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Novel about world events

27/3/2024

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The War Photographers
by SL Beaumont


The War Photographers is an interesting juxtaposition of life in WWII London and then four decades later during the fall of the Berlin wall, as seen through the eyes of Mae and her granddaughter Rachel. Rachel is a war photographer, inspired to take up photography by her grandmother’s stories of Jack, Rachel’s grandfather, who died during WWII. The narrative is told in alternating fashion by Mae and Rachel.
     Jack is a New Zealander who ended up in a senior, secret, role in the British war effort. Mae is working at Bletchley Park in one of the teams decoding German messages, after the Enigma code was broken. Neither Jack nor Mae can talk about their work, including with each other. The crux of the story is the identity of a supposed traitor who is handing Bletchley Park information to the Russians. Jack is run over in the street, Mae is sure the traitor killed him and carries this story to New Zealand as she thinks her life is in danger so needs to escape London to protect the daughter with whom she is pregnant.
     We meet granddaughter Rachel in New Zealand, about to return to her job in London where she is struggling to be recognised as a photographer in a male-dominated industry where the men get sent to the exciting jobs and women are kept safely at home. Rachel is determined to be a success and finds a way to get to Hungary, to see an early breakdown of the separation between east and west, and then to Berlin, where momentum to cross the divide is gathering. Rachel is determined to document events in Berlin and also use the opportunity of being in East Germany to discover who killed her grandfather as her grandmother believes the killer escaped there after the war. Rachel achieves both her goals, although what she discovers is not what she nor her grandmother hoped for.
     The War Photographers is well researched and detailed in its descriptions of two major world events. The connection between the two women and their related experiences of political divides at different times make for an interesting story one wants to keep reading. Mae’s adherence to keeping the secrets of the war, many years afterwards, is a reminder of how strong people can be when they feel they are part of an important common cause.
     In summary, the War Photographers is an entertaining and informative read about historical events which should not be forgotten, particularly at a time when the world is becoming more fractured.

Review by Jane Shearer    
Title: The War Photographers
Author: SL Beaumont
Publisher: Paperback Writers Publishing
ISBN: 9780473696436
RRP: $32.99
Available: bookshops
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Dramatic events in new NZ novel

19/3/2024

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For the Love of Mary 
by Carne Maxwell


In spite of the title, it’s hard to love Mary. And she certainly can’t be trusted. She’s calculating, conniving and dishonest. She’s blithely deceiving her husband, Peter, causing her parents grief, betraying her friends and generally being objectionable. 
    Set in and around the wider Auckland area, For the Love of Mary is the third book in ‘The Contest Trilogy’ which began with The Contest, followed by Redemption. Although For the Love of Mary is described as a stand-alone read, I found it confusing at times not knowing the various families’ back stories and how their lives have been interwoven since The Contest began. Maxwell uses a clever ploy on page 6 when Terrance attempts to summarise events from the previous two books in some ‘notes to self’ spanning a period of around 10 years. This highlights the fact that wherever there has been trouble, Mary has frequently been in its centre.
    Now Mary’s former husband is in prison and Terrance is trying to persuade the police that Mark is innocent. 
    As the story unfolds, for all Mary’s faults, it becomes evident that real evil exists elsewhere. Taking a break on the Awhitu Peninsula some of the characters are soon in terrible danger. Maxwell describes the Peninsula landscape vividly: the narrow roads, the deep gullies, the sheer cliffs plunging into the sea. Maxwell skilfully draws us into the dramatic events that occur so that the reader is gathered up in the urgency and horror, desperation and fear of the moment. The Contest and Redemption back stories become irrelevant and For the Love of Mary actually blossoms as a stand-alone. 
    The improbability of some events aside, Maxwell handles depravity, darkness and foreboding with skill. The book ends with Terrance making a decision that some will consider dubious at best – he’s entangled in a real “What would I do?” dilemma.
    Whereas in The Contest there was nastiness and stupidity at every turn and a huge body count, and Redemptionwas hard to fathom without reading The Contest, For the Love of Mary is much more focused and plot development is more structured. A pared down body count proves that less really is more: when death and wickedness strike, they are all the more shocking for being unexpected.

Review by Carolyn McKenzie
Title: For the Love of Mary
Author: Carne Maxwell
Publisher: Carne Maxwell
ISBN: 9780473684419 paperback; ISBN 9780473684433 kindle ebook
RRP: $35
Available: Amazon https://www.carnemaxwellauthor.co.nz; The Little Bookshop (Remuera)
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Strong book tells of past times

11/3/2024

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Max Gunn's Pay Book
by Graham Lindsay


If you are looking for a happy and uplifting book, then this one is not for you. Having said that, I was able to recognise my father in many of the scenes. 
    The book is a novel, but I had to remind myself of this, many times, so well were  the characters drawn. Max was part of the most unfortunate generation in New Zealand’s history. The first world war was followed by the depression, then the second world war. 
    It does not make easy reading, dealing with the New Zealand defeat in Greece, the withdrawal to Crete, the airborne assault by the Germans,  and the subsequent imprisonment at the hands of the Italians.  
    The story is well researched, and has many colourful turns of phrase, such as ‘
broth that a turnip has swum through’. I could sympathise with Max and the effects of alcohol and tobacco on his health. I could see my father’s generation in every turn of events, even after the war and the ballots for land on which to settle returned servicemen.
    The story is sharp in its description of battle scenes, the suffering of the soldiers, the constant struggle for food and warmth. Running through the constant battle for survival is a love story, in which Max had one of the few moments of real happiness in his life.
    Overall, the harsh struggle for life produced a generation of resourceful, resilient people, capable of dragging a nation out of war, depression, and shaping New Zealand into what we now have.
    A moving book, a strong book, one which affects the reader deeply.

Review by Harold Bernard
Title: Max Gunn's Pay Book
Author: Graham Lindsay
Publisher: 99% Press an imprint of Lasavia Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-991083-09-8
RRP: $34.90
Available: bookshops
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