Review: The Bookseller at the End of the World

Ruth Shaw’s compelling memoir begins with a scene-setting introduction to the Two Wee Bookshops she runs in the Manapōuri, sharing an anecdote or two about some of the customers who find their way to remote Fiordland and her shops.

For the next 50 or so pages, the story continues in a similar, almost picturesque, manner. Happy childhood, hardworking and intrepid parents who imbued Shaw with similar derring-do qualities, and a love of books and stories.

It’s packaged in a beautifully produced book, which feels comforting to hold, and could lull readers into the false belief that this is merely a whimsical musing on the trials and tribulations, joys and triumphs of bookselling and the folks one meets.

These stories are woven throughout The Bookseller at the End of the World but it is much richer than slice-of-life remembrances. Early on, she matter-of-factly explains how she was raped as a teenager and what the ensuing consequences were. These included being sent away to give birth to a son who she was not allowed to see.

“No one outside the family was told I was pregnant. It was common, back then, for pregnant girls to be sent away to another part of the country to have their babies, and to come back afterwards as if nothing had happened.”

When the Wahine ran aground in 1968, Shaw says her only thought was that it was her son’s fourth birthday.

So, we’re reminded of a more sombre time in our social history when young girls were left, by and large, alone to deal with the fallout of all-too-common incidents like the one Shaw experienced. While she had the support and love of her parents, Shaw became, despite ambition and ability, essentially rudderless.

She writes of the desire “to run,” always looking forward and, when things got tough – as they frequently did – to “go, go, go.” Despite it all, she demonstrates a truly indomitable spirit so her life has been an adventurous one, full of travels and escapades that – were it not for their underlying causes – will make many of us envy her gumption, bravery and the journeys she’s made.

She’s sailed extensively through the Pacific and was even held up by pirates at one point, lived and worked in Papua New Guinea and in outback Australia, ended up in Sydney’s King’s Cross counselling drug addicts and prostitutes, campaigned on environmental issues, reunited with the love of her life and established a successful eco-tourism business before opening her bookshops (which now number three).

Nevertheless, there have deep losses that will leave readers wondering how much more one person must cope with in a life. It means by the time Shaw opens her Two Wee Bookshops she is perfectly placed to provide deep and empathetic understanding to customers who need to tell their own stories as much as read those by others.

Shaw’s tells her own story free of oversentimentality or self-pity; she’s straightforward, frequently humorous, but, understandably, sometimes guarded and reluctant to overshare. Her resilience, optimism and willingness to always help others is to be admired; her remarkable story is to be read and reflected upon as it adds another vital perspective to a New Zealand life.

Oh, and I predict Manapōuri could well be for a tourism boom when Shaw reopens her bookshops later this year for summer.

Reviewed by Dionne Christian