April’s WCL eBook Club: Delirious by Damien Wilkins

Delirious was heavily represented in many of the year’s best fiction lists (including our very own picks for the best novels of 2024). It has gained glowing reviews and has featured heavily on bestseller charts and is also on the shortlist for the 2025 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. So, what better reason do we need to feature this fabulous novel as our WCL eBook Club pick for April ! That means that, for a limited time, we are offering unlimited downloads. No queues, no waiting - just immediate access to a copy of this much sought-after book.

Delirious revolves around retired cop, Mary, and her husband, former librarian Pete, moving into a retirement village. Their health status isn’t terrible but they are wary of their various ailments. They thought selling their beloved house would have provided a clean break, but that hasn’t proven to be the case. Then a local detective calls with new information about the case of their son who was killed in an accident forty years before, and all these incidents trigger memories of Mary’s sister and Pete’s mother - the past coming back to haunt them. Delirious is a powerful, sensitive, emotionally, funny and sharp novel about families, ageing and the surprising ways second chances come around.

Damien Wilkins is the director International Institute of Modern Letters at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. He is the author of thirteen books, including essays, novels and works for younger readers many of which have gathered major awards. Amongst his numerous accolades, he has won or been nominated for New Zealand Book Award for fiction for The Miserables. He has also received a Whiting Writers’ Award from the Whiting Foundation and his novels have been long-listed three times on the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. He holds an MFA from Washington University and in 2013 he received an Arts Foundation Laureate Award. As well as his truly impressive academic and literary career, Damien is also a respected musician and songwriter.

This promotion runs from 1 - 14 April. To grab your copy of Delirious, all you need is a valid WCL library card and to click the link above!