Blog Archives
Leading by the nose, Elizabeth Crayford
Scented Laurence Fearnley Penguin, $38.00 ISBN 9780143773283 If technology and price allowed, Scented would have made a fantastic “scratch and sniff” novel. As it is, the pitfalls of first-person narration make this a challenging read, and I finished the book…
Tagged with: Elizabeth Crayford, Issue 128, Penguin, Summer 2019
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Opening the fifth dimension, Lydia Wevers
Science Fiction: A Review Of Speculative Fiction: Special Double Issue Featuring Phillip Mann (Vol 19, Nos 1-2) Van Ikin (ed) $AUD30.00 ISSN 03146677 A special double issue of a well-regarded journal, plus full-page authorial cover photo, is a handsome tribute…
“The frequent flyer friar” John McCrystal
Nailing Down The Saint Craig Cliff Penguin Random House, $38.00, ISBN 9780143773740 Those familiar with Craig Cliff’s work will know that he is fond of a kooky premise – a starting-off point that allows him to tread the blurred line…
Tagged with: Craig Cliff, Issue 128, John McCrystal, Penguin Random House, Summer 2019
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Absolutely fabulous, Thom Conroy
The Absolute Book Elizabeth Knox Victoria University Press, $35.00, ISBN 9781776562305 The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox is a Ronsardian ode to worldbuilding. Who creates worlds? What connects them? Who controls them? These questions shape the novel’s plot, subject and…
Tagged with: Elizabeth Knox, Issue 128, Summer 2019, Thom Conroy, Victoria University Press
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
The life and the work, Martin Edmond
In Fifteen Minutes You Can Say A Lot: Selected Fiction Greville Texidor, (Kendrick Smithyman ed) Victoria University Press, $30.00, ISBN 9781776562268 All The Juicy Pastures: Greville Texidor And New Zealand Margot Schwass Victoria University Press, $40.00, ISBN 9781776562251 In April…
Tagged with: Greville Texidor, Issue 128, Kendrick Smithyman, Margot Schwass, Martin Edmond, Summer 2019, Victoria University Press
Posted in Biography, Fiction, Literature, Non-fiction, Review
Posted in Biography, Fiction, Literature, Non-fiction, Review
“The play’s the thing”, Sarah Ross
Ngaio Marsh’s Hamlet: The 1943 Production Script Polly Hoskins (ed) Canterbury University Press, $30.00, ISBN 9781988503134 In August 1943, as New Zealand troops in Europe began the Italian campaign, the Canterbury University College Drama Society (CUCDS) performed Hamlet to sell-out…
Tagged with: Canterbury University Press, Issue 128, Ngaio Marsh, Polly Hoskins, Sarah Ross, Summer 2019
Posted in History, Non-fiction, Plays, Review
Posted in History, Non-fiction, Plays, Review
In the hybrid zones, Airini Beautrais
How To Live Helen Rickerby Auckland University Press, $25.00, ISBN 9781869409050 Ransack essa may ranapiri Victoria University Press, $25.00, ISBN 9781776562374 Conventional Weapons Tracey Slaughter Victoria University Press, $25.00, ISBN 9781776562206 In a literary sense, genre is problematic. While it’s…
Tagged with: Airini Beautrais, Auckland University Press, essa may ranapiri, Helen Rickerby, Issue 128, Summer 2019, Victoria University Press
Posted in Literature, Poetry, Review
Posted in Literature, Poetry, Review
“Unlicked selves”, Hugh Roberts
Collected Poems Fleur Adcock Victoria University Press, $50.00, ISBN 9781776562091 “Fleur Adcock is a New Zealand poet, editor and translator who resides in Britain” – so says, blandly, the inside back flap of the dust-jacket of Victoria University Press’s imposing…
Tagged with: Fleur Adcock, Hugh Roberts, Issue 128, Summer 2019, Victoria University Press
Posted in Literature, Poetry, Review
Posted in Literature, Poetry, Review
Express lane, John Horrocks
Peat Lynn Jenner Otago University Press, $35.00, ISBN 9781988531694 Lynn Jenner lives on the Kāpiti Coast, not far from the new expressway between Mackays Crossing and Peka Peka. She writes in Peat that thinking about the construction of the road…
Tagged with: Issue 128, John Horrocks, Lynn Jenner, Otago University Press, Summer 2019
Posted in Literature, Non-fiction, Review
Posted in Literature, Non-fiction, Review
It’s in the detail, Trevor Agnew
The Cat From Muzzle Sally Sutton (Scott Tulloch illus) Puffin, $20.00, ISBN 9780143773085 Bess The Brave War Horse Susan Brocker (Raymond McGrath illus) Scholastic, $28.00, ISBN 9781775435563 Home Child: A Child Migrant In New Zealand Dawn McMillan (Trish Bowles illus)…
Tagged with: Alexandra Stewart, Bloomsbury, Dawn McMillan, Edmund Hillary, Issue 128, Joe Todd-Stanton, Oratia, Puffin, Raymond McGrath, Sally Sutton, Scholastic, Scott Tulloch, Summer 2019, Susan Brocker, Tenzing Norgay, Trevor Agnew, Trish Bowles
Posted in Children, Literature, Review
Posted in Children, Literature, Review