Kehua!: A Ghost Story

by Fay Weldon

A kehua is a Maori ghost - the wandering dead searching for their ancestral home. Without the proper rituals to send them on their way, kehua are forced to remain on Earth to haunt their relatives. They're not dangerous, and they even try to help the living, though it's wise not to listen to them. They tend to get things wrong...In the wake of murder and suicide, a young woman flees New Zealand, hoping to escape the past and find a new life. But the unshriven spirits of the recently departed can't rest peacefully, and are forced to emigrate with her, crossing oceans to finally settle in - of all places - Muswell Hill, London. Here their shadowy flutterings and murmured advice haunts the young woman and her female bloodline across the decades, across the generations. 'Run!' the Kehua whisper. 'Run, run, run!'

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Novels, Literary Fiction, British Literature

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Fay Weldon CBE was an English author, essayist and playwright, whose work has been associated with feminism. In her fiction, Weldon typically portrayed contemporary women who find themselves trapped in oppressive situations caused by the patriarchal structure of British society.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fay_Weldon

Reviews

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writer trying to finish her current novel, check.

Mysterious murderous past, uncertain parentage, check.

Exotic location, check.

Kehua! by Fay Weldon is a frame story, and the narrator, the author of the story of a torn family history of murder and incest, tells it like a modern ghost story. There are more a than a few modern Gothic horror allusions, including a character who is famous for starring as a vampire in a popular film franchise, in addition to the Maori ghosts, the kehua, who haunt characters and the narrator alike.

Overall, it's an interesting mix of retelling classic horror/ghost tropes for a modern reader as well as a mediation on writing. I read it in one sitting (flying across country) so I didn't notice as many issues with the characters being flat that others have brought up. It's a slow unveiling of the nature of the otherwise static characters, with the narrator actively wondering what to do with them next, that makes it a fun and spooky read.

[Jocelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever language, unusual (novel) structure, and quirky humour. Parallel story lines allow the reader to look in on how a novel is created and takes on a life of its own. I like the fictional novelist's take on how she writes: "The sensation is that you do not exactly write novels --you simply unfold them, or fish them up from a well, or hook them down from the sky." - Kehua! by Fay Weldon.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fay Weldon is a joy. This was a really preposterous book, but I liked it anyway. Half author musing about writing a book, half the story she is writing, all in a voice that had me totally engaged from beginning to end.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Like a river that overflows its banks, it spreads sideways rather than carves its way forward, plot-wise" (32). So says the narrator of Kehua!, an author-character who is writing a "tale of murder, adultery, incest, ghosts, redemption and remorse" that sprawls instead of rushing along (15). The book is split between the author-character's own experience of writing—sitting in her own possibly-haunted house on a hill—and the story of the characters she's creating: Scarlet, who's about to leave her husband for a famous actor; Cynara, Scarlet's sister, who has belatedly realized she's a lesbian; Lola, Scarlet's niece, a "wayward nymphet" (16); Alice, Scarlet and Cynara's mostly-absent mother; and Beverley, Alice's mother, who was born in New Zealand, ended up in London, and has outlived three husbands. There are questions of family character and genetics and destiny, whether family secrets, misdeeds long past, can still somehow resonate. "Things come out of your family history to accost you. The present is always haunted by a past which needs to be acknowledged, purified" (113). And then there are the titular kehua, taken from Māori culture: wandering spirits whose task it is to bring the family (within the tribe) towards the soul of the bloodline: they act as motivating forces, inspiring Beverley and her clan to action in ways that aren't always straightforward. I liked this book well enough, but it also felt a little stand-offish: the shifts between the story of Beverley and her family and the writer-character, combined with the way the narrative emphasizes its own fictional nature, had a slightly distancing effect for me.

[Pam G · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't normally read character based fiction, but I chose this one because it was obviously something to do with New Zealand, and Fay Weldon is well regarded. And I really enjoyed it. It has the author as a character and subplot, which reminded me of the last John Irving I read, and that can only be a good thing. There were some witty observations too - like calling England the land of the long grey cloud, or that there's no use a woman over 37 writing an autobiography, because by then no one cares.
Highly recommended.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting idea but did feel that something more should have happened. Found the cutting back to her own ghosts a little tiresome.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not entirely sure what I just read, other than a mixed up story about a messed up family laced with the spirits of the restless dead and unborn, but I was still charmed by Kehua! by Fay Weldon. Normally I do not like family dramas with no real plot, but the addition of the kehua, the Maori spirits of the dead that try to bring the family back together to their homeland, give the story more depth. Even though they are little more than a plot device and do not exert much influence on the story, I like the way that Weldon uses the kehua to talk about how families evolve over generations and the globalization of the afterlife. It is an interesting look at the consequences of families moving around the world, bringing their spirits with them, and thus blending different cultures. Overall, even though there was not much plot and the family drama was a bit over the top, I still found Kehua! to be a quirky and thought provoking read.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 generations of women are haunted by Maori spirits that try to bring them back home. It all started with a murder that haunts all 3 of them, leading them to adultery, incest and self-destruction.
Meanhile, the author talks about the spirits living in her house. She hears the long dead maids working in the kitchen and can smell the cigarsmoke of on of the previous owner.


The author says it herself: the book is not a river that flows forward fast, but rather overflows from its banks and spreads out sideways (or something). And it works. The story isn't all that fast-paced, but I feel it hasn't been explored to its full potential. The characters are a bit flat and the story lacks in atmosphere.

[Janesbuchanan · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a few inaccuracies in the author's references to NZ but, despite that, I enjoyed this - interesting the way the author interjected in the story with her thoughts about her own kehua (ghosts) in the writing process i.e. the author was haunted (obsessed) by the characters she was creating and the process of writing itself. Almost like the characters had a life of their own and even the author wasn't totally sure where the story was going - quirky!

[Penny · Rating 2 out of 5]

I weirdly lost the review I did of this book earlier...to sum up: this book lies half way between 'I didn't like it' and 'It was Ok'. Some minute parts like flirtations with language were OK. The structure was not. It annoyed me. NOTHING REALLY HAPPENS. Except for authorial intrusion and character sketch that is. Is it the author's fault or is it the fault of the marketers of this book that promised a dark brooding story? I want my money and time back sorry...

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining read. I enjoyed the entrance of the "writer" into the novel, and her play with the supernatural. Unfortunately I think it would have been a better book if she'd fleshed out the other characters a bit more. It started off with the impression that the novel was about Scarlet, but really it was more about Beverley and the "author" -- just a smidge more Scarlet would have made it a much stronger book.

[Geraldine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book! An amazing mix of characters who interlink in the most unexpected and often disturbing ways. Regular chapters are dedicated to the author's experience and method of writing the novel which I suspect has made it a must read for Weldon's students. Having only read one prior novel of hers I will definitely be delving into more.

[Karyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to move forward in this book, as it had great promise, but this authorial-character self description :"Like a river that overflows its banks, it spreads sideways rather than carves its way forward, plot-wise" holds all too true. I got to page 75 impatient with the rehashing. Possibly to my detriment.

[Felicity · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story with a lot of potential that ultimately fizzles, loses its way in a tangle of metafiction and left me feeling vaguely dissatisfied. The gist: families are important, you can inherit more than just genes and our actions have repercussions that still echo many years later. I left the book at the laundromat and I hope it finds a receptive reader there.

[Danielle Koopman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read Fay Weldon for years and this reminded me why I loved her characters and her godlike control of their destinies. I grew tired of the story coming back to her and her cellar ghosts. Started to feel like she was padding out what was a great idea but perhaps too thin a story.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not her best work. Shades of her unique style but confusing digression into her as narrator cum writer soon lost their charm distracted from what was or could have been a rattling good 'who' done it' - ultimately disappointing.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting! Didn't 'hold me' all the time. Wanted to continue though as have recently visited Coromandel and so I was interested to read about places I had visited. Loved Weldon's dry wit and comment on various scenarios.

[Hurihia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my kind of book. Slow moving and kept imploding on itself. Tried not to go to sleep while reading, but ended up enjoying my dreams more. Chose it out of curiosity but it wasn't for me. Started skipping pages to finish reading it.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder, adultery, incest and Maori legends. I really don't know how to define this book other than with the previous sentence and to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Dave · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh. Couldn't even finish this clap trap of a book.

[Julie Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almost abandoned. A low three. I didn't mind the conceit of the writer narrator but I got tired of the spirits.

[Indu · Rating 2 out of 5]

cannot get into this book. had to abandon. 😔

[Dominique · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

My first Fay Weldon. This was so well written; I didn't know anything about Fay Weldon, and come to find out this is something like her 30th and last novel, and she was a screenwriter and a very popular figure in the UK. I picked this up for a dollar at a book fundraiser.

Now the book. I loved the way the story was told; it had a very interesting structure. Through in the first half there is very little plot, each scene is a character reflection of the situation, and then pans back to earlier in their life. But at the same time, the "author" (fictional author) has alternating chapters about writing the novel in her basement with the Kehua or ghosts, haunting her thoughts.

You'd think after every chapter when we're back at the author's typewriter being reminded that she's creating these characters, it would totally pull you out, but not at all. It's written in such a compelling way.

But I guess by the mid-way point I didn't really understand the tone of the book. There is some SA and incest in a historical chapter, and that was really uncomfortable, but the rest of the novel sort of pokes fun at the situation, as though it's a generational curse, making light of it. Sort of a dark humour streak. Perhaps this is more easily read by British readers...

Anyway, loved the method of storytelling here, so meta as well, as a lot of the author's POV, and what's happening to the characters is spiced with Fay Weldon's real life experiences. But the story within the novel is not quite that memorable, except for the grandmother.

I added more Fay Weldon titles to my To Read list, but many seem to be out of print now, so it might take a while. They're all available as ebooks though!

[Margo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't prime Fay Weldon. Being snarky but this one is making too many of the same jokes and I've already read them in her earlier novels. I didn't think the paranormal elements served any great purpose like they could have done. Of course, the authorial voice chapters are annoying and not closely linked enough to serve a purpose.

This has Fay Weldon's usual interesting occult-realism stuff but it's too sloppy to be actually good. It's not full though.

[Mw Moses]

Libes book - I can see why so few have read this - dreary, tediously written - storyline had potential if she had written it as a straight emigration story of a family in NZ then UK. The interspersing of chapters about the author writing the story in her basement was unnecessary and spoiled flow of story
Can’t actually believe I finished reading it - though skipped thru needless authors chapters

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened on audio read excellently by Rowena Cooper.
Weldon mixes a multi- generational family story, starting with a murder in New Zealand and in which the Kehua of the title work endlessly to reunite the spirits of family - wherever they may be - with exits from the narrative into her own world as a writer, where different ghosts- of people (and dogs) who previously inhabited her house appear.
A whimsical delight.

[Lauryn Faloona · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was quite excited for this book, I loved TLALOASD and THALOM by the same author. But it was in this book that I noticed the authors blatant anti-trans attitude. People talk about separating art from artist, and Weldon is from another generation of feminists but I don’t see this as an excuse and it has ruined the books for me a bit.

I’d be really interested to hear what others think about this.

[Tallulah Bankhead · Rating 1 out of 5]

Annoying book, to say the least. The author keeps interrupting the story. As soon as the story gets going again, the writer comes bumbling in with details from her own everyday life. The result is that you never really get interested in the characters, despite their different dilemmas. This is meta when it does't succeed.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved this book - perhaps not quite a 4 but nearly there - I did occasionally get confused between the story in the novel being written and the story of the author - perhaps a re-read is needed- the Maori spirituality was wonderfully intertwined. I will definitely go in search of more of FW's later books.

[Joe Canas · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars