Category: Allegory

The Empusium – Olga Tokarczuk

READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Jodie Mieczysław, a student suffering from tuberculosis, arrives at the Wilhelm Opitz’s Guesthouse for Gentlemen but discovers there are many mysterious goings on, involving deaths, misogyny and the occult. Set in a Polish sanatorium in 1913, The Empusium blends horror,… Continue Reading “The Empusium – Olga Tokarczuk”

Audition – Pip Adam

READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS Oversized people crammed in a space ship hurtle through space. Experimental fiction about New Zealand’s unjust justice system, the state of our prisons and how to be a good coloniser. It was one of the worst places Alba had… Continue Reading “Audition – Pip Adam”

Chain-Gang All-Stars – Nana Kwame Adiej-Brenvah

READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Jo Gladiators fight to the death to win their freedom In America’s private prisons. Loretta Thurwar and Hamara “Hurricane Staxxx” Stacker are the stars of Chain-Gang All-Stars, a televised, profit-making programme. This book is an exploration of the American prison… Continue Reading “Chain-Gang All-Stars – Nana Kwame Adiej-Brenvah”

The Fish – Lloyd Jones

READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS 2023 A baby is born to a young, single mother in a caravan park, suffering from an unnamed condition which earns him the name the Fish. The story of the Fish, and the family’s shame and secrets are narrated… Continue Reading “The Fish – Lloyd Jones”

The Plague – Albert Camus

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Rachel The story of an Algerian city swept by a plague. The plague begins as a series of portents, unheeded by the people, and gradually becomes an omnipresent reality, obliterating all traces of the past and driving its victims… Continue Reading “The Plague – Albert Camus”