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Eye opener as to historical facts

25/11/2021

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The Road to the Future,
An Electric Pioneer and his Magnificent Battery Cars

by Viv Walker

 
The storytelling in this picture book is completely in tune with the artwork, as it’s done by the same person. It is clear from the start that there is a personal connection here as Viv Walker knows her subject matter well.
    And it’s not often that we see a child’s picture book embracing history as this one does.
    The storytelling is in line with the era as depicted in a few old fashioned expressions i.e. a bolt of fancy cloth, or omnibuses.
    But I was completely unaware of this remarkable historic fact that electric battery powered cars were first introduced to NZ as long ago as 1918.
    The first petrol engine cars were the two imported from France earlier in 1898. And you can almost smell the petrol fumes of the exciting new horseless carriages within these pages.
    So twenty years later the newest on the block are the cars, trucks and buses, all electric and running on batteries. Compared to the noise of the petrol driven vehicles, they were quiet, thanks to Thomas Edison and his cell batteries.
    They were welcomed as electric battery cars and the future of our transport. No roar, no clatter and no fumes.
    Reading this book with the historic information interspersed throughout has been an eye opener for me, and I was happily surprised to find the after information and photographs gleaned from historic references.
    Yet by the time I finished reading this interesting story, and appreciated the detailed artwork, I was still unsure as to what the targeted readership would be. I have a grandson who is 8 years old, but somehow I don’t think this book suitable for him, even though he’s an avid reader.

Review by Susan Tarr
Title: The Road to the Future, An Electric Pioneer and his Magnificent Battery Cars
Author: Viv Walker
Publisher:  Swirld Books 
ISBN: 978-0-473-55390-6
RRP: $22.99
Available: Soft cover with flaps, 36 pp, via distributor Nationwide Books
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Novel with added depth

18/11/2021

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Picture
The Seekers’ Garden
by Isa Pearl Ritchie


I like a book with short chapters of just a few pages each – it makes for easy reading, especially when time for this is grabbed in snatches.
    When the episodes follow several characters in turn, however, it can be difficult for each to become established and remain in the mind between reading sessions.
    Fifty pages into this book, and not seeming to get to grips with them, I went back to the beginning and made myself brief notes about each of the five people who are the subjects of the 99 short chapters. It helped me follow the various stories as they occur.
     Marcia, 55, recent widow – lived in London, returns to her old home in Hamilton.
     Iris, 40s, has teenage son Alex. Quit her job in Wellington, rents house in Raglan.
     Zane, a musician and songwriter – Kiwi who has not returned to NZ in years.
     Lea, 16, deeply dissatisfied about her family and her place in it. 
     Mrs Everglade, elderly, has travelled in the past, now settled in her Hamilton home.
     Each of them became fleshed out as I worked through the episodes.
     Marcia, with her counselling training and interest in alternative therapies and tarot, decides to teach courses. “Energy centres have been depicted in so many different ways: as symbols, as patterns, as flowers. I imagine them in the colours of the rainbow…”
    There she meets Iris who is writing a book. “It was almost like I was typing words that were already written in the blueprint of my life like I was following a plan I couldn't even see.” She doesn’t resist any urge to share her philosophies throughout in preachy fashion and I find myself hoping she never finishes that book.
    Zane too is undergoing a period of self-reflection of the middle-aged. “When Zane performed, he felt like he could feel the pulse of the world…this was the closest thing to religion Zane had ever believed in, and in concert, he was the messiah.” He expresses himself in the words of his songs.
    Lea, so full of teenage angst, so devoid of confidence, chooses to smoke, “provoking equal parts of revulsion and pleasure. Just like self-pity, just like any self-destructive indulgence. The part she liked the most was the damage she knew she was doing to her lungs, to her future.” She pours out her angst in lengthy and inscrutable poetry, though it is no doubt meaningful to herself. I hope she grows up some day.
    There are secrets that link the four main characters. I’m not sure why Mrs Everglade is included – the book would work just as well without her.
    Marcia leads her class – “Take a deep breath. Exhale and go deeper into awareness. Focus on the area around your navel.” She and Iris keep on over-analysing situations. It is a teenage friend who tells Lea, “Life is full of pain and every other emotion. That’s what makes it interesting and sad and beautiful.” Zane, in an interview, finds he is “the commentator in some bizarre documentary on human behaviour.” Between the four there’s a lot of navel-gazing.
    It is the revealing of the secrets that link them that pulls the book together and is finally rewarding to the reader.
    There are quite a few points throughout the book that I would question with the editor but, overall, The Seekers’ Garden will provide a satisfying read to those who favour novels with added depth.

Review by Norma D. Plum
Title: The Seekers’ Garden
Author: Isa Pearl Ritchie
Publisher:  Te Rā Aroha Press
ISBN: 9780473583323
RRP: $37.99 
Available: bookshops
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Refreshing take from a poet

11/11/2021

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ngā whakamatuatanga / interludes 
by Vaughan Rapatahana


Vaughan Rapatahana’s latest book titled ngā whakamatuatanga / interludes, is a refreshing take from a poet. His vivid thoughts, memories and opinions create an opening into his mind. Unlike many poets whose extravagant words often guard the true feelings of a poet. 
     Vaughan Rapatahana (Te Ātiawa) writes in multiple genres – chiefly poetry, criticism and commentaries – in both his main languages, te reo Māori and English. He graduated with a PhD (on Colin Wilson) from the University of Auckland and has published several poetry collections both here and overseas. 
     Vaughan’s latest collection ngā whakamatuatanga / interludes appeared in 2019. It is a sequence of six parts that go deep into human experience, draw upon multiple languages and exhilarating linguistic effects. You move with the sky, rain, trees, from home to home, from the Christchurch attacks to collecting driftwood, to a Waitangi dawn. 
      ngā whakamatuatanga / interludes is divided into five sections:
     First section, ‘ngā wāhi / places’ 
     Second section, ‘ngā whanaungatanga / relationships’
     Third section, ‘te ao tūroa / nature’
     Fourth section, ‘ngā tõrangapū rāua ko nga rapunga whakaaro / politics and philosophy
     Fifth section, ngā toikupu / poetry
     Sixth section, te raro / the underground
Through these sections, Vaughan expresses his feelings, emotions and opinions through poetry.  
     I enjoyed this poem: (first stanza)
                       Ko Aotearoa te ingoa o tēnei whenua ātaahua. 
                 land of the long white cloud for many
                 nestling in a sea of verdant green,
                 surrounded by a brilliant blue ocean
                 & where the All Blacks reign.
 
    This poem, titled Sometimes, made me smile, as it is very relatable…
                      sometimes
                 writing a poem
                 is like
                 driving a bus
                 underwater…

     Vaughan won the inaugural Proverse Poetry Prize in 2016, the same year as his Atonement was nominated for a National Book Award in Philippines. He is also represented in New Zealand’s Best Poems of 2017.
     Lovers of poetry and people interested in New Zealand life will enjoy this book, especially home-sick Kiwis living overseas. It is a must for every library in New Zealand. 
     I enjoyed reading Vaughan’s poetry. It was refreshing, seeing the world through his unique eyes. Thank you for sharing your poetry with us.

Review by Renee Hollis
Title: ngā whakamatuatanga / interludes 
Author: Vaughan Rapatahana
Publisher:  Cyberwit.net, Allahabad, India
ISBN: 978-93-89074-41-3
RRP: $15
Available: from www.cyberwit.net, or from the author [email protected]
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Succinct flash fiction, enthralling short stories.

3/11/2021

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The Pink Jumpsuit –
short fictions, tall truths

by Emma Neale


A collection of short stories needn’t necessarily be woven together with a theme and in fact The Pink Jumpsuit and the other 27 tales in this book range far and wide. There are threads of weirdness, mutation, tragedy and grit in the face of adversity, but tenderness, hope and humour are there too and on every page, regardless of the story, Neale’s prose sparkles. 
         “She wanted to fold herself up as small as a love note, ignite and burn away.”
         “It hurts to imagine my husband as that broom-thin boy, hair gleaming black as a preacher’s shoes…”
         “… it was seduction by punctuation. As if each semi-colon was someone leaning forward, head bubbling with the future…”
         “He laughed, and her body cascaded with unbidden sweetness.”
     Neale has, to international acclaim, mastered flash fiction, proving that by making every word count, a story can be barely a dozen lines but no less impactful than the longer pieces. This varying of story length, with longer ones interspersed with short and very short ones, adds to the pleasure of dipping into this book: there are delicious bite-sized reads alongside more absorbing ones.
     With many of the stories exploring relationships, family dynamics, the past dragged up into the present… the endings can’t always be happy. 
         How does it feel to fall in love with someone who turns out to be half-sibling? 
         How creative can a jilted bride be with her discarded wedding dress?
         Could two fingers really grow from the scar of an amputated one?
         What can possibly go wrong at a 9-year-old’s birthday party?
         Why would you carry your handbag in a cat cage? A leopard skin handbag!
     Without giving too much away, the answers to these questions are just five of the 28 cleverly told stories in this collection. Each one is proof of Emma Neale’s well-deserved standing as an award-winning author. And each one makes The Pink Jumpsuit – short fictions, tall truths an enjoyable and enthralling read.

Review by Carolyn McKenzie
Title: The Pink Jumpsuit
Author: Emma Neale
Publisher:  Quentin Wilson Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-9951329-9-3
RRP: $35
Available: paper: bookshops
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