THE GROOVE BOOK REPORT

One our most treasured writers, Keri Hulme, has died. She was 74. Whanau Family confirmed Hulme died yesterday morning at Waimate. They did not specify a cause. In her earlier days, Hulme worked as a tobacco picker, was law student and a charity worker before becoming one  our more unusual literary stars when "The Bone People" (1984), her first novel, won one of fiction’s greatest prizes, the Man Booker prize. Originally, the novel was rejected by publishers before being picked up by a small obscure publisher feminist collective called Spiral. The book has been described as “a unique example of Māori magical writing".  Back then New Zealand publishers were outwardly racist or narrow minded. They refused to see any potential.  We were just starting to discover ourselves.  But like music and art, there was a cultural cringe to get over. Publishers were scared of failure because in their eyes, there was no international or commercial possibilities. Their ove...

 

Australian Ned Kelly Award nominated author Simon Rowell returns with his second novel, a slow burner that promises to ramp up the thrills but sadly never really does.  His first novel 'The Echo of Others', about a vigilante stalking duck hunters showed real promise but unfortunately this time he's fallen into the lay of cliches and tropes that promise much and deliver little that's new or compelling.  His last book involved a no nonsense detective, Rachael Shlank, who had to deal with a violent colleague in order to solve an ongoing series of crimes. After completing the first, you'd think Rowell would further develp Rachael, show more of her chracter.   Instead, he ditches her completely and comes back with a carbon copy called Detective Sergeant Zoe Meyer. Meyer is a Melbourne cop who's returning to duty following a traumatic and mostly unexplained incident. On day one she attends a horrific murder at a beachside home, the stabbing of a local surfer.  The o...

  The Alexander Library is one of Aotearoa's greatest treasure houses, holding thousands and thousands of books, paintings, maps digital objects and ephemera in it's collection.  It's the oldest part of our National Library.   "There was once a young man who had a net and spent his life fishing.  He preserved his catch carefully and, just before he died, presented his collection to his King - the catch of a lifetime to nourish a country forever. - p8, Te Kupenga Alexander Hosborough Turnbull (Alex H to his friends) was born in Wellington in 1868.  His parents were Scottish, arriving in Aotearoa back in 1857.  He was one of seven children, two who died in a drowning.  His father, Walter, was a successful merchant, which set up young Alexander well to pursue his passions - sailing and reading (books, especially).  He was an obsessive bibliophile, collecting everything and anything with a connection to New Zealand or the Pacific. ...

Wow.  Whata a year it's been!  Finally we move to a freer system and we can get out of our bubbles, head to the beach or bach for a bit of R&R.  That in mind, we have a few recommendations for your Santa list.   Here's a few suggestions: Tom Remiger's 'Soldiers'; 'The Nazis Knew My Name' (Magda Hellinger and Maya Lee); Stacey Abrams' 'While Justice Sleeps'; and 'The Killing Kind' (Jane Casey). Soldiers - Tom Remiger (Text, $38) First up is Tom Remiger’s brilliant novel Soldiers - a story of men in conflict both in war, within themselves and with those that love them.  The story centres on a company from the New Zealand Division preparing for their Mediterranean deployment and the terrible battles that are about to happen in Greece and Crete during WWII.  During training a routine exercise goes badly.  There is confusion about whether live rounds or blanks were used. Corporal Daniel Cousins is killed.  He is quickly buried.  Th...

Guaranteed to send you down a 'white' rabbit hole, Steve Braunias' new book is a dedication to the music that we once treasured and fashion trends we revered.  He makes it ok again to pull these out from the back of the cupboard, shake off the dust and drop the needle again.  Sure, no one else will understand.  But who really cares.  This is the real history, here!  Isn't it?  It's long been held that music is one of the primary keys to understanding culture and history.  A song or a recording can be a snapshot of our individual or collective thinking at a particular point in time.   Writing on great album and records is not new. Most music critics and experts feel a compulsion to create some commentary on what they consider the best releases.  to Rolling Stone puts out a top 500 every 20 years or so.  So does Billboard magazine.  Everyone has a go. Even author/play-write Tom Stoppard managed to put out a personal playlist - wh...