Articles in ‘Books’

Winner of the Franklin Writers Group short story competition: Heather McQuillan from Christchurch Ascendence We hug our knees and search for the wishing star far beyond the white puffs of our breath. Thick grain sacks protect our bums from the frosted ground and our shoulders are caped with old blankets; my brothers and I beneath chequerboards of stained pink and green, while…

Published by Penguin Books (NZ). Paperback, 304 pages. When journalist Martin van Beynen started writing Black Hands, a book about the fatal Bain family shootings in 1994, he wondered if he could finally nail who did it. The veteran reporter, who covered David Bain’s second trial in 2009 and started his journalism career in Dunedin in 1989, said starting on the book was delayed…

Published by Viking. Hardback, 768 pages. “Looking back, I sometimes ponder the age-old question of how much difference the particular characteristics of individual leaders make in the sweep of history—whether those of us who rise to power are mere conduits for the deep, relentless currents of the times or whether we’re at least partly the authors of what’s to come… “The…

Extracted from Pull No Punches: Memoir of a Political Survivor by Judith Collins. Published by Allen & Unwin NZ. RRP $36.99. In stores from 1 July. When David and I came back from Hong Kong, enthused by the energy and hard work we had seen, we did what any sensible people would do. Despite both of us working full-time and studying parttime at university, we bought a restaurant.…

A terrific read that touches more of us than we would care to admit. This coming of age story is set in the small towns of Warkworth and Pukekoke and has a warm familiar touch, as does the subject matter. This novel asks the question – ‘When you hate your body. How can you love yourself or anyone else?’ Research shows that over 40% of woman are consumed by this question but…

Reviewed by Janet Pates. This book has been described as a biography and indeed, the early pages do present the reader with a picture of the writer’s life. Gwen Francis attributes the wisdom portrayed in the book to her background in farming, teaching, sport, business and community affairs. Having trained and taught as a Home Economics teacher in her younger days, she then…

This magnificent historical novel delves into the relationship between Napoleon and his first wife Josephine, from her point of view. What emerges is quite different from the prevailing tempestuous love story we currently know. Rather than being merely the beautiful consort of the Emperor, Stephanie Parkyn has drawn us a picture of a woman with her own passions, including the…

Four books from the same publisher which are briefly outlined in the fore pages appear to take approaches commensurate with those found in Free Speech Under Attack though there is little overlap in authorship. In chapter one Jeremy Fisher describes the appalling punishments inflicted on people for speech that offended the authorities in Britain and New Zealand up to 1840, in the…

This debut novel by local author Kirsty Powell is highly recommended. The Strength of Eggshells is the story of Kate, a six-foot-tall rural girl with an uncertain heritage. It is firmly set in New Zealand, and the locations in the story (including Kingseat, Waikaretu and Clarks Beach) are instantly recognisable and vividly described. Seeking answers to her past, Kate sets off…

A South Auckland author who mixes sci-fi with satire has released his fifth book, tackling the topics of the day including corporate culture, immigration, environmental concerns and the election of Donald Trump. Keith Fenwick of Totara Park, Manurewa, said his books – following the exploits of a Northland farmer named Bruce who is abducted by aliens - are “a bit like The…

Reviewed by Josie Laird. A mystery within a family saga which stretches across a century, involving an aristocratic family in England and the escape of various family members and retainers to New Zealand. Pamela, Lady Scawton, discovers a body on her estate. Police find a half-complete letter addressed to her son, the new Lord Charles, and an unusual stone. Yet the dead man is…

Reviewed by Josie Laird. The flood stories of different indigenous people all over the world bear striking similarities. There was a flood, nearly 11,000 years ago. Only a few select people survived and then a group of ‘gods’, fair-skinned, tall and blonde or red-haired, appeared to help resurrect civilization. These myths occur in Egypt, Japan, the Andes and Easter Island, with…

Gretchen Albrecht CNZM is one of our most prominent painters. In a significant new book published by Massey University Press this month, art historian Luke Smythe surveys her career and assesses her work and practice, confirming her status as a pioneer of abstraction in this country. Smythe, who teaches art history at Monash University in Melbourne, has had a long engagement…

May is shaping up to be all about Frances Hodgkins, with a major show at the Auckland Art Gallery and two new books. Finding Frances Hodgkins, published this month by Massey University Press, is by well-known curator Mary Kisler. The book is part of The Frances Hodgkins Project — a landmark endeavour focused on the major touring exhibition Frances Hodgkins: European Journeys,…

John Scott is a legend in New Zealand architecture circles. A regional modernist who mostly practised in Hawke’s Bay, his life’s works of houses, churches and community buildings have attained near mythical status since his early death in 1992. Despite being so well regarded and so ground-breaking, his practice has never been well documented. This handsome new book is determined…

Philip Simpson is an acclaimed botanist, who lives with his wine scientist wife Wendy Parr on a rugged limestone hillside overlooking Golden Bay. The couple’s home is at the end of a gravel road, close to where Philip was born at the north end of Abel Tasman National Park – the subject of his latest book Down the Bay. Philip’s parents had a nursery and farm, and he grew up…

Annette Lees grew up in Whakatane and now lives with her family in the Waitakere River valley, close to Bethells Beach. A wild swimming enthusiast from childhood, she has just written a book that celebrates our national obsession with water – Swim: A year of swimming outdoors in New Zealand. Annette’s book chronicles her year-long odyssey to swim every day – without a wetsuit! –…

Many of us dream of living in a tiny house. Small, compact buildings that offer an appealing way to live more sustainably, providing smart, energy-efficient housing at low cost – one solution to meeting the challenge of New Zealand’s housing shortage and the financial shackles of long-term debt. People from all walks of life are now choosing to downsize; either to reduce debt or…

Ian Austin was born in the UK and enjoyed a high-octane career with the Hampshire Police, including serving as a tactical firearms officer and covert surveillance operative, before migrating to New Zealand in 2003. After a stint with the NZ Police, Austin turned his hand to writing and is now the author of three novels, including The Ideas Man (2011), with more in the works.…

Born to Indian parents, food writer and school nurse Ashia Ismail-Singer was raised in Malawi and the UK. Her grandparents moved from India to Malawi in the late 1940’s, when India and Pakistan were partitioned, and Ashia grew up in a large Indian community in Malawi. Aromatic, spicy, tangy and sweet . . . these are the words that describe Ashia Ismail-Singer’s earliest food…