Category: Kiwi lit

The Godwits Fly – Robin Hyde

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Jo The Godwits Fly vividly evokes the complexities of family life and the intensely felt world of Eliza, a single-minded young woman in 1920s Wellington. Eliza has affairs and a breakdown and turns to writing for meaning. Like the Godwits,… Continue Reading “The Godwits Fly – Robin Hyde”

Infinite Air – Fiona Kidman

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Sonya A novel about the enigmatic Jean Batten – New Zealand’s, and one of the world’s, greatest aviators ➤ “I was quite excited by the idea of The Infinite Air. I have heard a lot about author Fiona Kidman,… Continue Reading “Infinite Air – Fiona Kidman”

Rich Man Road – Ann Glamuzina

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Becks Olga and a misunderstanding travel from her war-torn Dalmatian village through WWII, refugee camps and into her new life in Aotearoa. Pualele arrives in 1978 from Samoa via an illegal family adoption and lives life as a Pacific… Continue Reading “Rich Man Road – Ann Glamuzina”

Wake – Elizabeth Knox

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Jo One sunny spring morning the Tasman Bay settlement of Kahukura is overwhelmed by a mysterious mass insanity. A handful of survivors find themselves cut off from the world, surrounded by the dead. As they attempt to care for… Continue Reading “Wake – Elizabeth Knox”

The Scarecrow – Hugh Morrieson

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Rachel Neddy Poindexter worries about his pretty sister Prudence when it’s discovered there’s a killer on the loose. Part adventure, part small-town comedy and part horrifying thriller, The Scarecrow is classic Kiwi Lit noir. The same week our fowls… Continue Reading “The Scarecrow – Hugh Morrieson”

2016 NZ Book Awards

There was a lot reading that could have been done this year, a lot of reading we wanted to do, but alas, there isn’t time for everything! So, we read what we could and that included the fiction section and a few of the… Continue Reading “2016 NZ Book Awards”

A Villa At The Edge Of The Empire – Fiona Farrell

READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS A book which examines the evolution of cities and of Christchurch in particular after its destructive earthquakes. ➤ “Prior to reading I thought this would be an important book to Cantabrians, but now I see this is a book relevant to… Continue Reading “A Villa At The Edge Of The Empire – Fiona Farrell”

Chappy – Patricia Grace

READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS “A deserter of the Japanese army stows away on a ship to New Zealand at the onset of WWII. Known as Chappy, he remains in the country illegally and marries a Māori woman. Decades later his grandson wishes to… Continue Reading “Chappy – Patricia Grace”

The Back Of His Head – Patrick Evans

READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS Trustees overseeing the estate of Kiwi Nobel laureate Raymond Lawrence discover more than they wanted to know while struggling to keep his affairs in order. A satire about the making and manipulation of literary fame. ➤ “When I read… Continue Reading “The Back Of His Head – Patrick Evans”

In A Fishbone Church – Catherine Chidgey

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Sonya Three generations of the Stilton family are affected by the truths in one man’s diaries of the 1950s. When Clifford Stilton dies, his son Gene protects his carefully kept diaries. They span continents and decades, from Berlin raves… Continue Reading “In A Fishbone Church – Catherine Chidgey”