THE WOMEN, by Kristin Hannah Macmillan, $37.99 It’s 1965 in California and this story about Vietnam war nurse Frankie McGrath starts with Frankie’s brother, Finley, leaving for Vietnam. Her father is very proud of Finley, as all the men in the family are “war heroes”. Frankie decides that women can be heroes too, and she signs up as an army nurse and leaves for Vietnam. Through Frankie’s eyes the reader learns about the overwhelming chaos and destruction of war, the human tragedy, and the trauma experienced by the soldiers and the medical staff. Nothing is glossed over. As...
In January booksellers often breathe a sigh of relief. They may have made a few costly mistakes when they did book buying for the Christmas season, but in January they can take a break from the barrage of new book releases and evaluate the stock that will stand the test of time. One such book will be Fungi of Aotearoa, a curious forager’s field guide. The publisher had underestimated how popular fungi and foraging are in New Zealand and the book was sold out within days of its publication in May 2023. They should have known better since our $50...
The joy of historical fiction is that what passes for leisure has an unintended educational side effect. The latest historical novel I read and am very excited about is The Women, by Kristin Hannah. Unfortunately, the book about a nurse in the Vietnam War, is not published until February, and it would be cruel to get you rushing to the library or the bookshop only to find it not available yet. However, there will be plenty other books by Kristin Hannah on the shelves with The Nightingale as one of her best-known historical novels. Most of her books feature strong,...
PROPHET SONG, by Paul Lynch Oneworld Publications, $36.99 This is my last review for 2023 and I really wanted to tell you about one of the most beautiful books of 2023, The Untamed Thread, by Kiwi fibre artist Fleur Woods. This book is uplifting and inspiring and if you love fibre art – look it up, it’s glorious! However, I feel compelled to tell you about a very different book, Prophet Song by Paul Lynch. Not because it is the Booker Prize winner for 2023, but because it has been haunting me all week. It is the story of...
This week’s book had a big impact on me. It is a collection of twelve stories from ordinary people about living with mental illness. Dr Joanna Cannon, herself a psychiatrist and the editor of this book, realised that not many people have the ability to write about their mental illness. For this book, she paired twelve people who suffered a variety of mental illnesses with twelve talented authors to deliver their stories. Someone who is very unwell with mental illness usually doesn’t feel heard. ‘No one knows how I feel’ they often say. If it is written down, it...
I have only just managed to get my hands on a copy of Murray Ball, A Cartoonist’s Life, but I already feel qualified to tell you that it is a beautiful book. The front cover of this hardback features a glorious photo of Murray Ball and his dog Finn, the inspiration for Dog. And while flicking through the pages I have to stop often to look at the photos, cartoon drawings and letters that the author has included to illustrate the story of the man behind one of New Zealand’s most popular cartoons, Footrot Flats. Mason Ball, Murray’s son,...
