Blog Archives
Pity about the people
An excerpt from Too Many Cooks, a novel by Renée. Belle Vista was beautifully located on top of a hill looking out over Wellington Harbour. There were three pine trees artfully placed around the hill so the view wasn”t too…
Vanished world, Dale Williams
Buller’s Birds of New Zealand: The Complete Work of J G Keulemans Geoff Norman Te Papa Press, $150.00, ISBN 9781877385889 Kids in a sweet shop. Nineteenth-century naturalists given a brand new country to play in gobbled up the apparent endless…
Tagged with: Dale Williams, Geoff Norman, Issue 102, J G Keulemans, Te Papa Press, Winter 2013
Posted in History, Natural History, Non-fiction, Review
Posted in History, Natural History, Non-fiction, Review
No eureka moment, Mark Derby
The Making of New Zealanders Ron Palenski Auckland University Press, $45.00, ISBN 9781869407261 In these febrile times a passing mention of New Zealand in US media can provoke a front-page response from our own. So it’s instructive to discover that…
Tagged with: Auckland University Press, Issue 102, Mark Derby, Ron Palenski, Winter 2013
Posted in History, Non-fiction, Review
Posted in History, Non-fiction, Review
Unicorn in the cabbage patch, Desmond Bovey
Aesop’s Kiwi Fables: Paintings Ray Ching David Bateman, $50.00, ISBN 9781869538453 I spotted Ray Ching’s new book, Aesop’s Kiwi Fables, in our local post office-cum-bookstore. I stopped buying picture books some time ago; they have become so glossily tempting that…
Tagged with: David Bateman, Desmond Bovey, Issue 102, Ray Ching, Winter 2013
Posted in Art, Non-fiction, Review
Posted in Art, Non-fiction, Review
Eye-witness, Francis McWhannell
William Colenso: His Life and Journeys by A G Bagnall and G C Petersen Ian St George (ed) Otago University Press, $65.00, ISBN 9781877578151 When it was first published in 1948, A G Bagnall’s and G C Petersen’s William Colenso:…
Tagged with: A G Bagnall, Francis McWhannell, G C Petersen, Ian St George, Issue 102, Otago University Press, William Colenso, Winter 2013
Posted in Biography, History, Non-fiction, Review
Posted in Biography, History, Non-fiction, Review
Unbuttoning, Nadine France
Magnificent Moon Ashleigh Young Victoria University Press, $28.00, ISBN 9780864737632 This Hill, All It’s about is Lifting it to a Higher Level Vaughan Gunson Steele Roberts, $20.00, ISBN: 9781877577840 Three Days in a Wishing Well Kerrin P Sharpe Victoria University…
Tagged with: Ashleigh Young, Issue 102, Kerrin P Sharpe, Nadine France, Steele Roberts, Vaughan Gunson, Victoria University Press, Winter 2013
Posted in Literature, Poetry, Review
Posted in Literature, Poetry, Review
Cloaks and generic proper nouns, David Hill
A Necklace of Souls R L Stedman HarperCollins, $25.00, ISBN 9781775540069 Ghosts of Parihaka David Hair HarperCollins, $25.00, ISBN 9781869509233 Cattra’s Legacy Anna MacKenzie Longacre, $20.00, ISBN 9781775533184 Phantom of Terawhiti Des Hunt HarperCollins, $20.00, ISBN 9781869509545 Whenever I’m taking…
Tagged with: Anna Mackenzie, David Hair, David Hill, Des Hunt, HarperCollins, Issue 102, Longacre, R L Stedman, Winter 2013
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review, Young adults
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review, Young adults
Transformation, Simon Upton
Home in the Howling Wilderness Peter Holland Auckland University Press, $50.00, ISBN 9781869407391 This book is about what can be learned of the environmental and ecological understanding of pioneer farmers in the southern half of the South Island over the…
Tagged with: Auckland University Press, Issue 102, Peter Holland, Simon Upton, Winter 2013
Posted in History, Natural History, Non-fiction, Review
Posted in History, Natural History, Non-fiction, Review
Literary dreams, Elspeth Sandys
In the Memorial Room Janet Frame Text, $35.00, ISBN 9781922147134 It will come as no surprise to readers of Janet Frame’s work that this hitherto unpublished novel is, before anything else, an examination of language, and the slippery, unreliable character…
Tagged with: Elspeth Sandys, Issue 102, Janet Frame, Text, Winter 2013
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review