Tag: nz literature
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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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Read Maori Creation Myths in Witi Ihimaera’s Navigating the Stars
Mānawatia a Matariki! Happy Matariki to all! Stories are a significant part of life. Myths are a kind of story, one that tells the story of the origins and beginnings of a world, of the first people, and the beliefs that shape who we are. Witi Ihimaera’s Navigating the Stars is a collection of Māori…
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Lauren Keenan’s The Space Between – A Gripping Historical Fiction Debut
The Space Between by Lauren Keenan took me by surprise given the subject matter, historical events, and the two perspectives at the heart of this novel. I wasn’t sure what to expect upon picking up the novel, but I am so happy I did because The Space Between blew my mind and has piqued my…
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Another Witi Ihimaera Classic with Pounamu Pounamu
His first official publication, Pounamu Pounamu by Witi Ihimaera is a colelction of short stories that serves as both the first glimpse of works to come and the established foundations of Witi’s work. Pounamu Pounamu marks the pledge of a young boy, who from a young age vowed to write stories about Māori that schoolchildren…
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Michelle Rahurahu’s Tragicomedy Poorhara Will Leave You Stunned
Poorhara by Michelle Rahurahu, winner of the Modern Letters Fiction Prize and the Hubert Church Prize for Fiction in the Mātātuhi Foundation Best First Book Awards at the Ockhams 2025, is a powerhouse of writing ingenuity and prowess. It is gut-wrenching, tear-jerking, and laughter-inducing, all wrapped up in one unforgettable tale. A tragicomedy set in…
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Potiki – Another Stunning Patricia Grace Novel
Cousins was not enough for me (and it will not be enough for you readers who want more beautiful Maori literary fiction), so I have picked up Potiki by New Zealand literary powerhouse Patricia Grace. Not only is she one of New Zealand’s most iconic writers, but her family dramas and literary fiction where family…
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Maori Crime Fiction Returns in Michael Bennett’s Return to Blood
Return to Blood by Michael Bennett proves that Better the Blood was no fluke, and it may have set the Hana Westerman thriller series as a favourite of mine among crime thrillers, not only as a New Zealand read, but on an international scale. There is something so engrossing and sharp in these stories that…
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