Tag: Literature

Slaughterhouse Five – Kurt Vonnegut

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Rachel Kurt Vonnegut writes of his own experiences as a World War II prisoner in Slaughterhouse Five, in particular the bombing of Dresden. On February 13, 1945, only months before the end of World War II, the Allies undertook… Continue Reading “Slaughterhouse Five – Kurt Vonnegut”

Rangatira – Paula Morris

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Suzy The fictionalised true story of Paratene Te Manu’s journey to London in 1863 to meet with English royalty and gentry © “Ngati Wai chief Paratene Te Manu is tupuna of Paula Morris (Ngati Wai). He was a warrior who… Continue Reading “Rangatira – Paula Morris”

2012 – Critical Review

Any entity with five years’ history should be open to review: analysis and self review to continue with realised successes, and a thick-skinned willingness to shoulder the opinions and expectations of others. For example, when we ask ourselves what are we doing right, we realise… Continue Reading “2012 – Critical Review”

2011 – End of Year Thoughts

The end of the year already! This year we chose to lunch at The Grape Escape in Appleby and discuss the who, whys and whats of the year. We agreed it’s been a tumultuous year with the Christchurch earthquake and the Japanese tsunami and… Continue Reading “2011 – End of Year Thoughts”

Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Jo Lolita is the story of a European scholar named Humbert Humbert who confesses to being obsessed with ‘nymphets’, ie young girls. He travels around America with his new wife and her pre-teen daughter Lolita and slowly becomes more and… Continue Reading “Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov”

The Pregnant Widow – Martin Amis

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Rachel The setting for The Pregnant Widow is a pastoral Italian castle in a hot dry summer. Here, beautiful young people are draped around the pool, smoking cigarettes, drinking wine, discussing literature, sex and freedoms. It is 1970, the start of… Continue Reading “The Pregnant Widow – Martin Amis”

2011 – Bookerthon

A year in the life of a Booker judge must be such a challenge. What is the best book of the year? Is it one that represents the past 12 months on a global scale? Is it one that tackles serious topics, or one… Continue Reading “2011 – Bookerthon”

Pigeon English – Stephan Kelman

READ FOR BOOKERTHON Ghana migrant Harrison Opoku unbalances the hierarchical balance in his community when he speaks out about the murder of school mate. ✔ “Harri Opoku is 11 years old when he moves from Ghana to a London housing estate with his mother and sister.… Continue Reading “Pigeon English – Stephan Kelman”

The Sisters Brothers – Patrick de Witt

READ FOR BOOKERTHON Set in the American west coast in 1851, this book is a Western parody ✔ “Eli and Charlie Sisters are brothers and assassins living on the West Coast of America in 1851 during the Nevada Mountain gold rush. They are hired… Continue Reading “The Sisters Brothers – Patrick de Witt”

The Sense Of An Ending – Julian Barnes

READ FOR BOOKERTHON An English retiree challenges his fading memory with the arrival of a lawyer’s letter ✔ The unreliability of memories are often fictional fodder. Feeding out snippets of truths and half truths and making the reader work out who is reliable and… Continue Reading “The Sense Of An Ending – Julian Barnes”