by Andrew O'Connor

Tuvalu ... Everyone has a place like that. A dream land or life they're working towards, however vaguely. ... Some people probably have more than one Tuvalu in a life. It changes as they grow. Or maybe they get to the first one and find it's nothing like they imagined and need a new one. You must have had at least one?' 'No.' A love story of sorts, Tuvalu tells the story of Noah Tuttle, who is glumly and aimlessly living a half kind of life in a cheap rundown hostel in the seamier margins of Tokyo, a place overrun with feral cats and cockroaches. He teaches mediocre English to disinterested students, sleeps with his girlfriend, Tilly, when she's around, drinks beer when he can afford it, and generally avoids other people and their expectations. Nothing much happens to him - until, that is, he meets the wealthy, captivating and completely self-absorbed Mami Kaketa, a supremely selfish creature who leaves people like so much litter in her wake, so brazen and capricious she should come with a health warning. A blackly funny, inconclusive and strangely beguiling story of ennui, escape, exile and dreams, Tuvalu is an offbeat and intriguing story. '.. a sense of intriguing disconnectedness in the mode of Soseki and Murakami... Always surprising, it maps the complex emotional currents of a young man navigating between two cultures, exploring issues of love, lust, honesty and commitment...' Liam Davison, author 'This ... certainly has something special. The quality of the writing is high and seemingly effortless ... the prose is assured and fluid and his observations are original ... it has real spark.' John Dale, author 'An assured voice ... an accomplished and interesting writer.' Jean Bedford, author