Don’t underestimate On Coming Home by Paula Morris. This short yet punchy essay-style story brings to question the meaning of returning home, belonging to a place, and where a traveller fits in their own country. Full of references to academics, novelists, and philosophers the world over, On Coming Home is a thought-provoking read that will leave you contemplating.

‘The declamatory return; a homeland as a “wearying enigma”. This all makes sense to me. The New Zealand that’s home to me may be a place of sheep and rugby and number-eight wire, whatever that is, but it’s also none of those things. Am I still a New Zealander?’ Award-winning writer Paula Morris confronts long-standing fears of what it means to return home. Is ambition and adventure being traded for a ‘forever home’ of commitments and compromises? Will she still belong? And will the belonging impose its own restrictions? Morris seeks answers in the words of writer exiles as she narrates her own return to New Zealand. Now a settler not a visitor, she questions incisively the very idea of ‘belonging’.

This is an interesting subject for me – the idea of belonging to a place or having to belong to your home country as a creative. It links to my PhD studies, so finding this was exciting and had me eager to get it read. An expatriate, for those who don’t know, is one who lives outside of their native country. a literary expatriate, therefore, is a writer who lives away from their home country for various reasons (lack of creative inspiration, need to grow intellectually and personally to fuel imagination, need to escape from societal norms) while they pursue their creative endeavours. These expatriates will generally go somewhere with rich history, culture, and appeal in the Western world like Paris. Some examples of literary expatriates are Ernest Hemmingway, Scott F. Fitzgerald, and New Zealand’s very own Katherine Mansfield. The history of the expatriation of writers breeds questions of its own, such as the probability and true circumstances of these expatriates and what it means for the national literary canon of the country they are leaving.

On Coming Home, with its creative non-fiction feel, incorporates literary discussion about home, belonging, nationalism, identity, and more into Paula’s own story. The use of quotes from other writers and philosophers to structure and show breadth of knowledge in the topics at hand makes for an educational and intriguing read. Weaving in her personal experiences, Paula creates this relatable, introspective, experienced perspective that not only guides the reader through it all, but encourages them to consider questions and conclusions for themselves. What makes you a New Zealander? What makes you belong to any one place? Is it such a bad thing to give up adventure and growth and opportunity for security, memory, and stillness?

I have been fortunate enough to attend several of Paula Morris’ lectures and workshops during the Auckland Writer’s Festival, and she is incredibly funny and intelligent. If you are interested in On Coming Home, I highly recommend you give it a read. It will undoubtedly be different from your usual read, even if you have literary fiction and short stories in your regular rotation of books. If you enjoy it and these topics and ideas, then I also recommend Helen Bones’ The Expatriate Myth. This is a non-fiction book further detailing the history of New Zealand writers and the concept of expatriation in New Zealand’s literary sphere. It is incredibly informative, enlightening, and a really interesting insight into the perception of New Zealand literature in the first half of the 20th century.