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Gate Crasher
and other stories
by Frances Cherry


A thing which is present can be invisible, hidden by what it shows. -Rene Magritte

“In turn witty and deeply moving, sharp and reflective, this new collection of short stories by Frances Cherry takes reality by surprise, turning unexpected corners others may have missed. Her undeviating honesty, candid insight and sense of wonder in the otherwise ordinary, shape these stories into an unforgettable New Zealand experience. Gate Crasher takes the random and turns it; there is a sense of intimacy, a feeling of being inside the stories, an underlying knowing that nothing remains unhidden here. The result is a work of easy accessibility and unassuming intelligence, vitality and life.”

-Ronda Bungay

Frances Cherry has published many short stories in various NZ anthologies as well as on radio and in school publications. Her first collection of short stories - The Daughter-in-Law and other stories was published in 1986 by New Women's Press. She has also had four adult novels published as well as two for children and young adults. A new YA novel is being published in October 2006. Her young adult novel Leon was short listed in the NZ Post Children's Book Awards in 2001. She has been tutoring creative writing classes in various institutions in the Wellington area for many years. She lives in Wellington and loves going for long walks along the beach or by the river.

View/download sample story, An Evening Out, in PDF format.

View/download Out of Her Hair in PDF format, a story which was excluded at the last minute.

Also by Frances Cherry and now available: The Widowhood of Jackie Bates  and Washing up in Parrot Bay

Cover art  
  Seraphine Pick
  One Morning
  2003
  oil on canvas
  300 x 230 mm
  courtesy of the Artist and Michael Lett, Auckland

TITLE              Gate Crasher (and other stories)
AUTHOR         Frances Cherry
PUBLISHED    2006
CATEGORY    Short Stories
FORMAT         Paperback
EXTENT          13X19 cm, 124 pages
ISBN                1-86942-056-X
PRICE              $25.00

Reviews

Frances Cherry's first collection, The Daughter-in-law and Other Stories was published in 1986, and her first novel, Dancing with Strings, in 1989, a partly autobiographical account of her childhood and Communist parents, in which the main character leaves a difficult marriage and comes out as a lesbian. Similar themes thread through this latest collection.
    In Gate Crasher Frances Cherry deploys the professional writer's skills of unobtrusive exposition, oblique story-telling, authentic-sounding dialogue, attention-grabbing openings ("I was flattered when he took me to bed at this party in Ponsonby.") and vivid, economical scene-setting ("Quite a number of people came back to the house for a cup of tea, sitting in the tidy lounge full of fresh flowers, plastic ones in the rubbish bin.")
    There are 21 stories in about  113  pages of text, the majority told from a woman's point of view (nearly half in the first person), and varying in length from under two pages to just over 11 in the title story. The dedication poem is a moving tribute to her father: "You driving the trams/us bringing cheese and onion sandwiches/tea in a milk bottle  with a/cardboard lid/down to the corner of Mamari Street"
    These details appear again in "Commos'' together with the theme of being embarrassed as children by their Communist parents, especially a mother who was different from her friends' mothers "in just about every way". Cherry seems a little less tolerant of the mother than of the open, friendly father. Perhaps the mother was too serious, too intense, shouting at people from her soap box, and, like the mother in Flash Point, neglecting her commitment to the feeding, comfort and general well-being of her family.
    Horrible husbands and lousy lovers are familiar territory in women's writing - not only in New Zealand - but Cherry does explore some of the outer reaches, occupied by such characters as a latent homosexual male and his mate, a possessive mother and her adult daughter, a cross-dresser (who sings "I am woman, I am strong"), a few psychopaths (male and female), a never-forgotten lover who later turns into a (literally) dirty old man, who is not quite sane. These stories are brief, well-crafted anecdotes, less satisfying than the more fully developed studies such as Letter from America, in which a romantic wartime American sailor lover becomes (after many years) a stout, jowly supporter of President Bush (junior version). In the title story, too, there is a search for times past and, gradually, a discovery of the truth. The manipulative second wife who turns swine into domesticated husbands appears here.
  Isa Moynihan New Zealand Books

Can I please draw your attention to a new title “Gate Crasher & other stories” by Frances Cherry, published by Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop and launched by Ronda Bungay last week.  I’ve only just dipped into a couple of stories, but want to alert you all to this collection. Great title, great cover, and inside are some delicious life slices. Frances has an unerring way of telling a tale as if she were a friend chatting over coffee and as if it was all true and instead of irony, there is something more potent at work – a humorous innocence, and underwritten, uncluttered emotion that pops up and hits you when you’re not looking.  Maggie Rainey-Smith  Leafsalon 

Varied short story collection, a few clever surprises well-timed, and believable changes in tone or voice for every tale.  Some pieces somewhat like prose poems, most of this writing deftly shows humanity's quirks and foibles. Real humour and sharp observations evident.  Some of the sad or more dark moments are skillfully balanced with wry twists or amusing characterisations.  Raewyn Alexander  Magazine - annual arts - Issue Four  

Hard to get good stories that are published, that are readable. Beginning, middle and end; with a punch, is the formula. So many writers have very little sense of structure, but Cherry has it. Although 'A Cup of Tea' wanders a bit it begins with a bang and ends with one. Nicely crafted, but a trendy conclusion, this one.   Trevor Reeves  Southern Ocean Review

Frances Cherry's first novel, Dancing with Strings, published in 1989, is a partly autobiographical account of her childhood and Communist parents, in which the main character leaves a difficult marriage and comes out as a lesbian. Similar themes thread through this latest collection.   In Gate Crasher she deploys the experienced writer's skills of unobtrusive exposition, oblique story-telling, authentic-sounding dialogue, attention-grabbing openings ("I was flattered when he took me to bed at this party in Ponsonby.") and vivid, economical scene-setting.   There are 21 stories in about113 pages of text, the majority told from a woman's point of view (nearly half in the first person), and varying in length from under two pages to just over 11 in the title story. The dedication poem is a moving tribute to her father: "You driving the trams/us bringing cheese and onion sandwiches/tea in a milk carton with a/cardboard lid/down to the corner of Mamari Street "   These details appear again in "Commos'' together with the theme of being embarrassed as children by their Communist parents, especially a mother who was different from her friends' mothers "in just about every way".   Horrible husbands and lousy lovers are more familiar territory in women's writing - not only in New Zealand - but Cherry explores some of the outer reaches, occupied by such characters as a latent homosexual male and his mate, a possessive mother and her adult daughter, a cross-dresser (who sings "I am woman, I am strong"), a few psychopaths (male and female), a never-forgotten lover who later turns into a (literally) dirty old man. These stories are brief, well-crafted anecdotes, enjoyable but less satisfying than the more fully developed studies such as Letter from America, in which a romantic wartime American sailor lover becomes (after many years) a stout, jowly supporter of President Bush (junior version).   Definitely stories for those who enjoy the lively, quirky and unconventional. Isa Moynihan Takahe

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