The Bright Side of my Condition Charlotte Randall Penguin, $30.00, ISBN 9780143570660 Charlotte Randall’s many strengths don’t, in general, extend to the provision of compelling plots. Tellingly, in an interview, she states, “I don’t really believe in ‘stories’ ”, and has…
Hokitika Town Charlotte Randall Penguin Books, $24.95, ISBN 9780143565390 The Hut Builder Laurence Fearnley Penguin Books, $40.00, ISBN 9780143205067 When I started Charlotte Randall’s Hokitika Town, I found it hard to get my head around the idiosyncratic patois…
The Crocus Hour Charlotte Randall Penguin Books, $28.00, ISBN 9780143008927 Whatever criticism you make of Charlotte Randall’s novels, you cannot say that she has no sense of place. In The Crocus Hour, as in her four earlier novels, she ventures…
What Happen Then, Mr Bones? Charlotte Randall Penguin, $28.00, ISBN 0143019171 With her three previous novels, Dead Sea Fruit, The Curative and Within the Kiss, Charlotte Randall has developed a voice clearly identifiable in New Zealand literature. In What Happen…
Within the Kiss Charlotte Randall Penguin, $27.95, ISBN 0141006382 When I was young and stupid, I used to believe that reading a novel meant that you had to try to understand what the author wanted to say. If the writing…
The Curative Charlotte Randall Penguin, $24.95, ISBN 0140297537 This is an amazing and amazingly good novel. The second novel is supposed to be the hardest but any reader coming to this one “blind” would judge it to be the work…