Blog Archives
Reading as mudlarking
The Chimes Anna Smaill Sceptre ISBN 9781444794533 The Chimes, debut novel of poet and violinist Anna Smaill, portrays a post-apocalyptic but disorientingly medieval dystopia dominated by music. The novel opens with Simon, a boy on his own, as he embarks…
Tagged with: Anna Smaill, Issue 111, Sceptre, Spring 2015, Thom Conroy
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Obituary — Campbell Smith
The world a stage Gregory O’Brien recalls the life and work of artist and writer Campbell Smith (1925-2015) The last time I saw Campbell Smith was in June a year ago. Friends from around the country had gathered at Hamilton’s…
History, myth and jollity, Linda Burgess
Roly the Anzac Donkey Glyn Harper (Jenny Cooper illus) Puffin, $20.00, ISBN 9780143506638 The Song of Kauri Melinda Szymanik (Dominique Ford illus) Scholastic, $27.00, ISBN 9781775432289 I Am Not a Worm Scott Tulloch Scholastic, $19.00, ISBN 9781775432517 Zoo Train Sally…
Tagged with: Daron Parton, Dominique Ford, Issue 111, Linda Burgess, Melinda Szymanik, Sally Sutton, Scholastic, Scott Tulloch, Spring 2015, Walker Books
Posted in Children, Literature, Review
Posted in Children, Literature, Review
Raymond Chandler meets Alfred Bester, Michael Morrissey
Hold My Teeth While I Teach You to Dance Mike Johnson 99% Press, $30.00, ISBN 9780994101518 Mike Johnson is one of our most gifted novelists, yet he has been curiously neglected. I suspect the problem is his bold originality. Each…
Tagged with: 99% Press, Issue 111, Michael Morrissey, Mike Johnson, Spring 2015
Posted in Fiction, Literature
Posted in Fiction, Literature
Byzantine complexity, Geoffrey Palmer
Democracy in New Zealand Raymond Miller Auckland University Press, $45.00, ISBN 9781869408350 Democracy in New Zealand is a competent work by an experienced and well-published Professor of Politics at the University of Auckland. Clearly designed as a student text for…
Tagged with: Auckland University Press, Geoffrey Palmer, Issue 111, Raymond Miller, Spring 2015
Posted in Non-fiction, Politics & Law, Review
Posted in Non-fiction, Politics & Law, Review
Looking for home, David Cohen
Barefoot Years Martin Edmond Bridget Williams Books, $15.00, ISBN 9781927277676 On Coming Home Paula Morris Bridget Williams Books, $15.00, ISBN 9780908321117 Somewhere in the course of his perceptive career, in what one assumes was a more or less idle moment,…
Tagged with: Bridget Williams Books, David Cohen, Issue 111, Martin Edmond, Paula Morris, Spring 2015
Posted in Essays, Non-fiction, Review
Posted in Essays, Non-fiction, Review
Rejecting meat, Alison McKee
The Compassionate Contrarians: A History of Vegetarians in Aotearoa New Zealand Catherine Amey Rebel Press, $20.00, IBSN 9780473274405 New Zealanders are prolific buyers of cookery books; however, an interest in the social history of eating and cooking has emerged in…
Tagged with: Alison McKee, Catherine Amey, Issue 111, Rebel Press, Spring 2015
Posted in History, Non-fiction, Review
Posted in History, Non-fiction, Review
Grasping for something to say, Tom McLean
Charles Brasch: Selected Poems Alan Roddick (ed) Otago University Press, $35.00, ISBN 9781877578052 Let us begin with the face. It isn’t what you expect. On the back cover of this trim little book, a woolly-haired young man looks sideways, away…
Tagged with: Alan Roddick, Issue 111, Otago University Press, Spring 2015, Tom McLean
Posted in Literature, Poetry, Review
Posted in Literature, Poetry, Review