Category: Literary fiction

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”

Coming Rain – Stephen Daisley

READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS Lew McLeod and Painter Hayes have been travelling Western Australia since they were boys, shearing, charcoal burning, whatever work comes. They take shearing jobs for a large farm, where the younger of them, Lew, falls in love with the… Continue Reading “Coming Rain – Stephen Daisley”

The Heart Goes Last – Margaret Atwood

 READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Rachel Jobless and homeless during world financial collapse, Charmaine and Stan sign up for a social experiment called The Positron Project. In it, no one is unemployed and everyone gets a comfortable, clean house to live in for six… Continue Reading “The Heart Goes Last – Margaret Atwood”

2016 – The Back Story

It’s easy to become engrossed in the story, to be taken with the now and the potential and forget what has been; the moments that created the existence of now. And it’s easy for best sellers and award-winning authors to look out there into… Continue Reading “2016 – The Back Story”

2015 – End Of Year Thoughts

There was a lot in the literary world to be excited about this year: Harper Lee’s much awaited sequel, Kazuo Ishiguro’s first novel in ten years, and Haruki Murakami making an appearance in New Zealand to name a few. But as the year progressed… Continue Reading “2015 – End Of Year Thoughts”

The Buried Giant – Kazuo Ishiguro

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Sophia An elderly couple moves across an unrecognisable Britain, one where myths and traditional heroes frequent and where an eerie fog hangs.  In search for their son they battle fog-induced forgetfulness and wonder whether being enabled with memory will… Continue Reading “The Buried Giant – Kazuo Ishiguro”

Go Set A Watchman – Harper Lee

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Becks Apparently the first draft of To Kill A Mockingbird, discovered more than 50 years after the release of Mockingbird. Published in its draft form, it follows Scout as an adult and observes her relationship with her father, Atticus,… Continue Reading “Go Set A Watchman – Harper Lee”

2015 Bookerthon

For Bookerthon 2015 we have ventured to beautiful Northland to complete our reading and discussion of the six eclectic books that make up this year’s shortlist. With Suzy having moved out of Nelson (sob!) we felt we needed to be in the same location… Continue Reading “2015 Bookerthon”

Satin Island – Tom McCarthy

READ FOR BOOKERTHON U, a corporate anthropologist, spends his days procrastinating over endless buffer-zones of information and becoming obsessed by images of the world. ❍ “It’s difficult to describe this book. It’s almost as if it doesn’t have a plot, rather it is made… Continue Reading “Satin Island – Tom McCarthy”

A Brief History of Seven Killings – Marlon James

READ FOR BOOKERTHON Spanning decades and continents with a wide range of characters, A Brief History of Seven Killings is the fictional exploration of the attempted assassination of Bob Marley. ❍ “I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t finish this book. It’s no offence to the… Continue Reading “A Brief History of Seven Killings – Marlon James”