Bel likes to read widely around the shelves, but her particular interest lies in literary fiction and non-fiction. Always keen to read and champion writers from Aotearoa and Australia, she keeps a close eye on local publishing as well as international, including a peppering of fiction in translation here and there. She loves reading about messy families, artistic ambition, complex friendships and connection to nature. Favourite authors change weekly, but if pressed, she’d include Kate de Goldi, Elizabeth Strout, Zadie Smith, Eleanor Catton, Helen Garner, Deborah Levy, Robert Macfarlane and Rebecca Solnit.
Not only does it have important questions to ask about history, about art, about land, and the blundering colonial project generally – it’s also a gripping story bursting with a vivid array of characters, vibrant scenery and a good peppering of humour.
It gave me so much to think about as a parent, as a woman, as a potential jury member. Nothing is black and white.
The writing is so immediate and Agnes is an unforgettable character. Puts Shakespeare in a totally different light.
This novel is a window into the life of a tertiary-educated, multi-cultural, queer twenty-something in urban New Zealand.
Tom Kettle is a highly unreliable but utterly loveable narrator, who I desperately wish I could hug and keep safe.
Else’s descriptions of the writing process are particularly fascinating – not to mention the juicy titbits about NZ publishing!
Lucy and William have a gorgeously complex relationship as they continue to delight, infuriate, console and disappoint each other.
Porter’s unique style is perfect for this story. His experimental, rhythmic prose is unbridled, vulgar and wild.
Lucy Barton is one of my favourite characters of all time. From the first page she chats to you like an old friend…
This nuanced and empathetic portrait of a hoarder and her family is made up of complicated, yet beautiful relationships…
A fabulously funny book about sad things. I laughed out loud, despite the heart-wrenching moments – the dialogue just sparkles.
Hassan is one of our most exciting writers. He both has something to say, and the ability to say it beautifully.
Quick, gripping, full of intense feeling. A celebration of art, friendship and the natural world. Completely unique.
I was fascinated by the richly imagined days of these extraordinary women, and their astonishing interior worlds.
A fantastic book to restore your faith in humanity! Conversational and fast-paced with a novelistic style – this is very engaging nonfiction.
This dark little novel is charged with incredible energy, sensuous prose and an erotic sort of madness that held me captive.
A rare combination of pacy, gripping narrative and poetic prose. A brilliant celebration of the power of art to elevate humanity.
I loved this cleverly linked short story collection! It’s a biting critique of the absurdities of work life…
Set in a haunted bookshop, it paints a complex, zany picture of America through the deeply flawed but loveable character of Tookie.
Au grants us the intelligence to draw our own conclusions and fill in the blanks, which is so rare and enticing.
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