Category: Political
READ FOR BOOKERTHON The End of Everything is a speculative novel set in a future where an unexplained crisis has transformed the world, and strange new life forms coexist with humans. Phillip Tennent makes his living collecting artefacts washed ashore from the English Channel,… Continue Reading “The End of Everything – M John Harrison”
Category: Absurdist, Adventure, Booker Prize, Dystopian, Existentialist, Experimental fiction, Faith & Religion, Humour, Literary fiction, Philosophical, Political, Postmodern Literature, Psychological, Satire, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Surreal, UK authorTags: Booker Prize, Free Range Bookclub 2026
READ FOR BOOKERTHON Black Bag follows an unemployed actor who accepts a bizarre job participating in a psychology experiment where he spends a term attending university lectures zipped inside a large black leather bag. Inspired by a real experiment from 1967, this absurdist campus… Continue Reading “Black Bag – Luke Kennard”
Category: Absurdist, Art, Booker Prize, Contemporary fiction, Existentialist, Experimental fiction, Humour, Literary fiction, Philosophical, Political, Psychological, Satire, Surreal, UK authorTags: Booker Prize, Free Range Bookclub 2026
READ FOR BOOKERTHON Artie Dam is a 57-year-old history teacher whose seemingly comfortable life is plagued by a troubled mind and an emerging family secret. Written in Strout’s understated, character-driven style, the novel explores marriage, parenthood, loneliness and the things people leave unspoken, against… Continue Reading “The Things We Never Say – Elizabeth Strout”
Category: Contemporary fiction, Domestic Fiction, Family drama, Female Experience, Literary fiction, Philosophical, Political, Psychological, Realist, US fictionTags: Booker Prize, Free Range Bookclub 2026
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Bridget In Maine, 1789 real life midwife Martha Ballard delivered babies and kept daily notes of her work, community and surroundings. As an advocate for women she spoke up on behalf of a local woman at a rape trial. In… Continue Reading “The Frozen River – Ariel Lawhon”
Category: Cultural, Family drama, Female Experience, Feminism, Historical Fiction, Mystery/Crime, Political, Psychological, Realist, Thriller, US fictionTags: Free Range Bookclub 2026
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Rachel Set in Soviet-occupied Latvia between 1969 and 1989, Soviet Milk is the story of an unnamed mother and daughter struggling under Soviet rule. The mother, a gifted doctor unwilling to compromise with the regime, falls foul of the state… Continue Reading “Soviet Milk – Nora Ikstena”
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Jodie Published in 1952 and set against the rise of fascism and the Second World War in Italy, All Our Yesterdays explores how history unfolds through ordinary lives rather than extraordinary events. Natalia Ginzburg examines family, love, duty and the… Continue Reading “All Our Yesterdays – Natalia Ginzburg”
Category: Classic literature, Family drama, Female Experience, Feminism, Historical Fiction, Italian fiction, Literary fiction, Political, Realist, Translated, War storyTags: Free Range Bookclub 2026
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Tessa Set in 1985 Auckland, this novel follows an 11 year old boy named Obi who is on the cusp of teenagehood but has a maturity shaped by poverty, dysfunctional family dynamics, (dis)organised crime and violence. His dad’s delusional, his… Continue Reading “1985 – Dominic Hoey”
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: Free Range Bookclub 2026, Kiwi Fiction, Ockham NZ Book Awards
READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS All Her Lives is a collection of nine linked stories about women throughout the ages who have battled, persevered and instigated change, and whom are finding their place in society. Did homecoming have to be this, too? Being outside,… Continue Reading “All Her Lives – Ingrid Horrocks”
Category: Climate Fiction, Cultural, Environmental fiction, Female Experience, Feminism, Historical Fiction, Kiwi lit, Literary fiction, NZ Book Awards, Political, Queer, Short StoriesTags: Free Range Bookclub 2026, Kiwi Fiction, Ockham NZ Book Awards
READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS Set in the 1940s Taranaki, The Last Living Cannibal is narrated by an old man, Koko, from both the present and afterlife. It examines muru or the restoration of balance within an iwi or community, and is put to… Continue Reading “The Last Living Cannibal – Airana Ngarewa”
Category: Colonisation, Cultural, Family drama, Historical Fiction, Kiwi lit, Literary fiction, Māori Fiction, NZ Book Awards, Political, War storyTags: Free Range Bookclub 2026, Kiwi Fiction
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