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nz fiction

EntertainmentJune 6

History, heritage examined

It is a rare thing for a novel so steeped in history to be simultaneously relevant to modern-day readers.
History, heritage examined
History, heritage examined
EntertainmentMay 30

Engaging tribute to multiculturalism

Swimming in the Dark is the engaging new offering from Dunedin author Paddy Richardson.
Engaging tribute to multiculturalism
Engaging tribute to multiculturalism
EntertainmentMay 16

Novel struggles to deliver on great idea

Auckland student Ben Atkins wrote Drowning City as a teenager, and this, according to the advertising surrounding the book, is supposed to make the reader uphold his novel as something more than it is, most noticeably good.
Novel struggles to deliver on great idea
Novel struggles to deliver on great idea
EntertainmentMay 16

Hidden crime forces town to rally round

Despite its near-contemporary setting and focus, Jenny Pattrick's latest novel, Heartland, revisits and magnifies themes familiar to readers of her historical novels: the complex relationships that run beneath the surface of small communities, the nature of family (both those that we are born into and those we choose ourselves), and the way in which the physical environment shapes individual and collective identity.
Hidden crime forces town to rally round
Hidden crime forces town to rally round
EntertainmentMay 9

Life viewed through landscape

The long-awaited novel from Shonagh Koea is a pleasure in both presentation and text.
Life viewed through landscape
Life viewed through landscape
EntertainmentFebruary 7

Imaginative recreation of convict story

New Zealand author Charlotte Randall has created an extraordinary piece of fiction based on the early-19th century true story of four convicts who escaped on a sealing ship from jail on Norfolk Island, were dropped on one of the remote subantarctic Snares Islands for a year's sealing, and left there for almost a decade.
Imaginative recreation of convict story
Imaginative recreation of convict story
EntertainmentDecember 10

Knox's survival story about beating our demons

When people wake to a living nightmare, what will they do to survive?
Knox's survival story about beating our demons
Knox's survival story about beating our demons
EntertainmentDecember 10

Saga deep in Sydney

Back in the early 1970s, Sydney was awash with dodgy politicians, corrupt cops, businessmen of dubious intent, and some plain and simple nasty blokes.
Saga deep in Sydney
Saga deep in Sydney
EntertainmentDecember 10

An artistic achievement and cracking whodunit

Eleanor Catton's second novel, The Luminaries has reached the Man-Booker short list and, despite mixed reviews, deserves the placing.
An artistic achievement and cracking whodunit
An artistic achievement and cracking whodunit
EntertainmentDecember 10

Criminality, corruption and redemption

''It felt like a pivotal moment, best friends deciding whether to take the same life direction as their fathers,'' Alan Duff observes early in Frederick's Coat when Johno and his best mate Shane decide to start stealing from vehicles.
Criminality, corruption and redemption
Criminality, corruption and redemption
EntertainmentNovember 22

Tale of musician enthralling

I meant to send this first novel back to the books editor, it seemed so obviously a ''woman's book''.
Tale of musician enthralling
Tale of musician enthralling
EntertainmentNovember 15

Beautiful high-flyer proves an elusive target

In selecting Jean Batten's story to tell, Fiona Kidman has chosen one of the most intriguing of heroines; and one whose life would appear to be full of contradictions.
Beautiful high-flyer proves an elusive target
Beautiful high-flyer proves an elusive target
EntertainmentOctober 11

Storytelling has enriching and healing properties

Elizabeth Whitman, a nurse from New Zealand who has assisted wounded soldiers in England in World War 1, returns home to Mansfield (read Christchurch), gives birth to her son, and goes back to work, awaiting news of her husband missing in action in France.
Storytelling has enriching and healing properties
Storytelling has enriching and healing properties
EntertainmentOctober 1

Well-crafted story of a seamstress

Megan Sligo (GoGo to her friends) is a seamstress taking time out from her studies and enjoying Doing, not just Thinking. In her business she sees the seedier side of rips and tears, as her clients' clothes reveal all sorts of indiscretions.
Well-crafted story of a seamstress
Well-crafted story of a seamstress
EntertainmentSeptember 20

Romance, chocolate in the mix

Auckland author and daughter of an Italian father, Nicky Pellegrino has written a few books about the love of food and cooking, especially Italian food.
Romance, chocolate in the mix
Romance, chocolate in the mix
EntertainmentSeptember 4

Rough 'justice' stuff hard work

Only the Dead paints a decidedly seedy picture of crime and the Auckland underworld, and an extremely brutal one of its law enforcement officers.
Rough 'justice' stuff hard work
Rough 'justice' stuff hard work
EntertainmentSeptember 4

Enjoyable novel true to the James Cook we know

James Cook still casts a long shadow over our lives. He has been depicted as everything from a founding father of Australasia to an insensitive agent of cultural or biological imperialism.
Enjoyable novel true to the James Cook we know
Enjoyable novel true to the James Cook we know
EntertainmentSeptember 4

Tale of hapless architect 'witty, detailed, emotional'

Rudy is 42 and his life is beginning to crumble.
Tale of hapless architect 'witty, detailed, emotional'
Tale of hapless architect 'witty, detailed, emotional'
EntertainmentSeptember 4

Fitting memorial to literary great

The late Janet Frame's works are rewarding to read because they work on so many levels. On the most ''basic'' one, she simply writes a great story. Delving deeper, there is much more.
Fitting memorial to literary great
Fitting memorial to literary great
EntertainmentSeptember 3

Black humour and shades of grey enliven novel

The United States weekly radio programme This American Life once featured a story about a man who recalled, as a boy, sending his estranged father cassette tapes on which he had recorded various life events, along with a request to reciprocate the gesture.
Black humour and shades of grey enliven novel
Black humour and shades of grey enliven novel