The History Speech

The story evokes provincial New Zealand in the 1960s with its repressive conventionality and unspoken negative undercurrents. The book is underpinned by themes of coming of age, power and violence, sexual identity, Maori identity, effects of war, repression and conformity. This is a sensitive portrayal of emergence from childhood, an evolving understanding of the adult world and the realisation of the need to stand up for what is right. The History Speech is Mark Sweet’s second novel. His first novel, Zhu Mao, was published in 2011 after Mark participated in Te Papa Tupu, a six-month mentoring programme for Maori writers.

It’s 1960s provincial New Zealand, cracks are showing in the conventional middle-class lives. Callum's father is a bully, and the people his parents mix with are keeping secrets. Amongst this, Callum is coming to understand his identity and needs to find a way to resolve internal conflicts to help his family and tell the truth about the past.It is 1960s provincial New Zealand, and a set of upper middle-class families enjoy the good life together. But just under the surface of the conventionality, there are undercurrents. Adolescent Callum Gow’s father is a bully, his mother is having an affair, and there are secrets about abuse, suicide and the past. In amongst this, Callum is trying to understand his growing identity and sexuality. His only refuge is his grandfather, but this is in danger as Callum’s father has grandfather wrongfully committed as he won’t agree to a merger of the family business. Callum has to resolve his internal conflicts about who he is and resist social conformity to rescue his grandfather, get himself and his mother away from his father’s control and tell the truth about the past.