The Free-Range Bookclub
Bookclubbers without boundaries in Nelson, New Zealand
Category: Historical Fiction
The Blue Flower – Penelope Fitzgerald
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Jodie Penelope’s Fitzgerald’s last novel, written in 1997, details the early life of the German romantic poet Friedrich von Hardenberg who used the pseudonym Novalis and his love for 12-year-old Sophie von Kuhn. Set in provincial Saxony in the 1790s, the… Continue Reading “The Blue Flower – Penelope Fitzgerald”
All This By Chance – Vincent O’Sullivan
READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS A moving multigenerational family saga about the legacy of the Holocaust and the burden of secrets never shared ⚑ “I was all in for I would say three-quarters of this novel but then as the characters we focused on… Continue Reading “All This By Chance – Vincent O’Sullivan”
This Mortal Boy – Fiona Kidman
READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS The re-creation of one of the last executions in New Zealand leading to the abolition of capital punishment. ⚑ “Poor Albert Black. I appreciated the way this novel explored the impact on everyone involved in his trial and sentencing… Continue Reading “This Mortal Boy – Fiona Kidman”
Washington Black – Esi Edugyan
READ FOR BOOKERTHON An 11yo plantation slave becomes a personal servant to his master’s brother. ➽ “George Washington Black is the name of an 11yo plantation slave who is whisked out of his doomed life and given a fresh start as a personal servant… Continue Reading “Washington Black – Esi Edugyan”
I Capture The Castle – Dodie Smith
READ FOR BOOKCLUB Recommended by Sophia A coming-of-age novel written as diary entries by a 1930s teenage girl living in poverty in an English castle. ➽ “What at first appears as a simple coming-of-age story is actually a cross-genre mediation on the history of… Continue Reading “I Capture The Castle – Dodie Smith”
The Wish Child – Catherine Chidgey
READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS Two children watch as their parents become immersed in the puzzling mechanisms of power in 1939 Germany. ◉ “Personally, I love human stories set during the war. But sometimes you feel like you’re reading the same stuff over and… Continue Reading “The Wish Child – Catherine Chidgey”
As The Earth Turns Silver – Alison Wong
READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Jo The story and struggles of settler families in early 20th-Century New Zealand. Yung and Shun are immigrants from China. They become greengrocers in Wellington and know they must adapt to their adopted home. Englishwoman Katherine McKechnie struggles to… Continue Reading “As The Earth Turns Silver – Alison Wong”
Do Not Say We Have Nothing – Madeleine Thien
READ FOR BOOKERTHON From inside an extended Chinese family, Do Not Say We Have Nothing examines two of the most important political moments of China’s past century: Mao’s Cultural Revolution and the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. ➤ “This is historical fiction written authentically… Continue Reading “Do Not Say We Have Nothing – Madeleine Thien”
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