The Free-Range Bookclub
Bookclubbers without boundaries in Nelson, New Zealand
Tag: Kiwi lit
2023 – NZ Book Awards
What is the job of fiction? To entertain? To educate? To document? To insert the reader into an unexpected place or mindset so they can see the world through another lens? The authors on this year’s shortlist took their roles to the next level,… Continue Reading “2023 – NZ Book Awards”
Mrs Jewell and the Wreck of the General Grant – Cristina Sanders
READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS In 1866 a ship bound for London from Melbourne crashed into the Auckland Islands and sunk, taking with it many lives and an undetermined amount of gold, direct from the goldfields of Australia. There were only 15 survivors. These… Continue Reading “Mrs Jewell and the Wreck of the General Grant – Cristina Sanders”
Kāwai: For Such A Time As This – Monty Soutar
READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS ● In the opening pages a 19-year-old man walks onto his family Marae and asks the local koroua about his whanau’s history. The man’s answer is provided over the following 300-odd pages. He tells of Kaitanga, born 1734 into… Continue Reading “Kāwai: For Such A Time As This – Monty Soutar”
Better The Blood – Michael Bennett
READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS ● At first I was surprised to hear a crime story had secured a place on the shortlist over literary greats like Lloyd Jones and Vincent O’Sullivan. But who’s to say genre fiction doesn’t deserve a place on literary… Continue Reading “Better The Blood – Michael Bennett”
The Axeman’s Carnival – Catherine Chidgey
READ FOR BOOKCLUB & NZ BOOK AWARDS Chosen by Suzy From New Zealand author Catherine Chidgey is a story quite unlike her former novels. Instead of wartime Germany, this time the setting is rural New Zealand and the protagonist is a magpie called Tama,… Continue Reading “The Axeman’s Carnival – Catherine Chidgey”
Potiki – Patricia Grace
Chosen by Suzy Potiki tells the story of land developers who have their eye on coastal Māori land for commercial development with no understanding of the community’s needs or of their strong connection to the land. The multi-narrator tale details the growing concerns of… Continue Reading “Potiki – Patricia Grace”
The Halfmen of O – Maurice Gee
READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Suzy ❝ Okay, so The Halfmen of O wasn’t quite the distinguished novel that our bookclub was originally going to read, but upon learning about the grim content of In My Father’s Den it was time to switch to another Maurice Gee classic… Continue Reading “The Halfmen of O – Maurice Gee”
2022 NZ Book Awards
Identity comes through as a strong building block for all the fiction shortlisters this year. Misunderstanding of identity, attempts to place ones self in the realms of “normality”, studies of those with identity issues. Not only is this topical but important for writers to… Continue Reading “2022 NZ Book Awards”
Kurangaituku – Whiti Hereaka
READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS A contemporary retelling of traditional Māori folklore. ❝ Kurangaituku is the story of Hatupatu told from the perspective of Kurangaituku, the bird woman. The traditional story is told from the view of Hatupatu. He is out hunting and is captured by the bird… Continue Reading “Kurangaituku – Whiti Hereaka”
Entanglement – Bryan Walpert
READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS A time traveller attempts to return to the right point of his past to correct a mistake ❝Time and perspective are indeed entangled in this novel. Paul’s actions and recollections are scattered throughout the book, reported in three different… Continue Reading “Entanglement – Bryan Walpert”
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