Tuvalu is a fast-paced novel, more than a coming of age and sandwiched between modern life in Japan and Australia, all seen through the eyes of Australian narrator Noah Tuttle. Andrew O’Connor won the 2005 The Australian/Vogel Literary Award for this novel.
Japan and Australia Combine in Tuvalu
Noah Tuttle does what many young Australians do: he leaves. He even picks a fairly unoriginal route, moving to Japan to teach English. He’s not exactly suited to the profession, and winds his way through several teaching positions, all the while getting to know other lost ex-pats from around the English-speaking world who have also found their way to Tokyo.
He doesn’t meet many Japanese, but he does meet Mami, the daughter of a wealthy hotel-owner. While his girlfriend is visiting her family in Australia, Noah starts a friendship with Mami that impacts his life in more than one way. It’s not a clash of cultures, but rather a clash of wills, set against the starkly contrasting environments of bustling Tokyo and rural Australia.
Life isn’t simple for Noah, who is merely escaping from Australia without solving any of his problems. His Australian girlfriend, Tilly, comes in and out of the novel in just the way she drops in and out of Noah’s radar of what’s important in life. The outcome of Noah’s meanderings make quite a surprising ending to the novel.
Japanese Culture in Tuvalu
One of the most fascinating aspects of the novel Tuvalu is the integration of the novelist’s experiences of life as an ex-pat in Tokyo. He entwines activities that are everyday in Japan into the novel in such a way that although they might first stun a Western reader, they somehow also seem entirely normal. Riding crowded trains, dealing with Japanese who are either desperate to practice their English or who want to avoid foreigners at all costs, sitting on tatami mats and shopping in a foreigners’ bookshop are all daily events that are described in a way that normalizes them, and will be instantly familiar to others who have spent time living in Japan.
The Australian/Vogel Literary Award
Tuvalu won the 2005 award for Andrew O’Connor, which gave him a publishing contract with Allen and Unwin. The award is for unpublished novels by young Australian writers – under the age of 35 – and has launched many now successful novelists at the start of their careers, including Tim Winton, Kate Grenville and Andrew McGahan, who have all gone on to multi-book careers.
Amanda Kendle - I'm an writer, travel addict and English teacher; I'm currently based in my home country, Australia, but I'm obsessed with travel and ...
