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The town on the edge of the world: New and selected stories
232 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
2 people want to read
About the author
Graeme Lay
65 books12 followersGraeme Lay is a prolific writer, editor and manuscript assessor. He has published or anthologised forty works of fiction and non-fiction, including novels for adults and young adults, three collections of short stories and three of travel writing. He has been Books Editor for North & South magazine and for over twenty years was secretary of the Frank Sargeson Trust.
Graeme began writing short stories in the late 1970s. His first novel, The Mentor, was published in 1978 and his first collection of short stories, Dear Mr Cairney, in 1985. Since then he has won the Lilian Ida Smith Award (1988) and was named Reviewer of the Year at the Montana New Zealand Book Awards (1998). Graeme is a three-time finalist in the New Zealand Travel Writer of the Year Award. He has also twice been a finalist in the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards and was also included on the 2002 Storylines Notable Senior Fiction List. In the late 1990s and early 2000s he devised and edited five collections of New Zealand short short stories.
From the 1990s onwards, after travelling to New Caledonia and Rarotonga, Graeme developed a deep interest in the islands of the South Pacific and the history and culture of that region’s peoples. Many of his books, both fiction and non-fiction, are set in the South Pacific. His latest novels, a trilogy based on the life of the famous English explorer James Cook, all became best sellers. They were: The Secret Life of James Cook (2012), James Cook’s New World (2013) and James Cook’s Lost World (2015).
Graeme began writing short stories in the late 1970s. His first novel, The Mentor, was published in 1978 and his first collection of short stories, Dear Mr Cairney, in 1985. Since then he has won the Lilian Ida Smith Award (1988) and was named Reviewer of the Year at the Montana New Zealand Book Awards (1998). Graeme is a three-time finalist in the New Zealand Travel Writer of the Year Award. He has also twice been a finalist in the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards and was also included on the 2002 Storylines Notable Senior Fiction List. In the late 1990s and early 2000s he devised and edited five collections of New Zealand short short stories.
From the 1990s onwards, after travelling to New Caledonia and Rarotonga, Graeme developed a deep interest in the islands of the South Pacific and the history and culture of that region’s peoples. Many of his books, both fiction and non-fiction, are set in the South Pacific. His latest novels, a trilogy based on the life of the famous English explorer James Cook, all became best sellers. They were: The Secret Life of James Cook (2012), James Cook’s New World (2013) and James Cook’s Lost World (2015).
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 7, 2025
Review published in the Otago Daily Times, 18 May 2002
Don’t like short stories? Give this book a try. The twenty-three stories are grouped together in three sections of related themes, with recurring characters giving continuity so the effect is almost of three novellas. In the first, and in my view the strongest section, The Town on the Edge of the World, Graeme Lay writes with realism and sensitivity about a Pākehā boy growing up in an imaginary small New Zealand town. Injustice, and how Stephen deals with it as he matures, is a major theme.
The Islanders is the second section, and includes stories set in various Pacific locations. Lay explores tourism, fafafine, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Palangi searching for happiness and fulfilment. But threats lurk behind the lush beauty – things are not always what they seem
The third section, A Literary Life, features a long-suffering academic and some-time poet, and an assortment of literary characters whose names are thinly disguised versions of actual New Zealand writers. I found these stories entertaining but somewhat contrived.
Overall, Lay’s style is enjoyable and easy to read, well structured, often with a quirky twist at the end. The book’s cover is attractively designed around a striking beach scene in blue and gold.
Don’t like short stories? Give this book a try. The twenty-three stories are grouped together in three sections of related themes, with recurring characters giving continuity so the effect is almost of three novellas. In the first, and in my view the strongest section, The Town on the Edge of the World, Graeme Lay writes with realism and sensitivity about a Pākehā boy growing up in an imaginary small New Zealand town. Injustice, and how Stephen deals with it as he matures, is a major theme.
The Islanders is the second section, and includes stories set in various Pacific locations. Lay explores tourism, fafafine, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Palangi searching for happiness and fulfilment. But threats lurk behind the lush beauty – things are not always what they seem
The third section, A Literary Life, features a long-suffering academic and some-time poet, and an assortment of literary characters whose names are thinly disguised versions of actual New Zealand writers. I found these stories entertaining but somewhat contrived.
Overall, Lay’s style is enjoyable and easy to read, well structured, often with a quirky twist at the end. The book’s cover is attractively designed around a striking beach scene in blue and gold.
Displaying 1 of 1 review