In The Air That We Breathe, Dunedin-born writer Kara Douglas examines this forgotten history from the perspective of an ordinary family in order to ‘‘inform, expose, raise awareness and educate people the dangers of asbestos’’. For Douglas, this history is all to close to home. Her birth father, who lived in Wittenoom, died of mesothelioma at 53, and, although fictional, the novel represents the culmination of a decade of research. The novel's emotional impact is undeniable, particularly in the earlier sections where we, as readers, know more than the narrator does. But this is a minor criticism and The Air That We Breathe is story that needs, and deserves, to be heard.

Source: Otago Daily Times September 10, 2020 01:18 UTC