Times Like These: On grief, hope & remarkable love by Michelle Langstone. Allen & Unwin NZ (2021). RRP: $36.99. Pb, 264pp. ISBN: 9781988547527. Reviewed by S J Mannion. This book is a beautifully structured collection of 11 essays, each one utterly individual yet intimately connected to the other, each one exquisitely personal yet universal. The…
2000ft Above Worry Level by Eamonn Marra. Wellington: Victoria University Press (2020). RRP: $30. Pb, 192pp. ISBN: 9781776562978. Reviewed by S J Mannion. Eamonn Marra is a New Zealand writer and comedian from Christchurch who now lives in Wellington. Previously better known for his comedy shows, 2000ft Above Worry Level is his first book. …
Victory Park by Rachel Kerr. Wellington: Mākaro Press (2020). RRP: $35.00. Pb, 246pp. ISBN: 9780995111059. Reviewed by Rachel Smith. Victory Park is Kara’s story, a young woman living in a block of council flats from which the novel takes its title. When we meet her, Kara is moving through life as best she can, her…
Wish, I Wish by Zirk van den BergWellington: The Cuba Press (2020)RRP: $25. Pb, 178pp.ISBN:978-1-98-859528-3Reviewed by Jessie Neilson White Lily Funerals is on the main road of a typical city in an unnamed country, jammed between Supercheap Auto and Discount Wheels. For nearly a quarter century it has been the workplace of Seb, an embalmer,…
Magnolia 木蘭 by Nina Mingya PowlesWellington: Seraph Press (2020)RRP: $30; Pb; 84 ppISBN: 978-0-9951082-5-7Reviewed by Claire Lacey Magnolia 木蘭 is a sensual, evocative collection from poet Nina Mingya Powles. The poems consider the what home means to Powles, a writer of Malaysian-Chinese and Pākehā heritage who has lived in Aotearoa, Malaysia, Shanghai and London. The…
Tranquility and Ruin by Danyl McLauchlanWellington: Victoria University Press (2021)RRP: $30, Pb, 200ppISBN: 9781776564118Reviewed by Rachel Smith From the opening lines of this book of essays by Danyl McLauchlan, we are off on a journey of uncertainty. In the foreword, McLauchlan warns us this will be the case, that as much as the essays are…
Nouns, verbs, etc. (selected poems) by Fiona FarrellDunedin: Otago University Press, (2020)RRP: $35, Hb, 212ppISBN: 978-1-98-859253-4Reviewed by Mary Cresswell Nouns, verbs, etc. is an attractively presented hardback featuring Farrell’s 2020 selection of her own poems, both published and unpublished. The published ones come from four earlier collections: Cutting Out (1987), The Inhabited Initial (1999), The…
National Anthem by Mohamed HassanAuckland: Dead Bird Books Publishers (2020)RRP: $35, Pb, 68ppISBN: 978-0-473-54143-9Reviewed by Piet Nieuwland This is Mohamed Hassan’s second book of poetry in which he reflects on some of the major events of his life with a diverse range of pointed and telling twists of perception. We get to know Mohamed very…
The Sets by Victor BillotDunedin: Otago University Press (2021)RRP: $27.50, Pb, 119ppISBN: 9781988592602Reviewed by Vaughan Rapatahana Victor Billot loves words. Lots of words. Not the common garden-type spinach and cauliflower words, but the variegated esoteric, arcane, and abstruse variety, often all at once. Take for example, these lines from ‘Capricorn and Bunker’: Distant breakers crest…