By Brannavan Gnanalingam. Published by Lawrence & Gibson, 2020. Reviewed by Meryn Gates
Sprigs is a compelling and confronting read despite the violent gang rape of a comatose, young woman by members of a school rugby team. I could not put this book down.
Sprigs, set in 2021 Hutt Valley/Wellington, is divided into four parts. The first part requires some perseverance as it recounts the final game of the rugby season between the First XVs of competing schools — St Luke’s and Grammar. It is difficult to avoid comparing the schools used by Gnanalingam with Wellington schools, but the toxic culture allowed to fester within these institutions will exist across New Zealand.
The second and third parts recount the consequences for the perpetrators, their families and the school communities, until we come to part four. In the preceding three parts the many voices are shared. Sometimes characters are not introduced and I found myself irritated, having to flick to the case list at the front of the book, to identify the person and their contribution to the narrative.
But in part four we hear from Priya. Uninterrupted, undiluted, sometimes stream of consciousness. Powerfully written, Gnanalingham gives us a window into the world of someone who has survived unspeakable violence.
I encourage you to read Sprigs; do not look away. We must think about how we can better equip our young people to deal with the multiple issues of racism, sexism, technology and that eternal need to fit in.
Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 259 May 2021: 27