fiction – Page 3

Barricades, Bewilderment, Bravado and Bravery

June 1, 2018 Leave a Comment

Carolyn McCurdie

Instant Messages by Laura Solomon (Proverse Hong Kong, 2010), 168 pp., $24; Taking Wainui by Laura Solomon (Woven Words Publishers OPC Pvt. Ltd., 2017), 138 pp., $15; Brain Graft by Laura Solomon (Proverse Hong Kong, 2017), 55 pp., np.

Laura Solomon’s fiction, poetry and non-fiction have been published widely, both in New Zealand and internationally, and have gained prizes in international competitions as well as shortlist placings both overseas and at home. Her range is impressive. Each of these three books displays her characteristic energy and inventiveness. Beyond that, I found them very different. [Read more…]

‘What if we want to forget?’

May 1, 2018 Leave a Comment

Kiran Dass

Sodden Downstream by Brannavan Gnanalingam (Lawrence & Gibson, 2018), 180 pp., $28.99

Brannavan Gnanalingam’s fifth novel Sodden Downstream is an immensely affecting and at times quietly upsetting read. Set over a roughly twenty-hours period in Lower Hutt, it takes place as former tropical cyclone Evelyn hits Wellington and the Kapiti Coast, causing the region to shut down as public transport comes to a grinding halt. [Read more…]

Stone Dust and Cherry Stains

May 1, 2018 Leave a Comment

Craig Cliff

Beneath Pale Water by Thalia Henry (Cloud Ink Press, 2017), 244 pp., $29.95

On the back cover of Thalia Henry’s debut novel Beneath Pale Water, Owen Marshall offers the following endorsement: ‘Powerfully evokes the landscapes and seasons of inland Otago.’ To the cynic, those nine words might read like a nice person struggling for something – anything – nice to say:

Strong plot? Um …

Memorable characters? Hmm …

But the landscape!

To the cynic I say: Hold your tongue! [Read more…]

With Whom Should We Quarrel If We Disagree?

May 1, 2018 2 Comments

Kate Duignan

The Necessary Angel by C.K. Stead (Allen and Unwin, 2017), 204 pp., $36

The Necessary Angel tells, on the face of it, a story about woman problems. Max Jackson, New Zealand-born professor of literature at the Sorbonne in Paris, ricochets between three women: his semi-estranged wife Louse; Helen, a student with a crush on him; and Sylvie, his colleague. Max sleeps with two of the three over the course of the book (spoiler: not the wife). We’re also privy to Sylvie’s relationship with a painfully humourless German. [Read more…]

Serious in Intent, Playful in Manner

April 1, 2018 Leave a Comment

Simone Oettli-van Delden

Sleeps Standing Moetū by Witi Ihimaera with Hēmi Kelly (Vintage, 2017), 221 pp., $35

This book defies simple definition. Its inputs are multiple. Primarily it is a book about the Battle of Ōrākau, the final and decisive onslaught of the Waikato land wars, in which 300 Māori men, women and children are estimated to have fought with outstanding bravery against 1700 or more British Imperial troops. The Māori warriors withstood constant bombardment by artillery for three days, from 31 March to 2 April 1864. Witi Ihimaera adds a contemporary touch by having the narrator Papa Rua and his sister, Hūhana, recount the tale to their nephew, a young Māori named Simon who lives in Australia and is keen to hear stories about his ancestors. Simon is particularly interested in Moetū, a nineteenth-century sixteen-year-old boy from the Rongowhakaata Iwi in Tūranga (Gisborne), because he and his pregnant wife want to name their unborn son after him. [Read more…]