Kokomo (Victoria Hannan, Hachette)

Since Mina’s dad died, her mum Elaine has not left the house. So when Mina hears that Elaine has been spotted outdoors for the first time in 12 years, she drops everything and flies home to Melbourne from London, leaving behind a sought-after job in advertising and a potential romance. When she arrives back in Thornbury, Mina needs to know why her mum finally left the house—but this isn’t something Elaine can tell her daughter easily. In Kokomo, Victoria Hannan offers a smart, incredibly well-articulated account of the generational differences between millennials and their parents. Through a series of flashbacks from the 1980s to today, Mina and Elaine’s lives are mirrored: both must bend their existence around men and process society’s expectations for the roles they embody—Elaine as a wife and mother; Mina as a daughter, employee and friend. Elaine’s story is intertwined with that of Vivienne and Arthur Cheng, whose three children grew up alongside Mina. They are more than just neighbours, though—the two households form a family of sorts, and the ties between them run deeper than is initially apparent. With its many shifts in time and focus, Kokomo is difficult to summarise but Hannan pieces together the story of these two families with clarity, grace and a handle on structure that is rare in a debut novel. This superbly written book will appeal to readers of Zadie Smith and Jennifer Down.

Ellen Cregan is a bookseller and writer from Melbourne. Her writing has appeared in publications such as Kill Your Darlings, Swampland and Voiceworks.

Category: Reviews