2019 First ed. Becky Manawatu's debut novel Auē won two Ockham New Zealand Book Awards and Best Crime Novel at the Ngaio Marsh Awards. She is of Māori and Pākehā* background, as are Keri Hulme and Alan Duff with whose novels, The bone people and Once were warriors, Auē has been compared. These books address the intergenerational … Continue reading Becky Manawatu, Auē (#BookReview)
Review
George Kemp, Soft serve (#BookReview)
George Kemp's debut novel, Soft serve, explores big themes in a quiet, compassionate little package. Coming-of-age is tough enough, but when young people are confronted with the devastating loss of one of their own, it becomes an almost insurmountable challenge. Put this terrible grief against a backdrop of climate-change-fuelled bushfire and you might expect something … Continue reading George Kemp, Soft serve (#BookReview)
Geraldine Brooks, Memorial days (#BookReview)
Grief memoirs are a problematic lot. Some of us love them, some of us hate them, while others, including me, sit somewhere in the middle. The most recent I've read, Marion Halligan's Words for Lucy (my review) and Gideon Haigh's My brother Jaz (my review) were moving, intelligent books that added something to my understanding. … Continue reading Geraldine Brooks, Memorial days (#BookReview)
Maxine Beneba Clarke, Beautiful changelings (#BookReview)
Maxine Beneba Clarke's latest book, Beautiful changelings, is the first poetry collection scheduled by my reading group in our 38 years, and it went very well. I should clarify, lest you think we are poetry-avoiders, that we have read some verse novels and we've had a couple of poetry evenings where we've shared favourite poems, … Continue reading Maxine Beneba Clarke, Beautiful changelings (#BookReview)
Tasma Walton, I am Nannertgarrook
As we got ready for our recent Melbourne trip, I was thinking about the then upcoming announcement of the Stella Prize shortlist, so I packed the two longlisted books I already had. But then, en route, we listened to the Secrets of the Green Room interview with Tasma Walton about her longlisted novel, I am … Continue reading Tasma Walton, I am Nannertgarrook
Ann Patchett, Tom Lake (#BookReview)
I have not read Ann Patchett for a long time. In fact, I've only read one novel, Bel Canto, way before blogging, and one nonfiction piece, “The bookshop strikes back” (my review). So, when I saw all the love her latest novel, Tom Lake, was getting in 2023's end-of-year lists (including Kate's annual compilation), I … Continue reading Ann Patchett, Tom Lake (#BookReview)
Langston Hughes, Feet live their own life (#Review, #1961 Club)
Today's post for the Year Club is one of those rare occasions when I am not posting on an Australian short story. The simple reason is that I could not find one in my anthologies, and I am keen to read from my physical TBR. Happily, I found one in Great short stories by African-American … Continue reading Langston Hughes, Feet live their own life (#Review, #1961 Club)
Paris Rosemont, Barefoot poetess (#BookReview)
Fierce, raw, honest are all clichés used to describe strong, powerful writing, but when it comes to Paris Rosemont's poetry collection, Barefoot poetess, they are hard to go past. However, I prefer to avoid review clichés, so let's start again ... Paris Rosemont's second poetry collection, Barefoot poetess, turned out to be quite the page-turner … Continue reading Paris Rosemont, Barefoot poetess (#BookReview)
Aaron Fa’Aoso and Michelle Scott Tucker, Spirit of the crocodile (#Bookreview)
Aaron Fa'Aoso and Michelle Scott Tucker's Spirit of the crocodile is a children's/YA book, which makes it atypical reading for me. However, I'm not averse breaking my rules occasionally, and so I made an exception for this book - mainly because of its collaborative authorship and its setting. Aaron Fa'aoso and Michelle Scott Tucker have … Continue reading Aaron Fa’Aoso and Michelle Scott Tucker, Spirit of the crocodile (#Bookreview)
Samantha Harvey, Orbital (#BookReview)
Samantha Harvey's Booker Prize-winning novella, Orbital, is one of those novels you want to keep by your side after you've finished it, hoping that its calm beauty and quiet provocations will stay with you just that little bit longer. And here, in this opening sentence, I am channelling the "you" voice that she slips into occasionally … Continue reading Samantha Harvey, Orbital (#BookReview)
Whispering Gums 