Books that Shaped Author Hannah Tunnicliffe
New Zealand-born author Hannah Tunnicliffe, a self-confessed nomad, who has lived in Canada, Australia, England and Macau, writes the blog Fork and Fiction, about food, family and books. With the publication of her third novel A French Wedding, Tunnicliffe tells the Sydney Morning Herald what books changed her.
“‘There was a warmth and stillness in the night and it was sweet and salt-smelling …’ Potiki was the first Patricia Grace novel I read and it tells the story of a Maori boy, his family and community and the threats that face them,” Tunnicliffe says. “Grace’s writing is lyrical, moving, rich and, above all, thrums with integrity. Grace herself is a mother of seven children, a teacher, an author, a campaigner and an inspiration for all New Zealanders.
“I am a die-hard [Barbara] Kingsolver fan girl. Of all her books, Prodigal Summer, which elegantly weaves together the interrelated narratives of three people living in southern Appalachia, cemented my love for her writing. Kingsolver’s talents grow with every book she publishes. She manages to create rich, complex, strong, lovable characters while presenting environmental and social issues for examination and discussion. Just quietly: Kingsolver for president.
“I know my copy of Anne of Green Gables so well I can tell you without looking at it that there is a tear in the chapter ‘Tempest in a Teapot’, a green ink stain on the tops of the pages and the whole book is warped from being dropped in the bath too many times. If my three daughters, when they are old enough to read this book, don’t love plucky, imaginative, charming Anne Gilbert I might be a little heartbroken.”
Tunnicliffe’s debut novel The Colour of Tea was published in 2012.
Original article by The Sydney Morning Herald, May 6, 2016.
