Crimes of neglect

by Stephanie Johnson

First there was Liam, who broke my heart, then Farrell who later broke my nose, then Harriet with her little feet sickle-shaped, then the baby Ellen, perfect in every sense except for her timing. There could have been another, Krishna's child, but I got rid of it.

Bea is forty-four, nomadic and alcoholic, a cellist of sorts. Her cello, mostly unplayed, is part of the equilibrium she seeks from Christchurch to Auckland to Sydney.

In this challenging first novel Stephanie Johnson explores our ideas about motherhood and the family, about responsibility, hope and loss.

138 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database. 5^

Stephanie Johnson is the author of several collections of poetry and of short stories, some plays and adaptations, and many fine novels. The New Zealand Listener commented that ‘Stephanie Johnson is a writer of talent and distinction. Over the course of an award-winning career — during which she has written plays, poetry, short stories and novels — she has become a significant presence in the New Zealand literary landscape, a presence cemented and enhanced by her roles as critic and creative writing teacher.' the Shag Incident won the Montana Deutz Medal for Fiction in 2003, and Belief was shortlisted for the same award. Stephanie has also won the Bruce Mason Playwrights Award and Katherine Mansfield Fellowship, and was the 2001 Literary Fellow at the University of Auckland. Many of her novels have been published in Australia, America and the United Kingdom. She co-founded the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival with Peter Wells in 1999.