The Free-Range Bookclub
Bookclubbers without boundaries in Nelson, New Zealand
Category: Historical Fiction
Cocoon – Zhang Yueran
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Jo Li Jiaqi and Cheng Gong recall their childhood friendship under Chinese communist rule, living with extended family and in wonderment about what really happened that rainy night in 1967 in the abandoned water tower where Gong’s grandfather was attacked.… Continue Reading “Cocoon – Zhang Yueran”
2023 Women’s Prize
This is our first year at reading the Women’s Prize shortlist in its entirety and blogging about it, and it’s fair to say we are mightily impressed. As a collective these represent story telling at their best: engaging plot, strong characters, and a clear… Continue Reading “2023 Women’s Prize”
Demon Copperhead – Barbara Kingsolver
READ FOR WOMEN’S PRIZE Demon Copperhead is a book about institutional poverty and is a modern retelling of Dickens’ David Copperfield. Set in the Appalachias it tells the story of a young boy caught up in the system, for whom life is a mountain… Continue Reading “Demon Copperhead – Barbara Kingsolver”
Black Butterflies – Priscilla Morris
READ FOR WOMEN’S PRIZE A true account of life for citizens during the Seige of Sarajevo told via the main character Zora, a 55 year old artist and teacher. When tensions flare she sends her family to safety never thinking things will become what… Continue Reading “Black Butterflies – Priscilla Morris”
Fire Rush – Jacqueline Crooks
READ FOR WOMEN’S PRIZE Yamaye is a young Jamaican woman living in 1980s London. She dances at an underground dub reggae club and suffers daily from her lack of familial ties. Like her friends she does her best to avoid the harassment of Babylon… Continue Reading “Fire Rush – Jacqueline Crooks”
Trespasses – Louise Kennedy
READ FOR WOMEN’S PRIZE Cushla is a 24-year-old Irish school teacher by day and custodian of the family pub with her brother in the evenings. It is in the pub she meets an older married man and they begin an affair. Set amongst The… Continue Reading “Trespasses – Louise Kennedy”
The Marriage Portrait – Maggie O’Farrell
READ FOR WOMEN’S PRIZE ● The Marriage Portrait begins as such: In 1560, fifteen-year-old Lucrezia di Cosimo de Medici left Florence to begin her married life with Alfonso II d’Este, Duke of Ferrara. Less than a year later, she would be dead. The official cause… Continue Reading “The Marriage Portrait – Maggie O’Farrell”
Kāwai: For Such A Time As This – Monty Soutar
READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS In the opening pages a 19-year-old man walks onto his family Marae and asks the local koroua about his whanau’s history. The man’s answer is provided over the following 300-odd pages. He tells of Kaitanga, born 1734 into a… Continue Reading “Kāwai: For Such A Time As This – Monty Soutar”
The Color Purple – Alice Walker
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Jo The lives of two African-American sisters growing up in rural Georgia in the early to mid 20th Century are detailed in The Color Purple. Celie is raped by her stepfather and bears two children to him who are sent… Continue Reading “The Color Purple – Alice Walker”
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