Tag: Kiwi Fiction

Books which depict the New Zealand way of life, or by New Zealand authors but with an international flavour

Pretty Ugly – Kirsty Gunn

Posted on April 16, 2025 by

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READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS Thirteen darkly compelling stories look directly into the troubled human heart and draw out what dwells there. The ‘ugly’ of these stories is to do with ‘considering how much a person’s life can bear’. The unease and compassion for… Continue Reading “Pretty Ugly – Kirsty Gunn”

Category: Experimental fiction, Kiwi lit, Literary fiction, NZ Book Awards, Psychological, Short StoriesTags: , ,

The Mires – Tina Makereti

Posted on April 4, 2025 by

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READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS Three neighbouring families in a small New Zealand town become acquaintances, some get along, others are suspicious of each other. Some share an attraction, another has a strange gift for premonition and another is acting cagey and has secrets… Continue Reading “The Mires – Tina Makereti”

Category: Climate Fiction, Colonisation, Contemporary fiction, Cultural, Domestic Fiction, Environmental fiction, Female Experience, Immigrant story, Kiwi lit, Literary fiction, Magical Realism, Māori Fiction, NZ Book Awards, Political, Realist, Speculative FictionTags: , ,

At The Grand Glacier Hotel – Laurence Fearnley

Posted on March 30, 2025 by

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READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS Libby Holt is on holiday with husband Curtis but due to unforeseen circumstances she ends up staying at the majestic Grand Glacier Hotel by herself. A new friendship and a quest with hidden clues keep her entertained but her… Continue Reading “At The Grand Glacier Hotel – Laurence Fearnley”

Category: Climate Fiction, Contemporary fiction, Kiwi lit, Literary fiction, NZ Book Awards, PsychologicalTags: , ,

Amma – Saraid de Silva

Posted on March 20, 2025 by

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READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS The migrant story of three generations of women in a Sri Lankan family. Josephina, who grew up in 1950s Singapore and her daughter Sithara who move from Colombo to Invercargill, and granddaughter Annie who moves between many cities looking… Continue Reading “Amma – Saraid de Silva”

Category: Coming of Age, Cultural, Family drama, Female Experience, Historical Fiction, Immigrant story, Kiwi lit, Literary fiction, NZ Book Awards, Psychological, Queer, Women's PrizeTags: , , ,

All That We Know – Shilo Kino

Posted on February 12, 2025 by

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READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS Māreikura is analysing her identity and begins a programme of “decolonisation”.  Via her outspoken and inquisitive nature she leads us through a witty, poignant and accidental exploration of the effects of colonisation, which, the book explains, was not a… Continue Reading “All That We Know – Shilo Kino”

Category: Colonisation, Coming of Age, Contemporary fiction, Cultural, Faith & Religion, Female Experience, Historical Fiction, Kiwi lit, Literary fiction, Māori Fiction, NZ Book Awards, Political, QueerTags: ,

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: , ,

Lioness – Emily Perkins

Posted on April 20, 2024 by

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READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS Therese Thorn is a luxury homewares retailer and married to a wealthy man who is accused of corruption. Newly 50, Therese must now take control of her life and reinvent herself, with the help of her kind-of-muse and friend,… Continue Reading “Lioness – Emily Perkins”

Category: Contemporary fiction, Domestic Fiction, Family drama, Female Experience, Feminism, Humour, Kiwi lit, Literary fiction, NZ Book Awards, Philosophical, Political, Psychological, ThrillerTags: , ,

Birnam Wood – Eleanor Catton

Posted on April 15, 2024 by

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READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS A guerilla gardening group and an immigrant billionaire are both using beautiful New Zealand land illegally. Unsurprisingly they discover one another and clash but when trouble strikes there is benefit in them colluding. A political and eco thriller about… Continue Reading “Birnam Wood – Eleanor Catton”

Category: Contemporary fiction, Environmental fiction, Female Experience, Kiwi lit, Literary fiction, Mystery/Crime, NZ Book Awards, Philosophical, Political, Psychological, Satire, ThrillerTags: , ,

Pet – Catherine Chidgey

Posted on April 5, 2024 by

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READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS Pet is a psychological thriller, about 12-year-old Justine and her fascination with her glamorous new teacher Mrs Price. She, and many of her classmates, are determined to be the teacher’s pet, clambering to help or do after-school jobs and… Continue Reading “Pet – Catherine Chidgey”

Category: Coming of Age, Cultural, Faith & Religion, Female Experience, Historical Fiction, Kiwi lit, Literary fiction, Mystery/Crime, NZ Book Awards, Political, Psychological, Thriller, Unreliable NarratorTags: , ,

Backwaters – Emma Ling Sidnam

Posted on March 30, 2024 by

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READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS Backwaters addresses the consequences of feeling distant from your ethnic heritage. It starts with fourth generation New Zealander, Laura, being asked “but where are you from from?” New Zealand has been her family’s birth place and home for generations,… Continue Reading “Backwaters – Emma Ling Sidnam”

Category: Colonisation, Coming of Age, Contemporary fiction, Cultural, Family drama, Female Experience, Historical Fiction, Immigrant story, Kiwi lit, Literary fiction, Māori Fiction, NZ Book Awards, Political, Psychological, QueerTags: , ,

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