Yvonne de Fresne, A Personal Tribute
NZ writer Yvonne de Fresne died on Sunday, March 13 at the age of 81. Beatties Bookblog carried a notice yesterday, taken from the University of Victoria International Institute of Modern Letters’ newsletter. The NZ Book Council website contains a full account of Yvonne de Fresne’s contribution to NZ literature.
I never met Yvonne de Fresne in person or heard her speak. I have read two of her books: The Book of Ester and the linked short story collection The Bear from the North.
The latter in particular seized my imagination through the vivid persona of Astrid Westergaard, a New Zealand girl of Danish cultural heritage growing up in the Manawatu. I was caught by the powerful way in which de Fresne wove the cultural and family myths of Astrid’s Danish background into the Manawatu landscape, weaving a magical spell of immigration and belonging. I enjoyed The Book of Ester as well, but The Bear from the North is one of the works of contemporary New Zealand fiction that has most profoundly captured my imagination.
