Books that celebrate our very own writers and talent within Aotearoa. A book of Whakatauki from the islands and peoples of the Pacific, published by potton & burton in Nelson. The latest book from Christine Leunens, also from Nelson, following on from her joint success with Taika Waititi who created the Academy Award winning film Jojo Rabbit based upon her novel Caging Skies. A twisty tale from Pip Adam, prize winning NZ Fiction author. And if you enjoyed reading The Denniston Rose set in Te Wai Pounamu’s West Coast mining township of 1880’s Denniston, then here is another historical NZ book, this time set in Wellington 1839, from best-selling and beloved NZ author Jenny Pattrick.

Mana of the Pacific / Wisdom from across Oceania

This fabulous book has been compiled by Massey University academics’ Apisalome Movono & Regina Scheyvens. When researching how communities dependant on tourism in the region had responded to the global pandemic, they discovered people had drawn on their culture and heritage to support each other. Mana of the Pacific is a collection of proverbs that highlight the value of Pacific people’s cultures, knowledge and way of being, and a set of core values that underpin people’s ways of lives in the region – taken from website https://www.ketebooks.co.nz/all-new-books/mana-of-the-pacific

In Amber’s wake / Christine Leunens

Set in New Zealand during the fast-changing tumultuous 1980’s era of the anti-nuclear movement, Springbok rugby tour protests, and the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior, this romantic drama is as unpredictable as it is powerful and heartfelt. – book blurb.

Reading on further, it sounds like a subtle love triangle that spans decades, as the book dips back and forth in time. It is concerned with the dynamics within relationships, motivations and secrets, and then the consequences of choices and decisions. And with the memorable 1980’s as the big picture backdrop. Sounds good.

Nothing to see / Pip Adam

This is a challenging book to read, not a page turner or to be read in one sitting. So I have heard, I have not yet had the pleasure. There is a reviewer’s comment about it that I particularly like, “Adam’s books always manage to scrub away at corners of my brain that have never seen light and turning back to the real world after marking the page and closing the book feels uncertain and new.” (Briar Lawry https://thespinoff.co.nz/books/30-06-2020/on-the-gobsmackingness-of-pip-adam-and-nothing-to-see)

It is a story that spans three decades, of two sisters, Peggy and Greta, and their struggle to survive, to be seen; they are ‘invisible’ because of their differences. The author also plays with your mind, and the story can be a bit harrowing in parts. Perhaps the book may better be learnt about by listening to the author herself. Here is a RNZ interview from the Word Christchurch 2020 Festival. Interview also includes another great NZ Author, Carl Shuker.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018792462

Harbouring / Jenny Pattrick

The latest historical novel from this NZ author, begins in Wales with a poverty-stricken family, desperate for a better life, intent on immigrating to New Zealand. In parallel, is a young Māori wahine, Hineroa, a captured slave after her tribe was beaten and dispersed by the invading Te Rauparaha. The setting is Te Upoko o te Ika (the head of the fish) also known as Wellington harbour, 1839. This is the story of the grind of life for those living at the bottom of society’s heap during the pioneering days and the British Empire government and treatment of Tangata Whenua. Written with strong characters, driven by a good story. Backgrounded by the clashing ideals of Christian values vs Maori concepts of spirituality and the healing powers of nature and turangawaewae; where we belong and where we stand.

This book is picked to easily become another best-seller, adding its thoroughly well-researched historical knowledge to our kete about Aotearoa’s early settlement days.

Research website to check out: http://www.theprow.org.nz/

A website featuring historical and cultural stories from Nelson, Tasman, and Marlborough. The Prow is a collaboration between the Nelson City, Tasman and Marlborough District Libraries, Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology and The Nelson Provincial Museum. 

And you can access the library website here at any time to see what else is new, search for items, reading lists and links to Research and Academic databases.