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March 2020
Read the first chapter of Sado here.
Sado n. shadow 2. reflection 3. humiliation, dishonour
—A New Bislama Dictionary
Friday 13 March, 2015: Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Pam makes landfall with devastating consequences. Vanuatu is bruised but not broken. Reeling from the loss of livelihood and struggling to meet basic human needs, people start to reassemble their lives.
Cathryn is an NGO worker from New Zealand who has a ruined home, a teenage son and a Ni-Vanuatu boyfriend she hasn’t heard from since the phone lines went dead. Faia is a community organiser, a radio journalist and a survivor who fights for women to be heard. Together and apart they navigate their places in the complex cultural and social systems of Vanuatu, where tradition clashes with modern urban life.
Sado is a novel about relationships – between friends and family, across cultures and communities, and also with the past. When a terrible accident occurs, all of these relationships are called into question.
'This evocative novel draws you into its richly described world with great skill and sensitivity. The writing is exquisite and nuanced, and the questions it so subtly raises will linger in your mind. Highly recommended.' —Mandy Hager
'Nyman's skills as a storyteller are impressive, especially in her ability to create women characters who are strong, resilient, compassionate, and engaged with the concerns of the larger society. These are women who go out of their way to support each other, including the men in their lives, and we feel and care deeply about the uphill battles they have to fight to make the worlds they inhabit a better place in which to live.' —Vilsoni Hereniko
Cover design: Little by Little Studio Vanuatu
Paperback, 304 pages
