Every time i read this, i fall in love all over again. Drawn irresistibly into the strange, disturbing, fascinating, compelling world of Kerewin and Simon and Joe. This time i noticed all of the references to sex and gender—not only is the protagonist calmly and confidently asexual, she even made up neutral pronouns (though she uses she for herself). Such relatively subtle subtexts can be overlooked in this story full of intense trauma and cruel violence. When people say "this is a book about child abuse" they are focusing on the tip of the iceberg. Themes of colonialism, race, indigenous power, sex and gender, age and economics (one character (Maori) works in a factory, another (mixed white and Maori) won the lottery, one (white) may be a disowned member of the royal family), addiction, cancer, politics and legal systems, art, science, Christianity and mysticism come together to form a complex holograph of reality projected from the margins of society. This book is richly layered and meticulously filigreed with some of the most advanced wordplay ever in an English language novel.