Rugby League in New Zealand: A People’s History by Ryan Bodman. Bridget Williams Books (2023). RRP: $59.99. PB, 364pp. ISBN: 9781991033444. Reviewed by Robert McLean. I remain more convinced than not that an interesting book can be written about almost anything at all; which is to say, such books may throw an unexpected light on…
HIWA: Contemporary Māori Short Stories edited by Paula Morris. AUP (2023). RRP: $45. PB, 271pp. ISBN: 978 86940 9951. Reviewed by Vaughan Rapatahana. He aha te tikanga o tēnei kupu, Hiwa? I roto i tāna Tīmatanga Kōrero, ko te tohutoro a Paula Morris ‘Hiwa-i-te-rangi, te iwa me te whetū whakamutunga o te kāhui Matariki,’ me…
A garden is a long time by Annemarie Hope-Cross and Jenny Bornholdt. THWUP (2023). Published in association with Rim Books. RRP: $50.00. HB 151pp. ISBN: 9781776920839. Reviewed by Michelle Elvy. I find myself going back to this book time and again. In fact, it invites us to go beyond notions of time—to sit with objects,…
Bird Life by Anna Smaill. THWUP (2023). RRP: $38.00. PB, 296pp. ISBN: 9781776921249. Reviewed by S. J. Hook. No one wants to begin a literary review quoting 90s self-help guru Steven Covey, author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Especially since our two main protagonists, Dinah and Yasuko, may not be who Covey had…
a liminal gathering: Elixir & Star Grief Almanac 2023, edited by Iona Winter. Elixir & Star Press (2023). RRP: $32.99. PB, 188pp. ISBN: 9780473689179. Reviewed by Hester Ullyart. It is the day of a dear friend’s father’s funeral. I open the new collection resting on my desk. The epigraph reads: ‘Love knows not its own…
Tsunami with Mushrooms: Poems & Stories by Te Awhina Rangimarie Arahanga. Steele Roberts (2023). RRP: $25.00. PB, 174pp. ISBN: 9781738589272. Reviewed by Moata McNamara. Te Awhina Rangimarie Arahanga, of Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Ati Haunui a Paparangi, and Ngāti Hauiti ki Rata descent, has a rich and varied background as writer, curator and heritage and historical advisor.…
You Are My Sunshine and Other Stories by Octavia Cade. Stelliform Press (2023). RRP: $31.00. PB, 208pp. ISBN: 9781778092640. Reviewed by Alexander Pyles. The slow-moving horror of extinction and knowledge of what humanity could have done differently pervades Octavia Cade’s debut collection, You Are My Sunshine and Other Stories. The inherent grief embedded in some…
The departure was as awkward as how it started. Moving a flaccid mattress between Wellington flats. One hundred and eleven steps down, fifty-seven up. Then fifty-seven down and one hundred and eleven up, back to the van to get more stuff: your Penguin book collection, Vice magazines, SodaStream, coffee machine, rare and dear-to-you vinyl (Aztec…
Kārerarerapale like fresh growthof māhoe across Zealandia’svalley in spring, or atasty Granny Smithto be cooked up in a pudding Kākārikia beautiful rich green, like (obvs)the native parrot that Mumbred out at the farmwith red or yellow crownsand cheeky little chatters Kārikiuridark green like a Christmas treewith spiky upturned branchesthat give ‘the finger’or my old school…
I don’t see cats chatting with their mates, lamenting their work performance,dissecting their every yowl and mew,wishing they’d said it differently,if they should have stayed late, wonderinghow the other cats might judge them. I don’t see dogs lying awake at nightturning that conversation over and overin their minds, worrying over it like they woulda bone. They…