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,...
Mason Ball is coming to Tekapo to share his recently completed biography of his father, the acclaimed cartoonist Murray Ball, renowned as the creator of Footrot Flats. His biography reveals all the hits and misses and long years of hard graft that went into what would become a wildly successful creative enterprise: Footrot Flats. From his unique viewpoint and with congenial honesty, he reveals the real-life backstory to Murray Ball's most iconic characters and themes, paying homage to the man - and father - who could see the quirks of human nature in his surroundings and capture them with...
The Life of Frank Erceg – New Zealand Deer Hunter, Mountaineer, Photographer Bateman Books, $49.99 The book for review today is far removed from my usual repertoire of fiction and self-help books. Finding Frank, is the beautiful hardback biography of Frank Erceg a highly respected hunter, first as deer culler for the New Zealand Forest Service and later as a commercial meat hunter. Tragically, Frank was killed in New Zealand’s first helicopter hunting accident, already a legend at the young age of thirty. The striking picture on the cover is a photo of Frank taken in 1961 in...
Ruth Shaw is coming to Tekapo for the evening to celebrate the release of her latest book, Bookshop Dogs. 📚🐕 Dogs of all shapes and sizes visit Ruth Shaw's three tiny bookshops in Manapōuri in the far south of Aotearoa New Zealand. Local dogs, holiday house dogs, travelling dogs: many have great stories, be they funny, sad, strange, bemusing, quirky or sweet. Join us as she shares her generous love of people, books and dogs. It's a must-read for dog fans, book fans and anyone who loved her first book, The Bookseller at the End of the World....
