(Derek Hansen, Fourth Estate, $29.99 tpb, ISBN 9780732287160, February) ****

When you are young, it’s easy to think that you are at the centre of everything—especially when you are a young writer. Remember Me is a confessional novel sparked by the rediscovery of the ‘essays’ the narrator wrote at school in 1950s Auckland, on topics such as ‘my home’, ‘the burden of responsibility’ and ‘the importance of washing your hands.’ One essay elicits the remarkable discovery that a friend had been rescued by a U-boat during the war, sparking a chain of events that brings the submarine commander to New Zealand, along with repercussions for the boy and his family. The innocent young hero has a sense of moral responsibility to those around him, but often lacks the perspective to see what is really happening. On the borderline between childhood and adolescence, he doesn’t really understand what the war meant to those involved. The novel gives the narrator the knowingness of hindsight, while not flinching from his naivety. Hansen is the author of the much-loved ‘Lunch with…’ series, and his storytelling is fast-moving and enjoyable. Remember Me is full of insight into being young in a world of adults, and the extraordinary stories all around us.

Lachlan Jobbins is an editorial consultant, freelance writer and ex-bookseller