In the Wake of Amber

Kristin Leunens is a New Zealand writer. She is the author of the novel "The Bird in the Cage," which gained wide recognition after it was adapted into the film "Jojo Rabbit," nominated for six Academy Awards.
"In the Wake of Amber" is a love story that appears to be just that at first glance. The narrator Ethan, a student from Auckland's film school, gradually transforms from a hopelessly infatuated, selfish young man into a mature adult.

But Kristin Leunens does not develop the plot without reason at the junction of the 1970s and 1980s, amid the Cold War, protests against nuclear tests in the Pacific, and ecological activism.
The embodiment of this time is Ethan's beloved Amber, emotional, unhappy, vibrant, struggling against stereotypes, seeking protection and finding none.