The Free-Range Bookclub
Bookclubbers without boundaries in Nelson, New Zealand
Category: NZ Book Awards
2020 NZ Book Awards
Internationality, borders and sentimentality over the comforts of home have been under the microscope lately with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. When disaster strikes it’s in one’s nature to analyse what home really means, what it comprises and the emotions it stirs up….
Auē – Becky Manawatu
READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS Auē is about the struggles to escape a life of violence ✚ “A young man called Tauriki decides to undertake a quest to locate his birth mother. Responsible for his orphaned half brother Ārama, he entrusts the boy’s care to an…
A Mistake – Carl Shuker
READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS A surgeon is investigated after the death of a patient. ✚ “I have to preface this by saying it’s been at least six months since I read A Mistake. I bought it after reading numerous positive reviews. I remember the…
2019 NZ Book Awards
The past few years have been an interesting time globally as opinions around nationalism and free-speech have become hot topics. Yet, is it new? Or is history simply repeating itself in a more raw, no-holds-barred medium? Perhaps we can look back on history and…
The New Ships – Kate Duignan
READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS Peter Collie reassesses past events in the wake of his wife’s death only to discover new secrets. ⚑ “Family matters are at the fore of Peter Collie’s life. Upon his wife’s death Peter learns of secrets kept about his…
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…
The Cage – Lloyd Jones
READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS A profound and unsettling novel about humanity and dignity and the ease with which we’re able to justify brutality. ⚑ “It’s like Lloyd Jones got in my head and seeing my worst fears was then inspired to write the…
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…
2018 NZ Book Awards
Social commentary is a traditional feature of literature, but with Millennials coming of age, outspoken hypothesising on the state of the world looks to become a staple of modern story telling. This year’s Ockham’s shortlist highlights this. A solipsistic tale of youth and immediacy, an immigrant’s…
Salt Picnic – Patrick Evans
READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS Mimicking Janet Frame’s travels, a young woman arrives on the island of Ibiza in 1956 and falls into a relationship with an American photographer. ➽ “Patrick Evans is an accomplished writer and obviously has a lot of intelligent thoughts swirling around…
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