Misconduct

by Bridget van der Zijpp

Simone’s obsession with her former lover is dangerously out of control, and the approach of her 40th birthday compels her to wreak havoc in his new life. A house-sitting opportunity at a remote beach provides a welcome escape. With only the responsibilities of somebody else’s perpetually cheerful dog, Simone values her isolation; her elderly neighbors, however, have different ideas and begin to pull her into their eccentric lives. Is it possible she’s gotten away with it, or will the things she’s done come back to haunt her? This moving novel explores the possibility of reinvention, the bittersweet taste of revenge, and a woman’s search for friendship and love.

261 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2009

Reviews

[Kerry]

Misconduct, by Bridget van der Zijpp
Published by VUPress, Wellington, NZ; 2008

I heard Bridget give a reading from her novel at the Jimmy Bar, during a Summer Books Alive event for Writers & Readers, and laughed-out-loud so much that I had to speak to the VUP publicist and request a review copy.

Van der Zijpp is a graduate of the VUW IML program, and read along with Kate de Goldi, Jenny Bornholdt, Elizabeth Knox, Bernard Beckett, and Duncan Sarkies (of whom, more later.) My initial response was not altered much by a considered reading of the whole text, during one of those rainy weeks we’ve had recently.

Firstly, a caveat: I am approximately the same generation as the author, and for me, the characters had a validity and honesty that leapt off the page. I have known (and, god help me, slept with) just such a man as her bad-boy character, Fraser. The details of how abuse and charm can be inextricably enmeshed in one person rang true for me, and I suspect will for many women who’ve had a couple of decades’ worth of experience of ‘relationships’ and other interactions with the predatory, noncommittal variant of kiwi alpha male.

However, I’m sure that younger women will enjoy this story, too - after all, the divorce rate in NZ is so high that a large proportion of us have seen our mother’s hysterical attempts to re-partner, resulting in a plethora of bad-date stories and ‘slimy toad’ file entries.

This, then, is the milieu that van der Zijpp captures in amber, along with a very interesting plot intersection with the fears and habits of the independent elderly, in a self-contained seaside community in rural north Auckland. Provincial rural life is rendered finely, another plot characteristic which had me chuckling in moments of recognition, with crafted vignettes of well-observed staples of the kiwi countryside.

There is also a subplot of psychodramatic potential, as we wonder whether the main character, Simone, is a woman who has got in touch with her rage (in true feminist consciousness-raising style), or if she has crossed the boundary into losing touch with reality and herself in the process. The resolution of this question comes late in the piece, as she gains validation for her responses to her abusive ex, from an unexpected quarter.

I was a little disappointed with the romantic denouement, as it seemed too neatly slid into the scenario to be plausible; so this is chick-lit with attitude, but still a bit rom-com for all that. If you like happy endings, well this is the book for you.

[Celia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book - I am reading it for the second time. She writes extremely well - it is a crafted book, not just a yarn, carefully worded but not at all pretentious. If the subject is your thing e.g. 40 year old looking at her life that has not quite worked out the way she would have liked then I thoroughly recommend this version of that topic.

[Anne-Louise Savage · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely loved this book - great psychological insight into the characters

[Ian Lambert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Light, easy read. Very NZ. Probably qualifies as chick-lit but looks at slightly broader questions too.