The NZSA Central Districts Short Story Competition

Newsflash to all writers, writing groups, schools: it's time to sharpen your pencils, dust off your keyboards!  The NZ Society of Authors Central Districts Short Story Competition is back, open to all writers in the central North Island: Tolaga Bay to Taranaki, Manawatu to Masterton, Napier to New Plymouth.

The competition runs from 1 August to 1 October, $5 entry fee, unlimited entries. Proudly sponsored by Independent Booksellers, Beattie and Forbes, Napier, there's a prize pool of over $1000. And it has both YA and Open sections, judged by David Hill and Elizabeth Smither, respectively.

See  Entry Form at our website:
www.hastingslibrary.co.nz/nzsa-central-districts-short-story-competition-2012

The Book of Madness and Cures by Regina O’Melveny

The Book of Madness and Cures by Regina O’Melveny is a sumptuous looking book, its cover attractively decorated in gold-leaf curlicues and rich brocades. This story of a Renaissance woman’s search for her missing father across Europe and into Scotland, and eventually North Africa is equally sumptuous, full of rich description and inventive digressions.

Gabriella is in her late thirties, living with her jaded mother in Venice when she receives a letter from her father. He tells her that he will never return to Venice and not to come looking for him. As a doctor he has already been gone twenty years, collecting material for his book – a catalogue of diseases and their cures.

Using his previous correspondence as a guide, Gabriella visits the towns and fellow professionals he has described, and she slowly realises that her father is searching for a cure for his own malady. Gabriella is also a doctor, dangerous for women in Renaissance times, as she runs the risk of persecution for witchcraft. After a suggestion from attractive Scottish academic, Hamish Urquart, she decides to write her own book of maladies as she continues with her search.

A kind of road movie in novel form, The Book of Madness and Cures contains a lively cast of characters, some history and romance, plus loads of curious illnesses and cures, with a particular slant towards the theory of the four humours, a form of medicine dating back to ancient times.

Connecting it all together is Gabriella, an active and determined heroine, who is intelligent enough to be interesting, but reckless enough to get herself and her cohorts into some sticky situations. While it may seem a bit slow to get into, O’Melveney’s debut novel repays the reader’s perseverance with elegant writing, a moving story and a glorious glimpse into the Renaissance...  Posted by Paige Turner

Read reviews on LibraryThing and see if you agree!

Visit Regina O'Melveny website - author's note and her interesting reasons for writing this story. 

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The Book of Madness and Cures by Regina O’Melveny

Second Chances by Charity Norman

I was concerned this second novel by Napier based English woman author Charity Norman wouldn’t live up to her first brilliant one “Freeing Grace”. I needn’t have been.

She deals with gritty realities like: losing your business, alcoholism, P addiction and the world associated with it, and emigration and all that involves in a fast moving story that on the surface looks like it’s dealing with a tragic fall of a young sleepwalking twin. She has insight into the world of twins coming from a family with two sets. She has also skilfully woven Maori myth and place names (fictional) into this book set in Hawke’s Bay and here recent immigrant eyes give us fresh insight into some of our Kiwi traits and ways.

Other reviewers have likened her to Joanna Trollope. I haven’t read enough of Trollope to judge but I am definitely looking forward to her next book....Posted by CP

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Second Chances by Charity Norman, 2012 

The Hungry Heart: Journeys with William Colenso by Peter Wells

Despite being born and raised in Hawke’s Bay, I knew nothing about William Colenso, apart from the fact he had a high school named after him.  Apparently, this is quite common, so Napier resident, Peter Wells, thought to rectify this by writing an account of Colenso’s very full and rather tumultuous life.  

Wells is a skilled writer of various genre including novels, short stories and screen.   After three years of careful research, the historical detail presented is contextually rich and carefully notated, with good use of first hand sources.  But the real magic of this book is that it reads like an atmospheric novel with the depth of psychological insight and unfolding revelation of character, all vividly and lovingly portrayed.  Colenso the young idealistic printer and missionary morphs in and out, overlaid by a sensuous passionate man, adventurous, yet fastidious, always outspoken and opinionated, even at great personal risk.  This complex man was driven to write, record and reflect on everything from the mundane to the critical. His extensive writings include his first-hand account of the signing of the Treaty, the fight for land, the formation of the colony, and an intimate knowledge of Maori custom.  A fluent Te Reo speaker, Colenso worked tirelessly for the missionary cause before being ejected on moralistic grounds, losing wife and children in the process. He then transformed himself into politician and botanist.  

Despite always playing a part in colonial society, Wells locates Colenso as an outsider who was never fully accepted.  He conjures up a deeply layered hero/antihero, I was never quite sure, but I kept having to dip back in to follow him, Illiad-like, from one adventure to the next. 

Colenso was regarded as an eccentric in his own day.  He had an uncanny sense of seeing the dramatic events of the period as if looking back through the lens of the future, urging his fellow contemporaries to widen their perspective and strain against the narrow boundaries of their self-interest and social prejudices.  Similarly, this book creates such a ripple effect in the reader, urging you to feel the significance of times past, present and future, all intimately connected and deeply personal. 

The Hungry Heart contains a challenging juxtaposition of past and present combining photographs, portraits, and original texts to weave an evocative and rewarding tale of a life lived to the full.

Recommended...Posted by Spot

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The Hungry Heart: Journeys with William Collenso by Peter Wells

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman

I recall a TV miniseries made in the early 1980s about the Roman Empire’s siege of Masada in 73AD, so when I read a review of Hoffman’s The Dovekeepers, my interest was piqued. The TV miniseries featured a number of well-known actors and centred very much on the two main protagonists, Eleazar Ben Ya’ir, leader of the Jewish Zealots at Masada, a seemingly-impregnable fortress overlooking the Dead Sea; and Flavius Silva, the Roman general sent to crush the rebellion. The siege ended with the Roman Army entering the fortress, only to discover that the nine hundred living there had taken their own lives, rather than submit to torture and slavery under Roman rule. Two women and five children survived.

The only account from the time of the siege and fall of Masada was recorded by a Roman historian.

In contrast to the noble machismo of the TV series, the Dovekeepers is a fictionalised account of the siege from the perspective of four women, Yael, Revka, Aziza and Shirah, whose lives intersect as they work in the dovecotes. An accomplished writer, Hoffman uses vivid imagery, offering fresh insight into the religious tradition and social order of the time, against the background of impending tragedy. The story is alive with the contrast between the seen and the unseen; the power of silence and magic, a theme common in Hoffman’s writing. It is a fascinating, masterful story, thoroughly recommended.  Reviewed by Flappy Jandals

Author's website: http://alicehoffman.com

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The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman, 2011

Snake Ropes by Jess Richards

New!
 "On an island off the edge of the map, boys are disappearing. The day the tall men come from the mainland to trade, Mary's little brother goes missing. She needs to find him. She needs to know a secret that no-one else can tell her.

Jess Richards' stunning debut will show you crows who become statues and sisters who get tangled in each other's hair, keys that talk and ghosts who demand to be buried.

In the tradition of Angela Carter and Margaret Atwood, she combines a page-turning narrative and a startingly original voice with the creation and subversion of myths."  From the Publisher 

Author's website: http://jessrichards.com/index.html


Reviews

Sarah Moss, The Guardian:  "A lost child's toy speaks, keys have memories, embroidered birds take wing... Richards handles her ambitions with aplomb." Read the full review at www.guardian.co.uk

On the Amazon Vine

"Snake Ropes is a stand alone book for me; I've not been so affected by an author ever before; it's an experience I won't soon forget."

"Snake Ropes is one of the most extraordinary books I've read in the last few years, depicting a world which will not be confined to some typed pages but which will suck you in, deposit you on a bleak and distant island and refuse to let you leave."

LibraryThing 

"Myths and legends and fantasy - oh my! Jess Richards has created a totally unique tale with Snake Ropes. Her writing captivated me from the very beginning and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough, while at the same time I didn't want her story to end. I was totally hooked by the world within this book and cannot recommend it highly enough. Just like the Snake Ropes of the title this tale twists around and around, forming a pattern of events that will hook you in and not let go. To think that this is a debut novel! I can't wait for what Jess Richards has in store for her readers next."

What do you think?  Add a comment or email us at webpc@hdc.govt.nz & we will add the comment for you. 

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Snake Ropes by Jess Richards, 2012

Essential New Zealand Short Stories

This is a fantastic collection of top class New Zealand short stories selected by Owen Marshall. Writers range from Katherine Mansfield, Frank Sargeson, and Janet Frame to Patricia Grace, Maurice Gee and C.K Stead, up to more recent writers such as Sarah Quigley and Emily Perkins. This volume sits in the lap beautifully and the stories are like a delectable platter of literary nibbles. To be enjoyed and savoured at your leisure.   Posted by Spot

Read about the editor Owen Marshall, award winning short story writer and novelist, at the NZ Book Council's website

Owen Marshall's website - www.owenmarshall.net.nz 

Catalogue link - reserve online here:

Essential New Zealand Short Stories selected by Owen Marshall

The Ant and the Ferrari: Lifting the lid on truth, society and the universe

My curiosity is easily aroused and the title of this book really got me.  How could such a slim volume describe how both the universe and society work all in one short book?  But as the author points out, appearances are deceptive.  And you soon find out in the opening chapters that your faith in your own logic may also be misplaced.  So, hang on to your seat, you are about to go on a rollercoaster ride through the nature of reality, and your perception of it will change forever.  This is a great read for those brave enough to challenge their own assumptions and beliefs.
...Posted by Spot

Kerry Spackman's website www.kerryspackman.com/videos

Catalogue link, reserve online here:   The Ant and the Ferari: Lifting the lid on truth, society and the universe - by Kerry Spackman 2012                                                    

The Silver Swan by Benjamin Black

I don’t know why they do it, but every so often, literary, award-winning novelists decide to write popular fiction. One such author is John Banville, who won the Mann Booker for ‘The Sea’. As Benjamin Black he writes detective fiction featuring a gloomy Dublin pathologist named Quirke. I rather enjoyed ‘The Silver Swan’ for its period 1950s setting and atmospheric writing. Definitely quirky!  Reviewed by JAM

Library Thing reviews:   http://www.librarything.com/work/4104263/reviews

Author's website:   http://www.benjaminblackbooks.com 

Catalogue Link, reserve online here

The Silver Swan by Benjamin Black, 2007

Colonel Gaddafi's hat by Alex Crawford

The cover of this book suggests that, “Alex Crawford will forever be the journalist linked to the Libyan rising of 2011”. Alex arrived in Tripoli on 28 April 2011. She takes us through the precarious life of a Sky TV journalist committed to telling the story of the rebels from the battlefield.

I was very interested in this detail as my cousin Anton, photo journalist, arrived there at the same time. He was killed on the 5 April, 2011. Of course, I scoured the book for details of where he and Alex had both been. I tried to imagine how he might have coped and correlate some of the stories we heard with her's. Alex has four children and a husband at home and entered a war zone in pursuit of the story! This is astounding to me and one might wonder why? She asked this of herself when fear threatened to overwhelm her. She said that if she was going to die she may as well tell the world what was going on while she was at it. I was struck by the guts required to do this job and the friendly support and protection from the Libyans.
...Reviewed by Moxie

Read about the author Alex Crawford OBE in an interview with Adam Jaques for The Independent - http://ind.pn/MZkiF5
Check our Catalogue  and reserve online                                                                                                               
Colonel Gaddafi's hat : the real story of the Libyan uprising by Alex Crawford, 2012

Life, Death and Vanilla Slices

Fun that cream cakes feature in this book written by Jenny Eclair, author, actor and stand up comic. 

"Poor Jean Collins.  She stepped into the road without looking and now lies broken in hospital.  But what distracted her?  And why was she carrying a box of vanilla slices, the cream cake she only ever bought for special occasions?  Jean's daughter Anne travels back up north to find out.  But her mind is on her teenage sons in London - boys on the brink of becoming not very nice men.  What damage could they do in just a few days?  (Quite a lot, probably).

Meanwhile there are secrets waiting for Anne and Jean, back at the old family home.  Secrets that were buried long ago."  From the Publishers.

A black comedy about secrets and lies ...

Read about this and more on Jenny Eclair's website: http://www.jennyeclair.com

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Life, Death and Vanilla Slice by Jenny Eclair, 2012

Atlantic Fever : Lindbergh, his competitors and the race to cross the Atlantic

New on our shelves, here's one for biography & history fans, also anyone interested in aviation.

"A fast-paced, dynamic account of the race to cross the Atlantic, and the larger-than-life personalities of the aviators who captured the world's attention.  In 1919, a prize of $25,000 was offered to the first aviator to cross the Atlantic in either direction between France and America. Although it was one of the most coveted prizes in the world, it sat unclaimed (not without efforts) for eight long years, until the spring of 1927. It was then, during five incredibly tense weeks, that one of those magical windows in history opened, when there occurred a nexus of technology, innovation, character, and spirit that led so many contenders (from different parts of the world) to all suddenly be on the cusp of the exact same achievement at the exact same time.

Atlantic Fever is about the race; it is a milestone in American history whose story has never been fully told. Richard Byrd, Noel Davis, Stanton Wooster, Clarence Chamberlin, Charles Levine, Rene; Fonck, Charles Nungesser, and François Coli--all had equal weight in the race with Charles Lindbergh. Although the story starts in September 1926 with the crash of the first competitor, or even further back with the 1919 establishment of the prize, its heart is found in a short period, those five weeks from April 14 to May 21, 1927, when the world held its breath and the aviators met their separate fates in the air."  Provided by publisher.

Author Jo Jackson was a finalist for the 2002 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime: Dead Run: The Shocking Story of Dennis Stockton and Life on Death Row in America.

He was an investigative reporter for the Virginian-Pilot newspaper and writer-in-residence at the James Thurber House in 2001.  Read more on the author's website http://bit.ly/KWIdj7

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Atlantic Fever : Lindbergh, his competitors and the race to cross the Atlantic, 2012

  
       

Victory at Point 209 by Andrew Burdan

Brand new! This amazing graphic novel by Andrew Burdan tells of Second Lieutenant Te Moana-nuia-Kiwa Ngarimu, 28 Māori Battalion, and his last days fighting for our country.

"On 26 March 1943, two weeks before his 24th birthday, Ngarimu led an attack on Point 209, a vital hill at Tebaga Gap in Tunisia. Under intense mortar and machine gun-fire, he led the assault up the hill, personally destroying two German machine-gun posts on a crest of the hill. Despite being wounded twice during the night, he and his men defended their position from several counter-attacks.

The following morning during a particularly strong counter-attack, Ngarimu was killed. Later the same day, the Germans still on Point 209 surrendered.

An easy-to-read, accessible story and history, in Māori and English editions, with illustrations and maps telling the story along with the text makes it ideal for all boys 10+, especially those who have difficulty engaging with reading." Huia Publishers

Ngarimu was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross and the decoration was presented to his parents in a huge ceremony held at Ruatōria on 6 October that year.

Watch the trailer on Youtube

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Victory at Point 209 by Andrew Burdan, 2012     

Also available in Te Reo Māori as Ngarimu : Te Tohu Toa

Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James

Did you see Eva Bradley's review of this book on Saturday 30 June in The Hawkes Bay Today?  'Too much sex!', she implied. Do you agree? I wonder how it compares to our own queen of erotica, Nalini Singh?
I have not read it yet. There are 35 reserves on the HDL's 3 copies. I'm number 36.  Posted by Moxie

 Read Eva Bradley's review (Wanganui Chronicle)

Read more reviews at Library Thing: www.librarything.com/work/11347028/reviews 

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Fifty shades of grey by E. L. James   

         

A death in the family by Karl Ove Knausgaard

I asked a customer (Jerry) to review A Death in the Family and this is what he wrote:

"This book is an "autobiographical novel".  The title refers to the death of the author's father. It is the first of six books. It fully details the lives of his family and friends and has caused some controversy because of the level of exposure. The entire series sold 450,000 copies in his country of origin, Norway.

I would describe the book as a documentary of the author's life and the lives of those around him. By the use of minute details he accurately describes emotions, character, hopes, fears. As I read this book I felt that he was not only speaking for himself but also for everyone who is living a "real" life with all its stresses and failures. In addition, it introduces Norwegian art and literature in a way that familiarises the reader with this culture."
Posted by Moxie.

Winner of the Brage Prize for fiction 2009.

Read a review and backgrounder in The Independent

[This is the first of six books comprising the author's "My Struggle" (Min Kamp" in Norwegian) cycle. 
In the US the title was literally translated as "My Struggle Book One", whereas in the UK and Canada it has been issued under the title "A Death in the Family".]

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 A death in the family by Karl Ove Knausgaard 

Maori Treasures of New Zealand: Ko Tawa

Maori Treasures of New Zealand honours the man who once carried the name Ko Tawa, Captain Gilbert Mair, and the many significant Maori tipuna ancestors-taonga-that entered his remarkable life.  Mair was careful in preserving an account of the history and circumstances surrounding many of the taonga in his collection, so that taonga and narrative illuminate each other. 

This work includes several references to the Hawke's Bay District with names and photographs of Taonga, affiliated iwi, maps, photographs and writings of taonga history. 

The section I found of particular interest is on page 47 Peka Makarini: Ngati Pahauwera (Mohaka-Wairoa), the Taonga Koauau flute made from the arm bone of Te Kooti buglar Baker McLean (Peka Makarini), who was shot and killed at Waikarawhiti near Tumunui by Mair in February 1870. 

The Koauau was presented to Mair by Ngati Pahauwera at Te Harato in 1874.  “Ko tenei koauau no te ringa katau o to matou ito- Peka Te Maakariri.  He tohu aroha no Nati pahauwera kit e tangata nana I ngaki te mate.  Nana I pare o matou mata”.  “This flute was formed out of the strong right arm bone of Baker MacLean.  A loving gift from Ngatipahauwera tribe to the man who avenged our wrongs and turned our faces from looking askant, to look straight in front!”

Ko Tawa the exhibition opened  in the Auckland War Memorial Museum 2005 to rave reviews, the book and website are easy to follow and very impressive, see  www.aucklandmuseum.com/90/ko-tawa and  http://tekakano.aucklandmuseum.com/am_kotawa/home_maori.asp

With photography by Krzysztof Pfeiffer and contributing essays from Ron Crosby, Jade Baker, Roger Neich, Merata Kawharu.  

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Maori Treasures of New Zealand by Paul Tapsell et al