Flaxroots Productions - FlaxFlower

Complex subject

14/8/2018

Cry the Wounded Land: Conversations About Maori, Pakeha and the Land
by Mark Holloway

First up, I have to declare that I am not a practicing Christian so will inevitably view this book in a different way to those who are strongly engaged with Christianity.
I became interested in the book because I wanted to explore another perspective on this country’s troubled race relations. Conversations with God on colonization was definitely an alternative view. It reminded me of how difficult it is to articulate the complexity of cultural interaction from first encounter to the present time. Add more recent immigrants and the complexity intensifies.
Mark Holloway, as author, has structured the book in an interesting way. The structure allows a supposed ill-informed protagonist to question the big questions of the day with an All-Knowing Divine Being. This removes responsibility for attitudes expressed by the protagonist. And because God is All-Knowing it also validates God’s explanations.
The structure reminded me of metaphysical poetry where a lover addresses an absent loved one. The addressee is elevated to a state of perfection and the one doing the addressing to a state of subservience.
By using this as a device the writer separates the two key speakers into an All Knowing (God) and a Not Knowing (mortal) narrator.
Occasionally I found myself thinking that the mortal voice sounded like the God voice. This gave the impression that the human voice was, in fact, coming to his own conclusions. Not a bad thing, I dare to suggest. However, this contrivance reminded me that the God voice and the human voice were, in fact, authored by the same writer.
On other occasions, the human voice sounded apologetic and almost child-like.
For example: ‘But God, when Pākehā see this conversation they will say that I have made it up because…(142). In this instance they are discussing the gnarly problem of Maori crime statistics.
On other occasions God’s answers sometimes sound like a parent chiding a child.
An example of this is: ‘Who on earth are you whites to think that a brown mind cannot think and dream like yours?’ (146)
My overall reaction to this book was a sense that more could have been done to delve beyond the superficial and to explore in greater depth the complexities behind New Zealand’s colonization story. However, as a conversation between an inferior and a superior being I expect that there is little opportunity to go deeper. After all, God’s answers are final and ultimately not to be questioned.

Review by Suraya Dewing

Title: Cry the Wounded Land: Conversations About Maori, Pakeha and the Land
Author: Mark Holloway
Publisher: Freedom Assignment
ISBN: 9780473398156
RRP: $19.99
Available: bookshops

Whimsical anecdotes

7/8/2018

Globetrotting on a Shoestring
by Lynley Smith

This is a small book of only 120 pages, written in the format of short whimsical anecdotes drawn from the author’s experiences while travelling the world.
Lynley was an ESOL teacher and journalist who, late in life, decided to research the life of a distant relative, Jane Haining, a Scottish woman who was named a British Hero of the Holocaust. She was sent to Auschwitz for trying to protect the Jewish students at a school in Hungary where she was matron, and there she died.
The author’s travels on this journey took her to Scotland, Poland, Hungary, while later adventures saw her in Israel, China, USA, Australia, Africa and Columbia.
She always tried to travel using the cheapest fare available and chose to stay at the cheapest hostel possible, hence the title of the book. It is not a ‘how to’ book, but by reading some of the anecdotes the reader can perhaps avoid some of the difficulties she encountered.
It is an easily read, friendly book. This impression is enhanced by the non-standard type font chosen, which gives the impression that is a book of personal adventures, not a formal travel guide. The illustrations take the form of caricatures, and also add to the intimate feel of the book. Some may not appreciate these things, but I think they enhanced the atmosphere of the stories.
For me, the highlights were her visit to Auschwitz, which wrenched her soul, and her visit to Kenya where she was able to spend time with a woman who she had sponsored as a child, and who had now grown into adulthood with her own husband and family. The family lived in absolute poverty, but were still gracious enough to extend enormous hospitality to her.
Her descriptions of meals in China were very entertaining, especially the ones where she ate insects.
Lynley had a daughter living in Columbia and her description of the underlying drug culture she found there is very graphic.
There is a constant thread throughout the book of being guided and protected by her Christian Faith, many times she was faced with difficulties, but she was always confident that she would be aided to overcome them, and she invariably was.
There are two issues that need addressing if the book is ever reprinted, her use of the term ‘Maori Wars’ is no longer acceptable; better terminology would be ‘New Zealand Wars’, or ‘Land Wars’. The second is that the plural of Maori is Maori, not Maoris. It was strange that an experienced journalist and teacher would use these terms, and for me they jarred.
Overall it is a good, if somewhat light read which I found quite entertaining.

Review by Harold Bernard

Title: Globetrotting on a Shoestring
Author:Lynley Smith
Publisher: Wild Side Publishing
ISBN: 9780473429775
RRP: $24.99
Available: bookshops

Children’s book thought-provoking

25/7/2018

My Grandfather’s War
by Glyn Harper & Jenny Cooper

War is never an easy subject for a children’s book, but this beautifully illustrated 32 page picture book addresses the Vietnam War with finesse.
Eight year old Sarah has a close bond with her grandfather but wonders why sometimes he gets sad. Her curiosity is aroused when she discovers he was a Vietnam veteran, so she asks her grandfather about the war.
The text is age appropriate for younger readers and the full page illustrations skilfully represent the storyline.
Kids may have questions after reading this thought-provoking story so the reference section at the end of the story, providing a summary of facts about the Vietnam War, is useful. The section finishes with a commentary highlighting how many veterans were treated by their countries on their return home.

Review by WJ Scott
children’s author

Title: My Grandfather’s War
Author: Glyn Harper & Jenny Cooper
Publisher: Exisle
ISBN: 9781775592990
RRP: $24.99
Available: Now at www.exislepublishing.com

Wildly creative story

7/7/2018

Elastic Island Adventures Jewel Lagoon
by Karen McMillan

Unwrapping a mysterious book-shaped package is always a delight and the moment my gaze touched upon the bright cover and wonderful illustrations I sensed I’d uncovered a gem. This is a standout book cover that entreats children to grab it off the shelf.
Physically, the book felt solid nestled in my palms and the front cover begged me to flip it open. Inside the book, styling, formatting, and text were professionally executed. The text is large enough to appear non-threatening to an emergent reader.
Jewel Lagoon may sound like a paradise but when the children are unexpectedly catapulted out of their ordinary lives they find themselves in mortal danger where they bounce from one dangerous situation to the next and are never quite sure who they can trust in this strange land. Some of the themes are dark (kidnapping, maiming, and murder) but they are handled with sensitivity.
The story is wildly creative and populated with an array of vibrant characters, including adaptations of animals many children will recognise. The four main characters: Kiri, Jed, and twins Emma, and Ethan, have distinct personalities and varying skill sets which help them navigate through the challenges they face on their adventure.
Children will identify with particular characters as they find common denominators with their own lives.
The story works as a stand-alone read and there’s plenty of scope for more tropical island adventures in this series.

Review by WJ Scott
children’s author

Title: Elastic Island Adventures Jewel Lagoon
Author: Karen McMillan
Publisher: Duckling Publishing
ISBN:9780473427542
RRP:$19.99
Available: bookshops

Welcome back, Wally

2/7/2018

Woolly Wally
by Dawn McMillan
Illustrations by Ross Kinnaird

Woolly Wally is back. First published as a popular Reed title 12 years ago, it’s reappeared in a new edition to be enjoyed by another crop of Kiwi kids.
And, I suspect, lots of adults will like it even more than the littlies they read it to.
Wally’s the farm ram. He’s a big hair guy, immensely proud of his fleece and taking pride in its superior quality – thick and crinkled, extra fine, long and waxy, perfect fibre. And he knows its value to impress the ewes. Until –

…one day in sunny weather
   All the sheep were gathered together
   Wally in front, and off to the shed;
   An uneasy feeling in his head!
   Hadn’t he been here just last year
   Did he hear someone say…
Yep, in a few passes of a handpiece it’s now un-woolly Wally, at least for a few weeks; but long enough, it’s hoped, for him to learn the lesson pointed out at the story’s conclusion.
Adults, and children who grow up on farms, will fill in the gaps (“all ewes girls will be mums”) that add to the depth of the woolly Wally’s pride in his appearance and performance.
The illustrations help greatly too. The difference, particularly the facial expressions, between the big and the bald are most telling.
And the colour pictures provide additional fun for little ones in spotting the presence of both the author and the illustrator on most pages – see the back page for a clue.
Welcome back, Woolly Wally.

Review by Emily R.

Title: Woolly Wally
Author: Dawn McMillan. Illustrator: Ross Kinnaird
Publisher: Oratia Books
ISBN: 978-0-947506-42-1
RRP: $19.99
Available: bookshops. Oratia Media https://www.oratia.co.nz

Crafted by a master storyteller

26/6/2018

Hellholes of the World
by David G Brown

I have often wondered why I never had the courage to back pack around the world. This is quite apart from family responsibilities. After reading ‘Hell Holes of the World’ I have my answer. I could not bear to go for days without a shower, sleep in hovels and not know if I had a bed for the night.
What I particularly liked about this book was that it took me to the places I would never dare visit and allowed me to at least have a peek, to feel the grime, to smell the polluted air and to meet the people. That was the magic. I met people I would never encounter in real life.
David takes us to meet them through his vivid description and storytelling.  A lot of it is grim but there are moments of incredible beauty and they explain why David went to such lengths to visit these isolated and often dangerous places.
We quickly realise that these places have not been given a make-over for the tourist. They are raw, war torn or neglected.
What I found most interesting was not so much the physical journey, which was fascinating and arduous, but rather David’s journey as a human being.
He began his story on a kibbutz in Israel where he worked as a volunteer. The international and local community partied through the night and worked during the day. Palestine was just over the fence but no-one seemed to notice or care.
Twenty years later he visited the area and stood on Golan Heights looking at the kibbutz through the border and with a different perspective. He had travelled to almost 100 countries by that time and experienced life at its rawest and seen people at their most deprived. As we read his story we are reading an account of a young man’s transformation into an adult. This was never more pronounced than when he looked at his old kibbutz from the Golan Heights.
He wrote, ‘The wall between Lebanon and Israel felt as great as the wall between who I had become and who I once was.” (215)
That moment of looking back at the kibbutz, which he could never visit again, is also a metaphor for David’s life. He was always the observer never the observed. Where ever he went he had an escape, unlike the people whose lives he briefly touched. There was no place he could call home. He even felt he did not fit in New Zealand, the place of his birth. Although he did come to a kind of accommodation with his birth country it was still uneasy. The closest he got to finding the country where his spirit could rest was Israel.
But as I read through this book, crafted by a master storyteller, I realized I was following the trajectory of a man’s life from innocence to maturity. He knew the world we live in far more intimately than most of us will ever know it and that changed him. But we also are changed in a small way simply by sharing his journey.
‘Hell Holes of the World’ is a wonderful book and I would recommend it to anyone. David was a citizen of the world. He did not belong anywhere yet his curiosity led him to discover the human condition in a way that only those who lived in his ‘Hell Holes’ could.

Review by Suraya Dewing
CEO, Stylefit (formerly The Story Mint) http://www.thestorymint.com

Title: Hellholes of the World: A Love Story
Author: David G. Brown
Publisher: Archetype Book Agents
ISBN: 978 047341 782 6
RRP: $35
Available: bookshops

Soft lullaby of a book

21/6/2018

Arlo and the Gingko Tree
by Sophie Siers
illustrated by Kate Twhigg

Sophie Sier's picture book Arlo and the Ginkgo Tree, illustrated by Kate Twhigg, is about a little boy named Arlo and a special tree at the bottom of his garden.
His tree has a special way for him to climb up and a special spot just for him to sit.
Through the changing seasons, Arlo discovers that this tree truly is special – not just to him, but to some new little friends as well!
Arlo and the Ginkgo Tree is a simple story, using repetition – particularly of the word ‘special’ – and sensory description to remind us to sit in quiet wonder at the small things in the world around us. It is a message that comes naturally to children and is good to remember as adults too.
We learn with Arlo to wait and watch from one spring right through a year to another, as birds and butterflies cycle back to their shared home in the tree.
The narrative and illustrations are sweet – especially the three tiny chicks drawn in their nest – and the overall impression is that Arlo and the Ginkgo Tree is a soft, lullaby of a book about nature.

Review by Jenny Palmer

Title: Arlo and the Ginkgo Tree
Author: Sophie Siers; Kate Twhigg
Publisher: Millwood Press
ISBN: 978-0-473-41094-0
RRP: $19.99
Available: bookshops

Inspiring story

14/6/2018

Adrift in the Fog: a Journey of Rediscovery
by C C Johannes Peet

From despair and depression to hope and new directions.
Peet’s misfortunes began with the onset of blindness caused by Stargardt’s disease, a form of macular degeneration. He was 42 years old and a wine expert and winemaker. Within 6 years he was legally blind.
In Adrift in the Fog he recounts his frustration at not being able to fend for himself and how easily he was taken advantage of by his would-be carer. He tells of the bleak depths of his subsequent depression, bordering on suicidal.
When it seems his life can’t get any worse the New Zealand Blind Foundation come to his aid with special computer software and gadgets and he gradually emerges from his depression and begins to take an interest in life again. He inadvertently joins a computer dating site and almost as an afterthought takes a second look at a photo of the Russian woman he now calls his Mona Lisa. He’s in his mid-50s by now, legally blind, struggling on a disability benefit and understandably full of misgivings about himself. Thanks to Mona Lisa he is back on an optimistic, upward curve.
With unflinching honesty, blind, and writing in his second language, he shares his most intimate feelings as the relationship develops.
Peet’s blindness aside, I feel many people, women as well as men, will be able to identify with his story of embarking on a new relationship in middle-age – an experience that is further complicated by issues of mental health and alcohol misuse.
Adrift in the Fog is, in spite of its gloomy title and muted cover, an inspiring read. The author comes to terms with himself. Defying his blindness and the dramatic changes that it has brought to his life, he re-finds himself and rediscovers a sense of optimism and of self.
Peet writes in a straightforward, no-nonsense style, making Adrift in the Fog an easy read. The ending leaves us wondering What next? so there is scope here for more of Peet’s engaging story telling. Discerning readers will pick up on proofreading oversights, but these shouldn’t interfere with an appreciation of Peet’s story.

Review by Carolyn McKenzie
Writer, freelance proofreader, copy editor, & translator from Italian to English.
Carolyn kindly offers accommodation at reasonable rates for FlaxFlower writers
in Thames (Waikato) and Ventimiglia Alta (Liguria, Italy). carolynmckenzie@libero.it

Title: Adrift in the Fog: a Journey of Rediscovery
Author: C C Johannes Peet
ISBN: 978-0-473-42384-1
RRP: $24.95 incl. P.&P.
Available: Paperback private sales: info.redhenbooks@gmail.co

Really good story

7/6/2018

Out of the Wild
by Charlie Paterson

This book tells the experiences of Charlie Paterson who discovered that there were surveyed, legal titles that could be bought in Fiordland National Park, in the abandoned settlement of Jamestown Bay which was originally designed to connect the goldfields of Central Otago to Sydney. If the local body rates were not paid, the sections reverted to the Southland District Council.
Charlie managed to locate the owners of two sections that were still in private hands and was able to buy the land. His intention was to build and operate an upmarket lodge to cater for trampers, hunters and nature lovers. The struggle he had overcoming bureaucracy, vested interests, and the severe climate is the theme of this book.
I found his account of getting the building materials to Jamestown Bay by floating them down the Hollyford river on a totally inadequate boat, and then across Lake McKerrow to the building site quite heroic. When the boat sank and deposited all his supplies into the lake, Charlie was plunged into the depths of despair, rescued only by the efforts of locals who aided him without thought for themselves or money.
He took two years to build the lodge, aided by friends and some tradesmen helicoptered in for brief periods. He succeeded finally, but the lodge did not prosper. The delay in building saw his idea overtaken by people with much more money to spend on advertising and transport, and they creamed the tourists.
Because Charlie had no money to buy a fridge or freezer, his diet consisted of venison he hunted, and rolled oats and other food that would not perish. This lack of fresh vegetables or fruit, and the continual stress of fighting bureaucracy affected his health, and Charlie became malnourished and ill. Finally, he was forced to sell the property, albeit at a significant profit.
However, the story is not a negative one. It is written in flashbacks, giving the story of the build. The scenes written in the present beautifully describe the peace of the forest and its inhabitants. Although Charlie is appalled by the harm done to the environment by introduced predators such as stoats, rats, and the destruction of the forest by deer and possums, he finds in the majesty of the wild mountains and the forest, the presence of a Creator and becomes firmly convinced of the existence of a caring God.
I found the latter part of the book a little disappointing because in several places Charlie expresses his desire for a meaningful relationship with a caring woman. Further on he includes a beautiful colour photo of his wife Bronwyn, and their two children, followed by a photo of him on a volunteer house build in North Malawi. However, there is no explanation of these events, and I felt that the book was not complete without telling these parts of his story.
The book is printed on good quality paper, which allows the inclusion of many colour photos which I really appreciated. There are several spelling mistakes which grate a little, but which do not detract from a really good story, and I can recommend this book as a good read.

Review by Harold Bernard

Title: Out of the Wild
Author: Charlie Paterson
Publisher: Charlie Paterson
ISBN: 978-0-473-41454-2
RRP: $39.90
Available: bookshops; email charliewilderness@hotmail.com, website https://purewilderness.co.nz/
Amazon as ebook (ASIN:B079NMTWFL) or paperback (ISBN 9781980245544)

Truth being stranger than fiction

31/5/2018

An End of Honour
by M J Burr

It is a brave undertaking to write any novel, and even more so in the case of an historical novel as the author must know every aspect of the period. The inclusion of real people among the characters, details of whose lives are recorded and known, adds a further huge dimension and demands careful handling in order to portray them fairly.
M J Burr has taken up such a challenge in his novel An End of Honour, and he succeeds admirably.
The main period covered is the 1860s; the places – southern states of USA, and New Zealand. The American Civil War is drawing to a close and the Land Wars in this country escalating.
The central character, John Selby Hunter, Captain of a Confederate cavalry troop, leaves his West Virginia home for good reason and travels to New Zealand where he is persuaded by Governor Grey to accept a commission in the mounted division of the New Zealand Armed Constabulary.
The working in of actual battles in Taranaki, details of weaponry, cultural customs of different peoples and their intersection, all show there has been a huge amount of research undertaken by M J Burr to inform his crafting of this work. Real figures from New Zealand history are brought alive on the page as they are encountered by Hunter – Thomas McDonnell, Gustavus von Tempsky, Donald McLean, Robert Wynyard, George Whitmore, Governors Gore Browne and George Grey, premier Edward Stafford, and others of colonial society; Maori leaders and personalities including Rewi Maniapoto, Tikaokao, Titokowaru, Kereopa; with the renegade American Kimble Bent between the two.
The author notes – This novel follows the historical record as faithfully as a work of fiction might, because I am wedded to the notion of truth being stranger than fiction.
If I have any criticism of this novel, it is with the subtitle – a novel of Titokowaru’s War. It is that, yes, but it is more than that, and I found myself becoming immersed in further storylines that are part of the whole book – Hunter’s Civil War experiences, gun smuggling, details of the social life of settlers in this country 150 years ago. There’s some consideration of varying views of Darwin’s work On the Origin of Species, recently published at the time. And there’s a love story intermeshed with the main story – well handled, not sentimental.
All’s fair in love and war, it is said, but is it really? As the title points to, the main theme of the book is that of honour, and this is developed well through the story lines – relating to society, ethics, warfare, and love.
Throughout, the fluent writing and realistic dialogue makes this book easy reading.
Recommended for anyone with any interest in New Zealand’s past, or for those who simply enjoy a good story. It's one that will stay with me while others fade from memory.

Review by I Reddit

Title: An End of Honour
Author: M J Burr
Publisher: ClioWrite Ltd
ISBN: 978-0-473-26061-3
Available: paper via www.cliowrite.com; Email info@cliowrite.com; Post 36 Wairau Road; Oakura, Taranaki 4314. Telephone / fax 06 7527 50; Ebook via Amazon

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