The Free-Range Bookclub
Bookclubbers without boundaries in Nelson, New Zealand
2021 NZ Book Awards
Suzy: “All four books seemed completely deserving of their place on the shortlist. While I would have thought the judges may have leaned more towards Nothing to See I am not mad at all about Bug Week winning. There are flashes from the various Bug Week stories that still sit with me and resonate – I think about that damn talking toroa a lot more than I would like to admit. Please stop haunting me talking toroa!
‘With Remote Sympathy set outside NZ it felt quite separate from the other books, but this was neither a good or bad thing – it just felt ‘different’. I don’t think I will ever be able to face finishing Sprigs, but I deeply appreciate Brannavan Gnanalingam diving so sensitively into such a distressing topic.
“I regret not being able to finish these books before the actual winner was announced, hopefully 2022 will be a more settled year!”
Rachel: “The commonality I found in the four shortlisters this year was how the voices of those we might not usually hear from formed a powerful discussion point. All these books went to extra lengths to ensure their characters, whether good, bad or misunderstood were human, with all their personality traits out in the open. As the reader I connected with them all, for better or worse, because they were so fully developed. I heard point of views I had not before. I also felt ownership over how I could feel about them, even the truely terrible ones, rather than pushed into an emotional corner. To me, this gift of understanding was the best feature of this lineup.
“I did enjoy all the titles for their brave storylines, though to varying degrees and that doesn’t mean I’d recommend them all. Full disclosure, we are a little late this year and I am writing this knowing who the winner is. And I can see why it won. Though not a short story fan myself, Bug Week was probably one of the best short story collections I’ve read. However, the book that stood out most to me was Remote Sympathy. I was captured by every character’s tale and enjoyed just how uncomfortably comfortable I was, lost in the plot.” – Rachel
We’re currently reading:
Books read:
How many books have we read for bookclub in the past 17 years?
The Free-Range Bookclub 
Recent Comments