Love in Lockdown is a compassionate and insightful exploration of what life was like for ordinary New Zealanders in 2020/2021 when Covid-19 was stalking the streets. Set mostly within the confines of Oak Tree Lodge, an inner-city boutique boarding house, it follows the lives of the four eccentric guests and proprietor, thrown together in the claustrophobic atmosphere that the pandemic has forced upon them.
There is the anorexic Roz, who finds any challenge worthy of a wine, the elderly and hygienically challenged Frank, who requires a wheelchair except on rambles after dark, and the insufferable, muscle-flexing, wannabe journalist, Julius. And then there is the main character, the creepy Leo, who owns Oak Tree Lodge and is hell-bent on wooing Meg, the beautiful British backpacker who arrived on the eve of lockdown.
The story has an extra layer. As if there is not enough terror and paranoia, a serial killer is on the loose. Dead bodies are turning up all over the inner-city. People are scared of being cooped up (anyone could be carrying the virus), but they are equally scared of going outside.
The niggling question throughout the book is what happened to Chelsea, the aspiring young actress who went missing from the front room. And who will be next?
Love in Lockdown is more than a story about a serial killer roaming the streets of Auckland under lockdown. It is a serious (in spite of the humour) record of that iconic time when a pandemic swept, not just New Zealand, but the whole world. It is a faithful recording of history, the daily briefings from Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern that everyone gathered around the television to watch, the heart-breaking statistics updated daily, and the anguish and frustration of families separated from one another.
Through a dramatic and suspenseful storyline Love in Lockdown lays out with gentle humour and stark accuracy for generations to come how Covid-19 changed everything.
Someone said, ‘It’s a bit like 9/11. It changed our way of thinking, of working, of socialising, of travelling. It ruined lives. Nothing will ever be the same.’
Love in Lockdown is an important book.
Reviewer: Lorraine Steele