Blog Archives
Issue 128 | Summer 2019
Volume 29 | Number 4 | Issue 128 | Summer 2019 Letters C K Stead: “91 Woodstock Road” (poem) Thom Conroy: Elizabeth Knox, The Absolute Book Elizabeth Crayford: Laurence Fearnley, Scented John McCrystal: Craig Cliff, Nailing Down The Saint Lydia…
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
Words and deeds, Helen Watson White
The Political Years Marilyn Waring Bridget Williams Books, $40.00, ISBN 9781988545936 The cover of Marilyn Waring’s book The Political Years shows a telling photograph of the 1979 National Party caucus in the Beehive: row upon row of suited men, with…
Tagged with: Bridget Williams Books, Helen Watson White, Issue 128, Marilyn Waring, Summer 2019
Posted in Autobiography, Non-fiction, Review
Posted in Autobiography, Non-fiction, 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
Controversial still, John O’Leary
A Communist In The Family Elspeth Sandys Otago University Press, $40.00, ISBN 9781988531601 Families are complicated things. Members don’t necessarily agree with one another, or even like one another; relationships can be strained, or snapped, then re-made across the years.…
Tagged with: Elspeth Sandys, Issue 128, John O’Leary, Otago University Press, Summer 2019
Posted in Memoir, Non-fiction, Review
Posted in Memoir, Non-fiction, Review
“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
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…
Letters – Issue 128
Costello errors Despite its brevity, Ken Ross’s article on Dan Davin’s memoir of Paddy Costello (NZRB Spring 2019) contains a quite remarkable number of factual errors. By my count, there are 18 – there may be others beyond my ken,…
Best of all possible worlds? Stephen Levine
Promises Promises: 80 Years Of Wooing New Zealand Voters Claire Robinson Massey University Press, $60.00, ISBN 9780995109544 When Jacinda Ardern stated in 2017 that, if elected, Labour would move to “abolish child poverty”, this resonated as an ambitious goal, enlightened,…
Tagged with: Claire Robinson, Issue 128, Massey University Press, Stephen Levine, Summer 2019
Posted in History, Non-fiction, Politics & Law, Review
Posted in History, Non-fiction, Politics & Law, Review
Bullies behind the screen, Jane Westaway
Whale Oil Margie Thomson Potton and Burton, $40.00, ISBN 9780947503819 The authors of certain books published in this country deserve medals. Not literary prizes, although they might merit these, too. But I mean authors who devote themselves to uncovering connections…
Tagged with: Issue 128, Jane Westaway, Margie Thomson, Potton and Burton, Summer 2019
Posted in Media, Non-fiction, Review, Sociology
Posted in Media, Non-fiction, Review, Sociology