Backwaters - Emma Ling Sidnam

Winner, Michael Gifkins Prize, New Zealand, 2022

Laura is tired of being asked where she’s really from. Her family has lived in Aotearoa New Zealand for four generations, and she’s ambivalent at best about her Chinese heritage. But when she’s asked to write about the Chinese New Zealander experience for a work project, Laura finds herself drawn to the diary of her great-great-grandfather Ken, a market gardener in the early years of the British colony.

With the help of her beloved grandpa, Laura begins to write a version of Ken’s story. She imagines his youth in Guangzhou and his journey to a new land—unaware that soon, spurred on by a family secret that comes to light, she will go on her own journey of self-discovery, sexuality and reckoning with the past.

‘A warm and funny novel about disappearance, discovery and learning how to live, as well as an intriguing exploration of love, family and secret histories in Asia and New Zealand.’ Paula Morris

‘A warm read, full of characters who are flawed and loveable in their humanity…Sidnam has constructed a carefully layered narrative, showing us her vision of a family as an unfolding series of boxes, each generational layer adding insight, yet also complexity.’ Kete

‘Sidnam’s pen is delicate and precise, but rarely overdetermined. She shows us that even if Laura is unsure of her cultural identity, she’s still capable of experiencing the full range of human emotion—she’s both growing and full-formed.’ Aotearoa New Zealand Review of Books

Text Publishing, September 2023. 320 pages.  

ISBN: 9781922790422