Category: NZ Book Awards

Victory Park – Rachel Kerr

READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS Kara is a young widow, living in the Victory Park council flats with her young son Jayden. She makes a living by minding other people’s tamariki in her home but struggles to get by financially and emotionally. Her new… Continue Reading “Victory Park – Rachel Kerr”

The Swimmers – Chloe Lane

READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS Twenty six year old Erin is at the bach visiting her mum who has motor neurone disease, only to be informed her mother wishes to take her death into her own hands. Erin has walked away from a job… Continue Reading “The Swimmers – Chloe Lane”

Toto Amongst The Murderers – Sally J Morgan

READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS ● In the 1970s, at age 21, Sally J Morgan was hitchhiking in Yorkshire and was offered a lift by Fred and Rosemary West. This close call inspired her novel Toto Amongst The Murderers, in which the protagonist, Toto, is… Continue Reading “Toto Amongst The Murderers – Sally J Morgan”

Driving To Treblinka – Diana Wichtel

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Sonya Driving To Treblinka is a memoir by New Zealand journalist Diana Wichtel. In it she seeks to redeem the past, a past in which she did not truly know her father Ben, nor his sufferings trying to evade… Continue Reading “Driving To Treblinka – Diana Wichtel”

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.… Continue Reading “2020 NZ Book Awards”

Auē – Becky Manawatu

READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS Auē is about the struggles to escape a life of violence, told through the experiences of brothers Taukiri, 17 and Arama, 8. Tauriki decides to undertake a quest to locate his birth mother. Responsible for Ārama, he entrusts the… Continue Reading “Auē – Becky Manawatu”

Halibut On The Moon – David Vann

READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS A suicidal man visits his family in California before deciding his fate. ✚ “My previous experience of David Vann was of the book Goat Mountain, which both freaked me out and captivated me. I wanted to recommend it to… Continue Reading “Halibut On The Moon – David Vann”

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… Continue Reading “A Mistake – Carl Shuker”

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… Continue Reading “2019 NZ Book Awards”

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… Continue Reading “The New Ships – Kate Duignan”