Tag: NZ author
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My Waitangi Day Read is Airana Ngawera’s The Last Living Cannibal
As soon as I heard Airana Ngawera was releasing another novel, I knew I had to get my hands on it. After several busy months of PhD work and an unfortunate bout of reader burnout, which resulted in me returning my library copy of The Last Living Cannibal unread, I managed to get my hands…
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adult book recs, adult fiction, adult historical fiction, airana ngawera, annafromuni, annafromuni 2026, book recommendations, book review, Historical Fiction, historical fiction book recommendations, kiwi fiction, kiwi novels, kiwi stories, kiwi voices, maori author, maori fiction, maori lit, maori literature, maori stories, maori voices, ngati patea, NZ author, NZ book recs, NZ Fiction, nz historical fiction, nz history, nz literature, nz reading, NZ stories, patea boys, te reo books, the last living cannibal -
Classic Kiwi Brilliance in Janet Frame’s A State of Siege
I have read some of Janet Frame’s autobiographical work in An Angel at my Table, and I knew I wanted to find some fiction pieces to read in the coming months. Imagine my surprise when I found A State of Siege recommended by one of my trusted bookstagram accounts (I believe she is UK-based, so…
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A Touching Exploration of Identity in Jeffrey Buchanan’s The Birds Began to Sing
Jeffrey Buchanan’s Gifkins Award-winning novel, The Birds Began to Sing, is precious, tender, and sombre. Exploring many queer themes like homosexuality, transexuality, internalised homophobia, identity, and living in a world where homosexuality is a crime, this novel is full of many heartfelt moments, revelations, and complexities that make it not only a standout novel, but…
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Classic Crime Fiction in Ngaio Marsh’s A Man Lay Dead
A pillar of Golden Age Crime Fiction, Dame Ngaio Marsh is one of New Zealand’s most prolific authors, and her Roderick Alleyn crime fiction series is extensive and widely popular. So, after taking so long to finally pick up one of her books, I grabbed A Man Lay Dead to dig into this crime fiction…
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Janet Frame’s An Angel at my Table is A Phenomenal Autobiography
I have been meaning to read works by Janet Frame for a long time now, so what better way to get a feel for her narative voice, style, and literary influences than her stunning second autobiography An Angel at my Table. This short novel bursts at the seams with vivid emotion and imagery, and carry…
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Michael Bennet’s Carved in Blood is An Addictive 5 Star Read
The Hana Westerman Thriller series continues to deliver and Carved in Blood may just be my favourite! Following the stellar beginnings in Better the Blood and the tense action of Return to Blood, Carved in Blood goes for the jugular and presents a compelling, addictive, engrossing read that you will not be able to let…
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New Zealand Fiction Excellency in Keri Hulme’s Iconic The Bone People
What a rollercoaster this novel is! Keri Hulme’s exceptional and iconic classic kiwi novel The Bone People, winner of the Booker Prize in 1985, is a masterful literary fiction novel which blends language, narrative structure, and style to deliver a compelling, emotional, and gut-wrenching story you will not forget. In a tower on the New…
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Kirsty Gunn’s Pretty Ugly – A Short Story Collection Full of Human Emotion
Would it be fair if I only reviewed one short story collection this month? Pretty Ugly by Kirsty Gunn is a darkly-fascinating, ominously-enticing read, and I felt myself being drawn into the writing with no desire to pull back. Pretty Ugly by Kirsty Gunn is the inaugural title in a new series of short story…
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Monty Soutar Returns with Kawai: Tree of Nourishment
Back with another stunning and shocking novel, Kāwai: Tree of Nourishment by Dr. Monty Soutar continues the story of the powerful lineage of his line, providing a captivating tale of a period of Aotearoa New Zealand’s history that is full of action, conflict, and change. If you enjoyed Kāwai: For such a Time as This,…
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The Mires by Tina Makereti – Intense and Charming
The Mires by Tina Makereti, shortlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the Ockhams 2025, will immerse you in a tale of indigenous folklore, suspense, domestic drama, and the threat of extremism on ordinary lives. It is a magical page-turner from start to finish, and it won’t take you more than a…
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