Blog Archives

Refugees and New Zealand compassion, Verica Rupar

Refuge New Zealand: A Nation‘s Response to Refugees and Asylum Seekers Ann Beaglehole Otago University Press, $45.00, ISBN 9781877578502 Andris, Where are You? From Latvia to New Zealand: The Family Story of Andris Apse Ron Crosby Craig Potton Publishing, $40.00,

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Posted in Biography, History, Non-fiction, Politics & Law, Sociology

The best kept secret, Stuart Baker

From Earth’s End: The Best of New Zealand Comics Adrian Kinnaird Random House, $60.00, ISBN 9781869799953 I’ve read comics since I was very young. I travelled into history with Asterix and to the moon with Tintin. But it wasn’t until

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Posted in Art, Graphic novel, Non-fiction, Review

The centre cannot hold, Tim Upperton

Poet Tim Upperton argues against order as a crucial element in successful poetry. Imagine some chickens in a yard. Each morning their owner appears, banging the side of a tin bucket full of grain, and the chickens crowd around to

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Posted in Comment

The dark and dank, Eleanor Toland

The Demolition of the Century  Duncan Sarkies Penguin Books, $30.00, ISBN 9780143568902 The Mannequin Makers Craig Cliff Random House, $38.00, ISBN 9781775533849 The Wind City Summer Wigmore Steam Press, $30.00, ISBN 9780992257804 Traditionally, the gothic is a northern genre. The

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Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review

The human condition in extremis, Anna Rogers

Wake Elizabeth Knox Victoria University Press, $35.00, ISBN 9780864737700 “We have experiences that push us out of the flow of time. We react as if the worst hasn’t already happened. We are creatures who learn, and something we learn is

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Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review

The life of Brian, Paul Morris

Destiny: The Life and Times of a Self-Made Apostle  Peter Lineham Penguin Books, $38.00, ISBN 9780143568919 A Rising Tide: Evangelical Christianity in New Zealand 1930-65   Stuart Lange Otago University Press, $40.00, ISBN 9781877578557 Recently, the International Association of Religion

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Posted in History, Non-fiction, Religion, Review, Sociology

Theatre for life Lisa Warrington

Rebellious Mirrors: Community-based Theatre in Aotearoa/New Zealand Paul Maunder Canterbury University Press, $45.00, ISBN 9781927145456 Twenty New Zealand Playwrights Michelanne Forster and Vivienne Plumb Playmarket, $40.00, ISBN 9780908607471 Though differing in approach, tone and content, there are strong connections between

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Posted in History, Non-fiction, Plays, Sociology

Perseverance and poetry, Barry Gustafson

Reform: A Memoir Geoffrey Palmer Victoria University Press, $80.00, ISBN 9780864739056 Sir Geoffrey Palmer had a distinguished career as a law professor in both New Zealand and the United States and as deputy prime minister and then prime minister in

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Posted in Memoir, Non-fiction, Politics & Law, Review

Philanthropy and fighter aces, Edmund Bohan

Frontiers: A Colonial Dynasty Simon Best Steele Roberts, $55.00, ISBN 9781927242216 This book traces the lives and times of four generations of the remarkable family founded by that rugged Yorkshireman, William Barnard Rhodes (1807-78): master mariner, whaling captain, trader, land

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Posted in Biography, Non-fiction, Review

Picking winners, Mark Stocker

Peter McLeavey: The Life and Times of a New Zealand Art Dealer Jill Trevelyan Te Papa Press, $65.00, ISBN 9780987668844 Landscape Paintings of New Zealand: A Journey from North to South Christopher Johnstone Godwit, $75.00, ISBN 9781775530114 Promoting Prosperity: The

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Posted in Art, History, Memoir, Non-fiction, Review
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