From the Cutting Room of Barney Kettle
“Narrator David Vatousios’ upbeat tone and brisk pacing perfectly convey the irrepressible nature of Barney, a teenage filmmaker, and his little sister, Ren, as the siblings shoot a documentary about their community. Barney never stops talking, dreaming, and scheming—but with an innocence and exuberance that is infectious. Ren, purposeful, affectionate, and quietly feminist, keeps Barney organized. Vatousios perfectly conveys the energy and sheer likability of the pair, along with the quirky characters who inhabit their downtown neighborhood in Christchurch, New Zealand. The complicated, prickly forbearance of the two homeless teenagers whom Barney and Ren interview is clearly present in Vatousios’ voice. The author straddles the line between the tragedy of the 2011 earthquake and the hope of rebuilding and forging a legacy, and Vatousios is faithful to that vision.”
AudioFile
Barney Kettle knew he would be a very famous film director one day, he just didn't know when that day would arrive. He was already an actual director—he'd made four fifteen-minute films—but so far only his schoolmates and the residents of the High Street had viewed them. Global fame was a little way off. It would come, though. Barney was certain about that.…
So begins the manuscript written from the hospital bed of an unnamed man.
He has written it over many months as he recovers from serious injuries sustained in a city-wide catastrophe.
He has written so he can remember the street where he lived, home to a cavalcade of interesting people, singular shops, and curious stories.
He has written so he can remember the summer before he was injured, the last days of a vanished world.
Above all, he has written so he can remember the inimitable Barney Kettle, filmmaker, part-time dictator, questing brain, theatrical friend; a boy who loved to invent stories but found a real one under his nose; a boy who explored his neighbourhood with camera in hand and stumbled on a mystery that changed everything.…
From the Cutting Room of Barney Kettle is a beautiful story: big-hearted, richly entertaining, powerful.
Praise