Books
New Zealand books: new and noted
by Steve Braunias
This really happened. “After Da-Jei walked in, he slammed the front door very quickly, then forced her into a dark room. He lit a kerosene lamp and Da-Jei saw that the room’s only window was covered by wood. There were bloodstains all over the walls. The earth floor was strewn with empty liquor bottles and cigarette butts. In the middle of the room was a wooden bed, and on top of the bed was a sharp knife and a whip. Da-Jei collapsed onto the ground. ‘I want to keep a woman to f--- with,’ leered the man, and began to take his clothes off. ‘F---in’ bitch! Take your clothes off quickly!’ he shouted.”
Guo Sheng, author of TEARS OF THE MOON (Penguin, $27.95), “lives in a New Zealand city”; her wish for anonymity is immediately obvious. She describes her experiences during -China’s Cultural Revolution – when she and her family were persecuted by the Red Guards – with a steady eye.
Another memoir well worth inspecting is SERGEANT, by Dennis Pennefather (Fine Print Company, Ruataniwha St, Waipukurau, $23). Sergeant is Pennefather’s sequel to – yes – Constable, and relays a series of anecdotes about his policing in Whakatane and Gisborne. The writing is artless, the cover has to be seen to be disbelieved, and you may not find sympathy with him – he sobs about a cartilage injury depriving him of joining the “heroic” Red Squad for the 1981 Springbok tour – but these are compelling stories. The time he was beaten up badly by Black Power thugs. Finding a young woman’s body in a stream. Stopping cops from beating up a young offender in the cells. There are also drug busts, battles with superior-ranking officers, and the odd laugh.
The following titles were also received.
BLOOM, by Kelly Ana Morey (Penguin, $27.95). A new novel that looks at the lives of three generations of Spry women – Constant Spry loses her job at a Turkish restaurant, and is -reunited with her mother and grandmother. There’s also an appearance by a Hauhau ghost called Nanny Smack. Yes. Reckons the publisher: “Quirky.”
THE REDEMPTION OF ELSDON BIRD, by Noel Virtue (Peter Owen Classics, $34.95). A welcome reprint of Virtue’s superb novel. First published in 1987, it was runner-up to the Sunday Express book of year award, then Britain’s richest literary prize.
MOA: The dramatic story of the discovery of a giant bird, by Richard Wolfe (Penguin, $29.95). After English anatomist Richard Owen announced his findings on the moa in 1839, there were disputes and many various expostulations about this strange new big bird; Wolfe’s account is solid and -enthusiastic.
HARPIES & HEROINES: A cartoon history of women’s changing roles, by the New Zealand Cartoon Archive (Cartoon Archive, $24.95). Featuring the usual suspects – Hodgson, Scott, Bromhead, Tremain, etc, with an essay by Dale Williams.
PICKING UP THE TRACES: The making of a New Zealand literary culture, 1932-46, by Lawrence Jones (Victoria University Press, $49.95). An academic takes note of the usual suspects – Curnow, Hyde, Glover, Sargeson, Mason, Fairburn, etc.
FIGHTING WITH THE ENEMY: New Zealand POWS and the Italian Resistance, by Susan Jacobs (Penguin, $34.95). What happened after 450 Kiwis legged it from Italian POW camps on September 8, 1943, and found shelter, romance and bouts of grappa drinking with Italian families.
WITH MY CAMERA FOR COMPANY: Adventures and images of a pioneering New Zealand photographer, edited by Diana Rhodes (Hazard, $39.95). The daughter of Havelock Williams (1884-1968) presents her dad’s archive of writings and his pictures of Franz Josef, Lake Pukaki, Hokitika, the Mackenzie Country, Milford Sound, etc.
ECO KIWI: Green solutions for everyday life, by Simon and Jane Cotter (Random, $29.95). An Auckland couple (he a former potter, she an educational consultant) help you choose the ecologically friendliest paint when you redecorate, and give tips about garden sprays, recycling, etc.
CAT’S WHISKERS: Four favourite Lynley Dodd Stories (Mallinson Rendel, $32.95). Includes her 1990 classic, “Slinky Malinki”.
ILLUSTRATED MAORI MYTHS AND LEGENDS, by Queenie Rikihana Hyland, and Patrick Puru (Reed, $34.95). Of Maui, assorted taniwha, the fairy people, etc.
NGA TAU RERE: An anthology of ancient Maori poetry, by David Simmons (Reed, $29.95). Sample verse: “E noho ana I toku whanga/Ka whakamau ki waho ra.” Also in English.
CANDLEWICK KELP, poems by Jane Simpson (Poets’ Group, 65 Birdwood Ave, Beckenham, Christchurch, $10). Sample verse: “Who cares about bloody pissy pregnancy tests!/I say I am with child!” With striking woodblock images by Michel Tuffery.
OBSERVATIONS, poems by Jim McGregor (Mann Printing, jimandviv@paradise.net.nz). Sample verse: “Some poems are better read/than said./Some poets are better read/long after they are dead./And some are simply/f---ed in the head.”
