Stephanie Johnson

The Shag Incident
ISBN: 1869415019
EAN/ISBN-9781869415013
Imprint: Random House NZ Vintage
Release: 19-07-2002

The people who committed the act of revenge in 1985 thought it was perfectly executed. Twenty years on the truth is revealed, the truth about the deception that started it all and the seemingly disparate characters involved: Jasper, currently in Sydney's Long Bay Prison; psychiatrist Franca Todisco; New Zealand journalist Richard Brunel visiting Paris with society girlfriend Michaela; Lena now living on Waiheke Island with her girlfriend Scottie; and the young

biographer Melody Argyle, working on a life of her intensely private subject, ex-All Black and millionaire block-buster novelist Howard Shag. What happened that connects them? The shag incident is a novel about love, responsibility, guilt and revenge. Comic , savage, and multi-layed, this is a provocative extension to this versatile writer's oeuvre. Darkly satirical and wickedly funny, this novel takes a tilt at a range of contemporary matters, including sexual stereotyping, militant feminism, the machismo of the All Blacks, new age beliefs, psychiatry, womb burial and naming ceremonies.

Reviews of The Shag Incident

Don’t be fooled by the pretty pastel cover. This is a wild ride, bouncing off socialites, psychiatry, militant feminists, new age superstition, illegal substances and rugby.
(Susan Wylie, Hawkes Bay Today, September 31, 2002)

I really enjoyed this book. Its tension works well; it’s marvellously complicated, wonderfully chilling and provides a feast of personalities. Johnson’s writing is skilful, insightful, witty and she has a truly light touch. One of its enduring delights is rolling the story around in your head afterwards, going over the complicated relationships between the characters, and reminding yourself of how it all tied together.
(Margie Thomson, The New Zealand Herald, July 13-14, 2002)

Sentimental, irritating, shocking, overly theatrical, The Shag Incident is told with startling clarity and considerable grace. Johnson’s fifth novel, it is an intricate piece of work: it’s like a delicate, carved ship in a bottle, a piece of creamy lace… you peer closely to see how it was put together.
(Penelope Bieder, Listener, July 27, 2002)

This book full of colourful characters pokes a stick into the many aspects of New Zealand life, especially the excesses of political correctness of the 1980’s.
(Kirsti Gray, The Press, October 12, 2002)

A marvellous melange of Kiwiana, of macho rugger buggers, hardline feminists, New Age zealots, alcohol and drug abusers and almost every contemporary issue imaginable, The Shag Incident is a great read.
(Susan Budd, The New Zealand GP, 21 April, 2002)