The Free-Range Bookclub
Bookclubbers without boundaries in Nelson, New Zealand
Tag: must-read-books
2023 Women’s Prize
This is our first year at reading the Women’s Prize shortlist in its entirety and blogging about it, and it’s fair to say we are mightily impressed. As a collective these represent story telling at their best: engaging plot, strong characters, and a clear… Continue Reading “2023 Women’s Prize”
Demon Copperhead – Barbara Kingsolver
READ FOR WOMEN’S PRIZE Demon Copperhead is a book about institutional poverty and is a modern retelling of Dickens’ David Copperfield. Set in the Appalachias it tells the story of a young boy caught up in the system, for whom life is a mountain… Continue Reading “Demon Copperhead – Barbara Kingsolver”
Black Butterflies – Priscilla Morris
READ FOR WOMEN’S PRIZE A true account of life for citizens during the Seige of Sarajevo told via the main character Zora, a 55 year old artist and teacher. When tensions flare she sends her family to safety never thinking things will become what… Continue Reading “Black Butterflies – Priscilla Morris”
Fire Rush – Jacqueline Crooks
READ FOR WOMEN’S PRIZE Yamaye is a young Jamaican woman living in 1980s London. She dances at an underground dub reggae club and suffers daily from her lack of familial ties. Like her friends she does her best to avoid the harassment of Babylon… Continue Reading “Fire Rush – Jacqueline Crooks”
Convenience Store Woman – Sayaka Murata
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Suzy Keiko is a young Japanese convenience store woman who enjoys the repetitive nature of her job, often referring to the store manual to act and respond to requests appropriately. Her simplistic life is ridiculed by friends and family for… Continue Reading “Convenience Store Woman – Sayaka Murata”
Trespasses – Louise Kennedy
READ FOR WOMEN’S PRIZE Cushla is a 24-year-old Irish school teacher by day and custodian of the family pub with her brother in the evenings. It is in the pub she meets an older married man and they begin an affair. Set amongst The… Continue Reading “Trespasses – Louise Kennedy”
The Marriage Portrait – Maggie O’Farrell
READ FOR WOMEN’S PRIZE ● The Marriage Portrait begins as such: In 1560, fifteen-year-old Lucrezia di Cosimo de Medici left Florence to begin her married life with Alfonso II d’Este, Duke of Ferrara. Less than a year later, she would be dead. The official cause… Continue Reading “The Marriage Portrait – Maggie O’Farrell”
Pod – Laline Paull
READ FOR WOMEN’S PRIZE Ea is a spinner dolphin who is deaf and cannot spin properly. When catastrophe befalls her family, Ea feels partly to blame and decides to leave the pod, meeting a vast array of other sea life. Climate fiction with talking animals and… Continue Reading “Pod – Laline Paull”
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”
The Swimmers – Julia Otsuka
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Rachel The Swimmers is about Alice, a Japanese American woman in the early stages of dementia. She swims daily but when a crack appears in the pool (ie in her memory) she has to stop swimming and move to a… Continue Reading “The Swimmers – Julia Otsuka”
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