NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS

“Ko wai te au, ko te wai ko au / I am the water, the water is me.” From the inspired mind of Tina Makereti (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Ati Awa, Ngāti Rangatahi-Matakore and Pākehā) comes a book that’s taken the country by storm: The Mires. I would call The Mires an incredible book, but for the fact that it’s so credible. A magical story, The Mires is essentially about place, identity and prejudice. Overflowing with believable themes, it’s about how people leave a heart-place, find a home place, and how they interact with the people and environment surrounding them. The people in this story have faced life-threatening climate change, poverty, racism, classism, white supremacy, and domestic violence. The plot includes internet trolling and terrorism, some cut-to-the-bone pages on the welfare experience, a sentient swamp, the power of love, friendship, matakite (prophesy and foretelling), and connection to the spiritual realm. This story is teeming with life: like the deliciously described denizens of the swamp at the centre of this urban legend, the people that make this story tick are resilient iterations of survival. The Mires was longlisted for the Sir Julius Vogel Awards for Science Fiction and Fantasy, the Ngaio Marsh Awards, and was shortlisted for The Jann Medlicott Prize for Fiction at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. (Christchurch City Libraries Ngā Kete Wānanga o Ōtautahi)