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1985
It’s 1985 and Obi’s on the cusp of teenagehood, after a childhood marked by poverty, dysfunctional family dynamics, (dis)organised crime and violence. His dad’s delusional, his mum’s real sick, the Rainbow Warrior just exploded, and it’s time for Obi to grow up and get out of the spacies parlour.
When he and his best mate Al discover a map leading to unknown riches, Obi wonders if this windfall could be the thing that turns his family’s fortunes around. Instead, he’s thrown into an adventure where the stakes are a lot higher than the games he loves.
An electric novel about life in a multi-cultural, counter-cultural part of Auckland pre-gentrification.
When he and his best mate Al discover a map leading to unknown riches, Obi wonders if this windfall could be the thing that turns his family’s fortunes around. Instead, he’s thrown into an adventure where the stakes are a lot higher than the games he loves.
An electric novel about life in a multi-cultural, counter-cultural part of Auckland pre-gentrification.
339 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 6, 2025
About the author
Dominic Hoey
6 books77 followersDominic Hoey is a poet, author and playwright based in Auckland, New Zealand.
His debut novel Iceland was a New Zealand bestseller, long-listed for the 2018 Ockham Book Award and his short story 1986 won the 2021 Sunday Star Times Short Story Award. His latest poetry collection I Thought We’d Be Famous was released in October 2019.
Dominic has written and performed two one-person hit shows about his bone disease and his inability to get arts funding. In a former life, Dominic was an MC battle and slam-poetry champion.
Through his Learn To Write Good creative writing course, Dominic has taught hundreds of students around the world how to think dyslexic.
He also works with young people through the Atawhai program, teaching art, yoga and meditation to help them with their mental health and self-esteem.
Currently he lives with a small, vicious dog and dreams of one day owning an animal rescue farm.Zealand International Film Festival and Show Me Shorts.
Dominic is currently working on a new novel and a book of poetry.
His debut novel Iceland was a New Zealand bestseller, long-listed for the 2018 Ockham Book Award and his short story 1986 won the 2021 Sunday Star Times Short Story Award. His latest poetry collection I Thought We’d Be Famous was released in October 2019.
Dominic has written and performed two one-person hit shows about his bone disease and his inability to get arts funding. In a former life, Dominic was an MC battle and slam-poetry champion.
Through his Learn To Write Good creative writing course, Dominic has taught hundreds of students around the world how to think dyslexic.
He also works with young people through the Atawhai program, teaching art, yoga and meditation to help them with their mental health and self-esteem.
Currently he lives with a small, vicious dog and dreams of one day owning an animal rescue farm.Zealand International Film Festival and Show Me Shorts.
Dominic is currently working on a new novel and a book of poetry.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
August 21, 2025
1985 Dominic Hoey
The book.
Treasure island, half right, got the island bit locked away.....
Obi, his arcade spacies high scores game name, picked after the star wars guy. 11 nearly 12 year old kid living in inner city Grey Lynn, Auckland 1985. Fat poor white, a trifecta winner. His crazy adventure with Gus's nicked treasure map.
Gus sleeping in his lounge just got out after 7 years in prison, friend of his Dad.
Dad, fulltime unemployed poet partime shoplifter and bacon factory worker who really loves Obi's mum.
Mum whose keen on reading, went to Uni, worries all the time about her husband kids but now has the shittiest cancer.
AL, his best friend Pacifica kid whom Obi ropes in on his wacky treasure hunt. Also wants him to win a spacies comp.
Rat's the friend you feel sorry for and let him join your pack, anyway actually wins the spacies comp, so makes Obi and AL look like dummies.
Obi wants to save his house help his mum swoop on in like superman etc etc..he almost nearly kind of got there in the end........nah not even close.
Lui older brother to AL bit of a crush on Summer, Obi older sis. Kind of useful he has a car.
Personal dribble.
Well better than reading a thesis on heart muscle dont get me wrong nothing against layout for myocyte experimentation and Cross-Correlation Algorithms, but really I'd rather have a half eaten orange thrown at my bus window and watching the juice slide on angle as the bus picks up speed going through Grey Lynn. 100% of the way through Poor people with money, which is way more rugged, like catching a clown washing his feet in the kitchen sink. Neway T off time.
Wait a poem or 2 from Dad.
When I am with you
There is no time
When I am here
Each minute is a tooth
I have to rip from my gums.
Shoplifting what's mine
When the pigs catch ya
Hands red as ya politics
My legal advice
Is turn dumb
The only thing you're required to tell them is Huh
And what
Forget where ya live
Forget ya name
Forget why ya got a pocket full of stolen laughter
Your breath is contraband
When ya poor.
The book.
Treasure island, half right, got the island bit locked away.....
Obi, his arcade spacies high scores game name, picked after the star wars guy. 11 nearly 12 year old kid living in inner city Grey Lynn, Auckland 1985. Fat poor white, a trifecta winner. His crazy adventure with Gus's nicked treasure map.
Gus sleeping in his lounge just got out after 7 years in prison, friend of his Dad.
Dad, fulltime unemployed poet partime shoplifter and bacon factory worker who really loves Obi's mum.
Mum whose keen on reading, went to Uni, worries all the time about her husband kids but now has the shittiest cancer.
AL, his best friend Pacifica kid whom Obi ropes in on his wacky treasure hunt. Also wants him to win a spacies comp.
Rat's the friend you feel sorry for and let him join your pack, anyway actually wins the spacies comp, so makes Obi and AL look like dummies.
Obi wants to save his house help his mum swoop on in like superman etc etc..he almost nearly kind of got there in the end........nah not even close.
Lui older brother to AL bit of a crush on Summer, Obi older sis. Kind of useful he has a car.
Personal dribble.
Well better than reading a thesis on heart muscle dont get me wrong nothing against layout for myocyte experimentation and Cross-Correlation Algorithms, but really I'd rather have a half eaten orange thrown at my bus window and watching the juice slide on angle as the bus picks up speed going through Grey Lynn. 100% of the way through Poor people with money, which is way more rugged, like catching a clown washing his feet in the kitchen sink. Neway T off time.
Wait a poem or 2 from Dad.
When I am with you
There is no time
When I am here
Each minute is a tooth
I have to rip from my gums.
Shoplifting what's mine
When the pigs catch ya
Hands red as ya politics
My legal advice
Is turn dumb
The only thing you're required to tell them is Huh
And what
Forget where ya live
Forget ya name
Forget why ya got a pocket full of stolen laughter
Your breath is contraband
When ya poor.
July 8, 2025
Dominic Hoey does it again! Loved the characters in this (Al my shaylaaaaa), and as a reading experience it felt a bit gentler than Poor People With Money. DH said something I liked at the Time Out event we went to along the lines of how it's not always 100% depressing and sometimes childhood is just crack up, and I really felt that reading this. It's something I've been thinking about a lot in relation to NZ writing since reading Once Were Warriors and I thought telling the story from a child's perspective let it have a very strong/consistent undercurrent of sympathy but still kept the levity. Perhaps rounded up a smidge, and I enjoyed PPWM a bit more, but just adored Obi and Al sm.
Also, another big win for aphantasia gang. <3 Grey Lynn, loved to read about a Grey Lynn/Auckland-at-large before my time, loved reading the name of the street I lived on in uni. Top tier book cover too.
Also, another big win for aphantasia gang. <3 Grey Lynn, loved to read about a Grey Lynn/Auckland-at-large before my time, loved reading the name of the street I lived on in uni. Top tier book cover too.
May 7, 2026
It's been some time since I was last this absorbed in a novel. 1985 is absolutely anchored in time and place, and Hoey brings 1980s central Auckland to life with such energy. It's a confronting story about the impact of poverty, crime, and fragmented families, transposed over the top of capers which seem adventurous in the moment, but grim on reflection. I don't always vibe with child narrators, but Obi captured me, and the lens through which he narrates the collapse of order in his family felt authentic. Perhaps particularly resonant because these places are such a big part of my own life, but either way, a fantastic novel.
August 22, 2025
Quality stuff from the man's like Tourettes
August 5, 2025
I started out a bit skeptical but, before I realised it, I was truly engrossed. Initially obi felt more like a point to make than a person but by the middle of the book things had changed and I really saw the character as being real. The Dad felt sometimes real and sometimes like a little bit of a stand in.
The characters of Al and Gus were especially well realised and I liked the way things eventually ended with the treasure hunt.
I think the book captured the chaos of that kind of living situation well. There is the feeling of change over the course of the book and it makes me oddly nostalgic for a NZ I never knew.
The Politics is not the main point of the book but you can’t escape it. I think a comment in point in the book is right though that in the 1980s people felt briefly like things were in flux and anything could happen.
Having it from a child’s perspective makes things a bit less pointed I think. Obi’s world view is pretty black and white and fairly partisan, so the few times he’s forced to see things in little shades of grey are pretty impactful.
Finally there were some beautiful lines in there which still sit with me.
The characters of Al and Gus were especially well realised and I liked the way things eventually ended with the treasure hunt.
I think the book captured the chaos of that kind of living situation well. There is the feeling of change over the course of the book and it makes me oddly nostalgic for a NZ I never knew.
The Politics is not the main point of the book but you can’t escape it. I think a comment in point in the book is right though that in the 1980s people felt briefly like things were in flux and anything could happen.
Having it from a child’s perspective makes things a bit less pointed I think. Obi’s world view is pretty black and white and fairly partisan, so the few times he’s forced to see things in little shades of grey are pretty impactful.
Finally there were some beautiful lines in there which still sit with me.
June 21, 2025
“We’re ourselves, even in grief”
This book isn’t perfect, but it was a gut punch. The first book to make me cry in years - not because it’s sad, which it is, but because it’s beautiful.
This book isn’t perfect, but it was a gut punch. The first book to make me cry in years - not because it’s sad, which it is, but because it’s beautiful.
February 7, 2026
I consumed this on an ill fated trip to Tāmaki Makaurau, holed up in an apartment near albert park. It was cool reading this book here, transposing the ghost of the pre-gentrified auckland in this novel to the spaces i walked through. A different time for sure but theres still blood and vomit in the streets which i found a weird comfort.
' "I don`t want you getting into dumb shit like those men out there." She pointed towards the window, I didn't know if winning a spacies comp counted as dumb shit. Probably. But I knew she was talking about Dad, and Sam and Gus and the Surrey Crescent drunks and the sad-eyed addicts and criminals and all the other people who populated our stories. "There's no happiness in that life, just an endless celebration of pain," she used to say.
But there will always be a romance to the car crash. to the street fight, to the life thrown reckless into the fire. And anyway it felt like no matter what page you turn to, it was just another story about someone losing everything.'
'As far as I knew, our family didn't have a culture to speak of, just left- wing politics and various forms of escapism. My parents church was the kitchen table, or the pub or the second-hand bookstore. Our legends spoke of revolutionaries and artists, iconoclasts tearing tiny holes in the world, briefly letting in pinpricks of light.'
'But also theres a loneliness in not being anchored to nothing, to being a guest in your own life. Mum always told us to question everything. Good advice for sure. But it's like reading the end of a book first. Not much is special when you really stare at it.'
' "I don`t want you getting into dumb shit like those men out there." She pointed towards the window, I didn't know if winning a spacies comp counted as dumb shit. Probably. But I knew she was talking about Dad, and Sam and Gus and the Surrey Crescent drunks and the sad-eyed addicts and criminals and all the other people who populated our stories. "There's no happiness in that life, just an endless celebration of pain," she used to say.
But there will always be a romance to the car crash. to the street fight, to the life thrown reckless into the fire. And anyway it felt like no matter what page you turn to, it was just another story about someone losing everything.'
'As far as I knew, our family didn't have a culture to speak of, just left- wing politics and various forms of escapism. My parents church was the kitchen table, or the pub or the second-hand bookstore. Our legends spoke of revolutionaries and artists, iconoclasts tearing tiny holes in the world, briefly letting in pinpricks of light.'
'But also theres a loneliness in not being anchored to nothing, to being a guest in your own life. Mum always told us to question everything. Good advice for sure. But it's like reading the end of a book first. Not much is special when you really stare at it.'
January 20, 2026
I absolutely loved this historical coming of age novel set in Auckland. Obi is mostly trying to stay fed and win at the 'spacies' arcade games at the local dairies and takeaways. He loves his parents, but they don't do a lot of parenting! Money is very tight but in spite of that and their various problems (addiction, illness, alcohol, shoplifting and other crime), the family do love each other. Obi's mate Al is a great character too, usually turning up when there's food around. This book reminded me a lot of the movie Boy and at times of Trent Dalton's Boy Swallows Universe. The story is told through young Obi's eyes, and there are loads of great one-liners and subtle humour. Highly recommended, especially if you remember being a kiwi kid in the 1980s.
May 14, 2025
I seldom give 5 star ratings but I was enchanted by this memorial of a childhood in Grey Lynn before gentrification. Obi, the Spacies Wiz, his feckless father and ailing mother are all so vividly drawn. The arc of the story is so well written. At once hilarious and sad, it builds to a perfect conclusion.
Bravo!!
Bravo!!
December 27, 2025
tama swallows universe??
adored this so much, wholeheartedly recommend for anyone who's lived in tāmaki makaurau. big ups to lui and al and aunty, sys ak!!
adored this so much, wholeheartedly recommend for anyone who's lived in tāmaki makaurau. big ups to lui and al and aunty, sys ak!!
March 12, 2026
“At the time, how could we have known that this was the start of a wave that would wash everyone we loved out to sea.”
Love finding out there was a tinny house up the road from home. Reminded me of the magic of Auckland and how enriching being a kid in Morningside / Western Springs / Grey Lynn was. Inspired by all the poetry too.
Love finding out there was a tinny house up the road from home. Reminded me of the magic of Auckland and how enriching being a kid in Morningside / Western Springs / Grey Lynn was. Inspired by all the poetry too.
July 6, 2025
I couldn't put this down! A coming-of-age novel set in multicultural Crummer Road, Auckland, during the 1980s. Obi, a young boy surrounded by the harsh realities of poverty, addiction, and unemployment, spends most of his time hanging out with his best friend Al, skipping school, and playing arcade games whenever he can scrape together enough coins. He lives with his parents, both recovering heroin addicts and his older sister, who has her own challenges.
At one point, Obi asks his mum why they don’t just run away. "Where are we going to go?" she replies. "The car’s fucked and no one’s got a job."
As someone who grew up in Auckland during that time, I recognised all the familiar landmarks of Grey Lynn, Ponsonby, and K-Road that shape Obi’s world. The struggles are raw and real, but the story is also full of warmth, neighbourly connection, and unexpected humour.
At one point, Obi asks his mum why they don’t just run away. "Where are we going to go?" she replies. "The car’s fucked and no one’s got a job."
As someone who grew up in Auckland during that time, I recognised all the familiar landmarks of Grey Lynn, Ponsonby, and K-Road that shape Obi’s world. The struggles are raw and real, but the story is also full of warmth, neighbourly connection, and unexpected humour.
August 22, 2025
I don't know why I do this to myself; I get so emotionally invested in a story and characters when reading this type of book. Such a brilliant read however, now feeling very sad and very emotional that I've finished. Like the wrap up at the end but would've liked more information on what happens to Summer.
This book had me feeling very grateful that I didn't have that kind of childhood or have to go through that kind of poverty. Adults who don't want to adult really shouldn't be having children. It just makes me so mad.
Love all the Auckland streets and landmarks, got a kick out of being able to pinpoint exactly where the locations were. It's funny though comparing the Auckland of the eighties to now, so many changes that that area has gone through.
This book had me feeling very grateful that I didn't have that kind of childhood or have to go through that kind of poverty. Adults who don't want to adult really shouldn't be having children. It just makes me so mad.
Love all the Auckland streets and landmarks, got a kick out of being able to pinpoint exactly where the locations were. It's funny though comparing the Auckland of the eighties to now, so many changes that that area has gone through.
March 14, 2026
LOVE ❤️ 5/5
Ham was the biggest villain IMO.
Ham was the biggest villain IMO.
May 6, 2026
1985 is a coming of age set in Auckland in the 80s. Obe is poor, desperate, sad and curious. His dad is useless and egotistical, his mum is sick and insightful and his sister is bored of all of them. Dominic Hoey paints a picture of a time and place that is run down, damp and dangerous. 1985 is part character study and part crime thriller, Obe’s ex junkie parents have never really escaped their past and now criminals are sleeping on the dogs couch and life is crumbling while Obe watches helplessly.
At times the neverending spacies and mad cap plans get a little too boys own adventure but it is balanced by tenderness and moments of grounding intimacy. Obe’s friendship with his bestie and his self awareness are admirable but the best parts are his relationship with his mum. Obe’s love and care for his mum light up the page, she is written so well, a flawed but sincerely beautiful character.
1985 is depressing but it’s realistic, it’s not relentless and stories like this need to be told. My childhood was not the same as Obe’s but I could relate to aspects, it was validating and sweet to read about sitting on the heater to stay warm and the endless scrounge for coins. This story reminded me of Douglas Stuart’s work, Close to Home by Michael Magee and Juno loves Legs by Karl Geary. Honestly, I’m not inclined to read many novels by straight, cis, men but I have time for these working class hard looks at masculinity and identity. Hoey understands words and the way they flow; he’s precise but not dry in his choices. Like the dogs of the novel the reader is never sure if Hoey will choose savage or soft but he weaves the two together so well.
At times the neverending spacies and mad cap plans get a little too boys own adventure but it is balanced by tenderness and moments of grounding intimacy. Obe’s friendship with his bestie and his self awareness are admirable but the best parts are his relationship with his mum. Obe’s love and care for his mum light up the page, she is written so well, a flawed but sincerely beautiful character.
1985 is depressing but it’s realistic, it’s not relentless and stories like this need to be told. My childhood was not the same as Obe’s but I could relate to aspects, it was validating and sweet to read about sitting on the heater to stay warm and the endless scrounge for coins. This story reminded me of Douglas Stuart’s work, Close to Home by Michael Magee and Juno loves Legs by Karl Geary. Honestly, I’m not inclined to read many novels by straight, cis, men but I have time for these working class hard looks at masculinity and identity. Hoey understands words and the way they flow; he’s precise but not dry in his choices. Like the dogs of the novel the reader is never sure if Hoey will choose savage or soft but he weaves the two together so well.
September 29, 2025
sometimes I do actually want to read the most aggressively kiwi book available
January 20, 2026
What a fucking great book. Much nostalgia. Set unapologetically in the neighbourhood. I ride down the street on the cover every day to work.
Main character is 12 going on 13 in 85. I was 10 going on 11, so very relatable. Although I was definitely not a grey Lynn kid back then, and the grey Lynn school he describes if very different to the one our kids spent 10 years at. Guess we’re the rich cunts from across the street.
Main character is 12 going on 13 in 85. I was 10 going on 11, so very relatable. Although I was definitely not a grey Lynn kid back then, and the grey Lynn school he describes if very different to the one our kids spent 10 years at. Guess we’re the rich cunts from across the street.
May 4, 2026
My last review I said comedy doesn’t land well in books for me but this one did. It was sad and funny and I was engrossed in it. Sorta Boy Swallows Universe but Auckland vibes.
November 6, 2025
It’s a weird feeling to feel such nostalgia in a book from a time you never experienced. Fucking amazing writing
April 24, 2026
Highly recommend listening to the audiobook read by the author- particularly when it slips into spoken word poetry
November 9, 2025
Poignant, funny and tragic snapshot of 1980’s Grey Lynn complete with timely cultural references and bookended by the Rainbow Warrior bombing.
Dominic Hoey can spin a yarn in a manner reminiscent of Trent Dalton.
Dominic Hoey can spin a yarn in a manner reminiscent of Trent Dalton.
January 3, 2026
big fan, i love nz fiction
February 25, 2026
Sad af + packed with kiwi nostalgia, not as pacy as Poor People With Money but easier on my nervous system and loved the characters so much 😭
March 18, 2026
Longlisted for the 2026 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, 1985, a Novel is Dominic Hoey's third novel. He's a poet, author and playwright based in Auckland, and his previous fiction includes Poor People With Money (2022) and the bestseller Iceland (2017) which was also longlisted for the Ockhams.
Although I haven't read this author before, I think it's probably safe to say that he writes about the underclass in New Zealand. From the book description on his website, it appears that Iceland was not about the Nordic country, nor was it about the clean and green image of ice-capped mountains that New Zealand projects to tourists. 1985, a Novel is prefaced by an epigram which says
Nostalgia is a gentle madness
the past was like this too
you just don't remember.
The past which Hoey so masterfully recreates is no idyll.
This coming-of-age novel is a vivid picture of intergenerational poverty, but the tone is lightened by the lively and sometimes comedic narration of its eleven-year-old central character, Obi. (His nickname is derived from Obi Wan Kenobi, the wise old man and Jedi Master from the Star Wars franchise). Wise beyond his years but sometimes painfully naïve, Obi knows he has his mother's love but yearns for connection with his father... He wants more than just learning how to be a skilled shoplifter.
TO read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2026/03/18/1...
Although I haven't read this author before, I think it's probably safe to say that he writes about the underclass in New Zealand. From the book description on his website, it appears that Iceland was not about the Nordic country, nor was it about the clean and green image of ice-capped mountains that New Zealand projects to tourists. 1985, a Novel is prefaced by an epigram which says
Nostalgia is a gentle madness
the past was like this too
you just don't remember.
The past which Hoey so masterfully recreates is no idyll.
This coming-of-age novel is a vivid picture of intergenerational poverty, but the tone is lightened by the lively and sometimes comedic narration of its eleven-year-old central character, Obi. (His nickname is derived from Obi Wan Kenobi, the wise old man and Jedi Master from the Star Wars franchise). Wise beyond his years but sometimes painfully naïve, Obi knows he has his mother's love but yearns for connection with his father... He wants more than just learning how to be a skilled shoplifter.
TO read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2026/03/18/1...
November 22, 2025
Disappointing because I adored Poor People With Money. I just couldn’t get into this one.
June 18, 2025
Humorous, introspective, and nostalgic. If you’re a millennial in New Zealand, I highly recommend.
Even though I was born a decade after the book’s setting, I still felt a familiar comfort in its backdrop — a time and lifestyle so close, yet so far from my modern life. It was easy to imagine myself in Obi’s shoes: kicking rocks with my mates, trying to cling to innocence while being drop-kicked into adulthood by life’s many curveballs. It’s funny how some things are kept secret from children, yet we still expect them to understand.
The story and setting are quite depressing — but for those who grew up that way, humour is often the best way to cope. The story strikes a great balance and feels authentic. Hoey has a great writing style — poetic when he needs to be, but never just to pad the word count. I look forward to seeing what else he has to offer.
There’s no happy ending here, but that’s the thing with life: the ending is neither happy nor sad — it just is.
Even though I was born a decade after the book’s setting, I still felt a familiar comfort in its backdrop — a time and lifestyle so close, yet so far from my modern life. It was easy to imagine myself in Obi’s shoes: kicking rocks with my mates, trying to cling to innocence while being drop-kicked into adulthood by life’s many curveballs. It’s funny how some things are kept secret from children, yet we still expect them to understand.
The story and setting are quite depressing — but for those who grew up that way, humour is often the best way to cope. The story strikes a great balance and feels authentic. Hoey has a great writing style — poetic when he needs to be, but never just to pad the word count. I look forward to seeing what else he has to offer.
There’s no happy ending here, but that’s the thing with life: the ending is neither happy nor sad — it just is.
May 22, 2025
an adult revision on childhood poverty
dominic Shows his poetic strength in 1985, every chapter being a standalone poem
given the reflectory nature of the writing it has given more capacity to stretch the descriptions of things better and larger than his previous work being set and child hood and our introspective protagonist having years to chew on discriptions
1985 is not about the ending but the journey to it, I found most characters intently likable and believable only since finishing remembering I didn't have a mate called Lui to defend me in school
1985 has a world unraveling, unbeknownst to them that everything is about to fall apart
i wasn't surprised by the ending
it did however feel quiet rushed and explained.
however when youre a child, most things being told to you are 'hopefully' a gentle surmise
I would recommend this book
dominic Shows his poetic strength in 1985, every chapter being a standalone poem
given the reflectory nature of the writing it has given more capacity to stretch the descriptions of things better and larger than his previous work being set and child hood and our introspective protagonist having years to chew on discriptions
1985 is not about the ending but the journey to it, I found most characters intently likable and believable only since finishing remembering I didn't have a mate called Lui to defend me in school
1985 has a world unraveling, unbeknownst to them that everything is about to fall apart
i wasn't surprised by the ending
it did however feel quiet rushed and explained.
however when youre a child, most things being told to you are 'hopefully' a gentle surmise
I would recommend this book
June 26, 2025
The storytelling and character building of 1985 are so beautifully woven together - I felt completely transported to the Grey Lynn of the mid 80s while I was reading this book. The characters felt so authentic. I laughed out loud, I felt sick (sewage covered dog etc), I cried. Brilliant.
April 12, 2026
‘The house wasn’t anyone’s idea of flash. But a treasure’s value comes from its proximity to your heart.’
Back in 1985, Obi and his sister Summer and their parents lived in Grey Lynn, Auckland. And now, as an adult, Obi is remembering that life. Yes, his parents were poor. His mother was ill, his father dreamed of writing poetry, and while Obi finds escape in playing ‘the spacies’, Summer took refuge elsewhere. Obi’s father has some dangerously interesting friends, and the Rainbow Warrior has just exploded.
‘The smell of taro, burnt bread, factory chemicals, stale beer, fresh cut grass, mould, unwashed clothes. It was the way we thought the future would smell.’
Obi dreams of winning a video game competition which will enable him to buy a Commodore 64. Obi could use if for playing games and maybe his father could write his poetry on the Commodore 64 instead of on scraps of paper? Alas, things don’t go according to plan.
‘When nothing makes much sense, who’s to say which reality is top of the food chain.’
But then … Obi finds a treasure map which just happens to belong to his father’s dodgy friend. Obi and his friend Al embark on a treasure hunt. And no, it doesn’t end well.
‘Those without much future tend to fall in love with the past.’
I opened this novel and fell into a world I recognised, even though I’ve never lived in Auckland or in the same situation as Obi. But there is something universally recognisable about dreams divorced from reality, about impulsive responses to situations, and about dreaming of success while preparing for failure. I could see no hope for Obi’s father and, eventually, neither could Obi.
‘Once upon a time I lived on a street with everyone I loved, and was great at something.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Back in 1985, Obi and his sister Summer and their parents lived in Grey Lynn, Auckland. And now, as an adult, Obi is remembering that life. Yes, his parents were poor. His mother was ill, his father dreamed of writing poetry, and while Obi finds escape in playing ‘the spacies’, Summer took refuge elsewhere. Obi’s father has some dangerously interesting friends, and the Rainbow Warrior has just exploded.
‘The smell of taro, burnt bread, factory chemicals, stale beer, fresh cut grass, mould, unwashed clothes. It was the way we thought the future would smell.’
Obi dreams of winning a video game competition which will enable him to buy a Commodore 64. Obi could use if for playing games and maybe his father could write his poetry on the Commodore 64 instead of on scraps of paper? Alas, things don’t go according to plan.
‘When nothing makes much sense, who’s to say which reality is top of the food chain.’
But then … Obi finds a treasure map which just happens to belong to his father’s dodgy friend. Obi and his friend Al embark on a treasure hunt. And no, it doesn’t end well.
‘Those without much future tend to fall in love with the past.’
I opened this novel and fell into a world I recognised, even though I’ve never lived in Auckland or in the same situation as Obi. But there is something universally recognisable about dreams divorced from reality, about impulsive responses to situations, and about dreaming of success while preparing for failure. I could see no hope for Obi’s father and, eventually, neither could Obi.
‘Once upon a time I lived on a street with everyone I loved, and was great at something.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
August 16, 2025
4.5* (thinking of rounding up to a 5*)
"when you’re not paying attention, that’s when things fall apart real quick"
Wow. That was a ride.
Poor People With Money was a grimy, punchy, brilliant anxiety-fest. If anything, 1985 may even be better.
1985 paints a vivid picture of life on the margins in 1980's Grey Lynn, full of chaos, crime, and the harsh realities of family. 11 year old Obi's world is a daily grind of scraping together enough coins to play spacies. The adults in Obi’s life are deeply flawed and dysfunctional, battling drugs, booze, crime and illness. It feels so raw and authentic Hoey can only be talking from experience of his own childhood neighbourhood.
Hoey fondly gives a voice to the disenfranchised and he does it with brilliance, humour, and heartache all rolled into one. You run through multiple emotions across each short chapter. This novel is both nostalgic and a warning that the past isn’t rose-tinted as Hoey keeps it real, right through to the last page. This is wonderful writing - each page has quotable poetic turns of phrase injected into the gritty, often heartbreaking story.
Hoey is possibly one of the easiest writers to read – I ate up this powerful novel and just wanted to start over after I finished the last page. Neither optimistic nor pessimistic, Hoey just tells life as it was in 1985 Grey Lynn, where everyone has excuses for their shitty behaviour.
“Dad, is Mum okay?” My words turned to mist in front of my face. “Yeah, of course,” he smiled, like fresh paint on a burning house. Devastating.
"when you’re not paying attention, that’s when things fall apart real quick"
Wow. That was a ride.
Poor People With Money was a grimy, punchy, brilliant anxiety-fest. If anything, 1985 may even be better.
1985 paints a vivid picture of life on the margins in 1980's Grey Lynn, full of chaos, crime, and the harsh realities of family. 11 year old Obi's world is a daily grind of scraping together enough coins to play spacies. The adults in Obi’s life are deeply flawed and dysfunctional, battling drugs, booze, crime and illness. It feels so raw and authentic Hoey can only be talking from experience of his own childhood neighbourhood.
Hoey fondly gives a voice to the disenfranchised and he does it with brilliance, humour, and heartache all rolled into one. You run through multiple emotions across each short chapter. This novel is both nostalgic and a warning that the past isn’t rose-tinted as Hoey keeps it real, right through to the last page. This is wonderful writing - each page has quotable poetic turns of phrase injected into the gritty, often heartbreaking story.
Hoey is possibly one of the easiest writers to read – I ate up this powerful novel and just wanted to start over after I finished the last page. Neither optimistic nor pessimistic, Hoey just tells life as it was in 1985 Grey Lynn, where everyone has excuses for their shitty behaviour.
“Dad, is Mum okay?” My words turned to mist in front of my face. “Yeah, of course,” he smiled, like fresh paint on a burning house. Devastating.
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