5 stars.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed the journey this book took me on. There are a variety of perspectives and timelines and stories. But the ending is quite underwhelming.

[JimZ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this over 17 years ago. I loved the book and loved the dust jacket!

[Rhiannon Latham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice easy read. Though the characters didn't get much depth, somehow you still bond to them. We follow a variety of characters, a young girl moving out of home for the first time who decides the other end of the country is a good idea, a family grieving the loss of a daughter, a man in hospital and every now and then a random character is thrown in the mix. It highlights how all lives are interconnected and how our experiences shape us, therefore we are constantly changing as individuals. At times I found myself a little confused as to what country I was in with the constant shifts not only between the main New Zealand and England (and some other random places), but also the shifts in time (one moment we are in the present, suddenly you are in the past). All in all I quite enjoyed this one.

[AngelaC · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books that require you to keep track of several threads at the same time - the disappearance of a young woman, letters addressed to "Colette" telling her about a man she's never met, family life etc. etc.
If you can manage it, the novel turns out to be an interesting story, set mainly in New Zealand, with an unexpected twist at the end. One reviewer said that the book more or less petered out at the end, without tying off any loose ends. I disagree, but the solutions to the questions are subtly suggested rather than explained outright.
An interesting book by an author I had never heard of. Probably worth 3 1/2 stars.

[Jacque Ervin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Makes no sense

I kept thinking that in the end the author would bring all the pieces together. But they never came together, the story just ended leaving you scratching your head saying "what"?

[Sarah Hyde · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know what to expect when I picked this up off the library shelf, but I was definitely not disappointed.

Catherine does a great job of winding the lives and stories of each character together, and by the end of the novel I was very satisfied - a great light read!

[Karen Kozuls · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love the way that Catherine Chidgey puts words together.

[Sue Jellum · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will definitely look for more by this author. It really reminded me of The Lovely Bones. the characters were very believable. It was easy to read, but the main storyline - young girl goes missing, presumed dead - isn't really resolved. You learn what happened, but the book ends before the characters do.

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really disappointed in this book, especially after reading Chidgey's The Transformation. The characters were undeveloped, the plot dull, and the 'six degrees of separation' of the characters really bland. All-in-all the book felt amateur.

[Sue Corbett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing- nothing happens. unsure what was meant to’ve happened and was the man the assistant?
repercussions in marriage not mentioned. Ruth’s very sudden holiday unexplained, odd, to what purpose?
Cousin’s visit another non-event as was visit to Patrick. Model left in shed? Mother made it?

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fairly good and kept my attention. but the book felt rather disjointed.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taking place in New Zealand, we meet three main characters...Patrick, Colette, and Laura...who may or may not have ties/binds with each other.

This book is somewhat of a murder mystery...or is it?

We meet each of the above mentioned characters throughout certain points of their lives. We learn about them, their families, schools, jobs, etc. Somehow they are all connected. The book jumps from one character and their exploits to another and at times it is like reading three short stories all jumbled up.

I was a bit disappointed with this book...situations were not explained, characters did not connect [even though you thought they would/should], circumstances and scenarios never happened. Maybe I missed something? Perhaps, but I don't think so.

Catherine Chidgey's writing is superb. I really enjoyed her book, PET. This book, however, never gelled for me and when I finished I was left with many unanswered questions.

[Lesley Potts · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel has a real sense of place, which was interesting. I found the characters less interesting and the way they are finally connected to each other a bit contrived. I thought for a while, in the middle of the story, that it was going to get all nasty murdery on me. In fact, another reviewer thinks it has a Lovely Bones vibe, and I haven't been able to read that book despite several tries. However, it didn't so I was quite relieved.

[Sophia is Reading Today · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love her writing and refer to myself as her biggest fan...did not love. My favourite thing about her books is that you are reading the story and then realise the book is about something else. More stories emerge. this one started that way and went nowhere. Why did the abduction never get resolved? Tok subtle for me.

[Kathryn Fitzpatrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cast of characters revolve around the disappearance of a teenaged girl. The writing was great and the story interesting but the disparate pieces didn’t connect in a satisfying way. I would have liked a stronger theme or conclusion.

[Peter Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elegant writing, clever construction

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a perfect read during a solar eclipse.

[Marilyn Saul · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't wait for this book to end. Although the characters were developed (even over-developed), not one was likable. The story could have been told in 50 pages instead of 170 pages. The rest was filler, and I was able to skip much of the last 100 pages without missing a thing. Although the premise was interesting (every contact leaves a trace), the contact was too contrived and, in the end, one is left asking "so what?" It might have helped if it had come full circle and the murderer been revealed to have had contact with someone in the other two main plots. Glad to return this to the Friends of Library sale; I sure wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

[Jade17 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't have very strong opinions on this book. I've read it and felt untouched at the end, I didn't relate or like any of the characters. There was indeed a mystery on why Colette keeps getting letters from the Friends of Patrick Mercer but it was easy to guess why and in the end, I didn't really care that much. She also leaves a lot of stones untouched such as who is the "man" and what happened to Laura? Where did Ruth go on her little holiday? I hoped that she touch more on each character but it seems that she's forgotten something and just left it open-ended most of the time.

[SBC · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. I liked the medieval scrolls, the connections between Laura's disappearance and everyone else. Some of the characters certainly had problems but it was skillfully and nicely written/handled. Even the unresolved ending was clever rather than objectionable.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book picked up at the book swap. I don't think it is going to be as good as The Birth of Venus though.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://www.literaryfeline.com/2006/08...

[Asha Stark · Rating 2 out of 5]

An arduous read only to find nothing bloody happened.