You Are My Darling Zita Glenn Busch, Godwit, Auckland, 1991, $44.95 Glenn Busch has created an extraordinary book. Through the stories of six ‘ordinary people’ he has crafted a revealing and deeply moving account of the process of ageing. Hours…
Pakeha: The Quest For Identity in New Zealand Michael King (ed), Penguin Books, Auckland, 1991, $24.95 I came to this book already blooded from a remarkably bad-tempered review by Maurice Shadbolt, in which he variously described the contributors as numb…
Minding Children: Managing Men: Conflict and Compromise in the Lives of Postwar Pakeha Women Helen May, Bridget Williams Books, Wellington, 1992, $34.95 Did Pakeha women after the Second World War happily retreat into their home – tying on their aprons,…
From The Word Go Murray Edmond, Auckland University Press, 1992, $16.95 Small Stories of Devotion Dinah Hawken, Victoria University Press, Wellington, 1991, $19.95 Murray Edmond’s fifth collection is an uneven performance. This poet’s strength lies in his powers of observation…
The Great New Zealand Songbook Les Cleveland, Godwit, Auckland, 1991, $29.95 Les Cleveland’s friendly and informal approach illuminates this collection of 60 New Zealand songs from early ballads to goldrush classics and Ruru Karaitiana’s ‘Blue Smoke’. An excellent introduction is…
In the First Place David Howard, Hazard Press, Christchurch, 1992, $19.95 Slow Passes Alan Brunton, Auckland University Press, 1991, $24.95 Karitane Postcards Rob Allan, Hazard Press, Christchurch, 1992, $19.95 Return to the Earth Graham Lindsay, Hazard Press, Christchurch, 1992, $19.95…