A Short History of Longans by Mirandi Riwoe review, a moving family portrait devoured in one sitting

Article excerpt

Riwoe’s commanding new book traces a Chinese Australian family across four generations, all connected by one old longan tree It’s the year 2049 and Daniel Connelly is 75 years old. Eccentric and lonely after decades of self-imposed isolation, his existence is “spartan”, a “relentless searching, a yearning for pieces that fit together to make a new whole”. He spends his days making sculptures from broken pottery; the shards of his life. During a warm winter’s day, Daniel steps outside to find that the longan tree in his garden has fallen during a storm. The tree was an heirloom of sorts, a family emblem of home and belonging for generations before him. Continue reading...