Bookmark: Rich Man Road

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ich Man Road is the debut novel of Ann Glamuzina, an Aucklander of Dalmatian descent, and is loosely based upon her family's escape from the German occupation of Dalmatia (now Croatia) in World War 2.

The struggle as a migrant in New Zealand's largest city binds Olga and Pualele, despite differences in age and origin.

A 12-year-old Olga is propelled in tragic circumstances from her mountain village on the Adriatic coast to the soul-destroying desert refugee camp of El Shatt in Egypt.

But the conditions are no match for the pain she suffers through an agonising relationship with her mother.

Auckland eventually becomes home, and Olga is torn between her parents' traditional Dalmatian expectations and life down under.

A few decades on, 9-year-old Pualele leaves behind village life in Samoa for an English education at St Mary's. Scared and naive, she battles with her identity living in Grey Lynn's Richmond Rd, or Rich Man Road as she understands it, leading her to find salvation in the tranquillity of church.

The two meet and form a close bond.

Glamuzina respectfully sheds light on two contrasting cultures which continue to shape modern New Zealand.

• Rosie Manins is chief reporter at Dunedin Television.