4 Jun 2016

Brannavan Gnanalingam: spies, travel, and the law

From Saturday Morning, 10:35 am on 4 June 2016
Brannavan Gnanalingam

Brannavan Gnanalingam. Photo: supplied

Brannavan Gnanalingam is a Wellington lawyer and writer of non-fiction (mainly for the Lumière website) and fiction.

His fourth novel is A Briefcase, Two Pies and a Penthouse (Lawrence and Gibson).

The title is a reference to a top spy who misplaced a briefcase in Wellington's Aro Valley.

All that was in the case were his business cards, a diary, three mince pies, two fruit pies, the NZ Listener, and a Penthouse magazine. 

Gnanalingam's novel is is a satirical take on modern-day spies in New Zealand and how, instead of Communism, the new existential threat is Islamic terrorism.

He talks to Kim Hill.