Bookclubbers without boundaries in Nelson, New Zealand
READ FOR BOOKERTHON A middle-aged Englishman suffers memories of childhood abandonment as he embarks on a walking holiday Futh is an Englishman leaving his wife. He stands on the deck of a Ferry about to embark on a walking holiday around Germany. One of… Continue Reading “The Lighthouse – Alison Moore”
READ FOR BOOKERTHON A former Japanese prisoner of war becomes an apprentice gardener and tries to make sense of her life © Supreme Court judge Teoh Yun Ling retires from her role prosecuting war criminals in Kuala Lumpur and returns to the Malaysian hilltops… Continue Reading “The Garden of Evening Mists – Tan Twan Eng”
READ FOR BOOKERTHON A story set over three decades about a Bombay opium den and the diverse cast of characters who frequent it. © “The main character in Narcopolis is Rashid who owns an opium house in Bombay. We meet him first in the 1970s, entertaining a variety… Continue Reading “Nacropolis – Jeet Thayil”
READ FOR BOOKERTHON Apparently, the plot of Umbrella revolves around psychiatrist Zack Busner who works in Friern mental hospital. One of his patients, Audrey Death, has been catatonic for 50 years. The doctor recognises that she and several other long-term patients may be suffering… Continue Reading “Umbrella – Will Self”
READ FOR BOOKERTHON Poet Joe Jacobs’s family vacation is interrupted by a fanatical reader who wades, naked, out of their swimming pool © Joe Jacobs is a Polish poet living in Britain, holidaying with his family and another couple in the South of France.… Continue Reading “Swimming Home – Deborah Levy”
Theme: Ways To Be A Successful Woman Poetry studied: Slyvia Plath: Disquieting Muses Arrival of the B Box Lady Lazarus Adrienne Rich: Orion Diving Into The Wreck The Mirror Into Which Two Are Seen As One Orion by Adrienne Rich: Far back when I… Continue Reading “Selected Poetry II”
READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Rachel The Tropic of Cancer was published in 1934 and was widely banned for its explicit sexual content, including for a 27 year period in the US. Its protagonist is a struggling writer living in Paris and is named… Continue Reading “Tropic of Cancer – Henry Miller”
READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Suzy A fictionalised account set amongst the atrocities that occurred in Parihaka, Taranaki during the 1870s The Parihaka Woman tells the story of Taranaki iwi who fought back against settlers and the confiscation of their lands with a programme of… Continue Reading “The Parihaka Woman – Witi Ihimaera”
Theme: Favourite NZ poems Poems studied: Rain – Hone Tuwhare No Ordinary Sun – Hone Tuwhare Jerusalem Sonnet 1 – James K Baxter In A Minute – Anna Jackson Fantastic insight into these poems by Sophia. Everyone gravitated towards towards Rain, for some a… Continue Reading “Selected Poetry I”
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