Category: Metafiction

How To Paint A Nude – Sam Mahon

Posted on April 22, 2026 by

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A local artist and a Belaruisan refugee meet regularly at a Christchurch cafe to discuss life, art and politics. A priest once told me that we fall in love with people with whom we have wounds in common, that in caring for them we’re… Continue Reading “How To Paint A Nude – Sam Mahon”

Category: Art, Contemporary fiction, Environmental fiction, Kiwi lit, Literary fiction, Metafiction, NZ Book Awards, Philosophical, PoliticalTags: , ,

Girls Against God – Jenny Hval

Posted on April 1, 2026 by

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READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Rachel Described as a radical fusion of feminist theory and experimental horror, Girls Against God is a stream of consciousness narrative on censorship, magic, gender, art and rebellion against power systems. I don’t know why I feel I have to… Continue Reading “Girls Against God – Jenny Hval”

Category: Art, Coming of Age, Experimental fiction, Faith & Religion, Feminism, Horror, Literary fiction, Metafiction, Queer, Surreal, TranslatedTags:

Audition – Katie Kitamura

Posted on October 20, 2025 by

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READ FOR BOOKERTHON Two people meet for lunch in a Manhattan restaurant. She’s an accomplished actress in rehearsals for an upcoming premiere. He’s attractive, troubled, and young. Who is he to her, and who is she to him? In Audition, two competing but mirroring narratives… Continue Reading “Audition – Katie Kitamura”

Category: Art, Booker Prize, Domestic Fiction, Experimental fiction, Female Experience, Literary fiction, Metafiction, Philosophical, Postmodern Literature, Psychological, Thriller, Unreliable Narrator, US fiction, Women's PrizeTags: ,

Endling – Maria Reva

Posted on August 21, 2025 by

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READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Jodie Three women – a maverick biologist and two sisters embroiled in the Russian bride industry and searching for their missing mother – kidnap 13 hopeful bachelors and race across Ukraine trying to find a mate for a last-of-its-kind Lefty… Continue Reading “Endling – Maria Reva”

Category: Absurdist, Adventure, Booker Prize, Climate Fiction Prize, Environmental fiction, Experimental fiction, Female Experience, Feminism, Humour, Literary fiction, Metafiction, Political, Postmodern Literature, Satire, War storyTags: ,

James – Percival Everett

Posted on October 19, 2024 by

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READ FOR BOOKERTHON A re-imagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but told from the point of view of the slave, Jim, or James as he prefers to be called in this book. James escapes his owner when he hears he is to be… Continue Reading “James – Percival Everett”

Category: Adventure, Booker Prize, Cultural, Family drama, Historical Fiction, Humour, Literary fiction, Metafiction, National Book Awards, Philosophical, Political, Psychological, Pulitzer Prize, Satire, US fictionTags: ,

Audition – Pip Adam

Posted on April 25, 2024 by

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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”

Category: Absurdist, Allegory, Dystopian, Environmental fiction, Kiwi lit, Literary fiction, Metafiction, NZ Book Awards, Political, Psychological, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Surreal, Unreliable NarratorTags: , ,

Summertime – J M Coetzee

Posted on October 12, 2009 by

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READ FOR BOOKERTHON A fictionalised memoir detailing the life of John Coetzee written from the point of view of the biographer. Told from the perspective of five people who have known him including a married woman with whom he had an affair, his cousin… Continue Reading “Summertime – J M Coetzee”

Category: Australian author, Booker Prize, Experimental fiction, Literary fiction, Metafiction, Philosophical, Postmodern Literature, Psychological, Satire, South African, Unreliable NarratorTags: ,

The Children’s Book – A S Byatt

Posted on September 15, 2009 by

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READ FOR BOOKERTHON Loosely based on the life of E Nesbit, The Children’s Book follows the lives of several inter-related families from 1895 through WWI. ❚ “The Wellwood family consists of Olive, Humphrey, Olive’s sister Violet, and many children. They are Fabians, living in… Continue Reading “The Children’s Book – A S Byatt”

Category: Art, Booker Prize, Coming of Age, Domestic Fiction, Family drama, Female Experience, Feminism, Historical Fiction, Literary fiction, Metafiction, Mthyical/folklore, Political, Psychological, UK author, War storyTags: ,

Atonement – Ian McEwan

Posted on November 20, 2007 by

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READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Suzy A girl’s half-innocent mistake ruins the lives of those around her, and she spends the rest of her life attempting to atone. The mistake comes in the form of viewing her 9-year-old cousin being assaulted and making presumptions on who… Continue Reading “Atonement – Ian McEwan”

Category: Booker Prize, Family drama, Historical Fiction, Literary fiction, Metafiction, Psychological, UK author, Unreliable Narrator, War storyTags: , ,

The Accidental – Ali Smith

Posted on July 3, 2007 by

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READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Suzy Amber—thirty-something and barefoot—shows up at the door of the Norfolk cottage that the Smart family is renting for the summer. She talks her way in. She tells nothing but lies. She stays for dinner. Each family member assesses… Continue Reading “The Accidental – Ali Smith”

Category: Booker Prize, Contemporary fiction, Domestic Fiction, Family drama, Literary fiction, Metafiction, Postmodern Literature, Psychological, UK authorTags: ,

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