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Heavy concerns written about in a readable way

29/11/2023

An Addict in the Family – A Mother’s Tale of Heartbreak, Courage and Resilience
by Stephanie Hammond

It’s a small book in size, 75 pages, written with heart about a big subject.
The subtitle sums it up as this is a mother’s tale of heartbreak, courage and resilience when living through the experience if having a son who is a convicted drug addict and supplier. It’s an experience no mother wants, yet many find becomes a reality for them.
What should she do? Turn her back on him and run, as she is advised? This mother doesn’t.
Despite all the heartache, she engages with the situation and all it involves, including the possibility of putting herself in personal danger, dealing with the frustration of having to learn about the justice and prison systems, and finding out who not to trust among those about her, the majority, and the few she could. Heavy concerns, but written about in a readable way.
In seeking to understand her addict son, Charlie, the author also comes to knowledge of herself.
In the introduction, she writes of her hope that this memoir will “be a conversation starter leading to awareness of the widespread effects of addiction and paving the way for change. Change in the way society views addiction; change in the way those addicted view their place in the hearts of those most affected by their actions; and change in the availability and type of support systems that all those touched by addiction so desperately need.”
It is a hope that is captured well in the cover art.

Review by Meg

Title: An Addict in the Family – A Mother’s Tale of Heartbreak, Courage and Resilience
Author: Stephanie Hammond
Publisher: Delahoyde Publishing Co Ltd
ISBN: 978-0-473-68203-3
RRP: $22.43 paperback, AU$8.80 E-Book
Available: Publisher, Amazon, Google Play Books

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Ordinary people in extraordinary situations

22/11/2023

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War Bride
by Patricia Fenton

This work of 90,000 words in some 270 pages welcomes a new and rare talent in author Patricia Fenton.
Its genre defies ready classification because, although founded on the real-life love-story of the author’s clearly beloved parents-in-law, Fenton has resisted the temptation to write a work of hagiographic memoir in favour of producing a novel that might well be the story of Everyman and Everywoman who found each other in the midst of the greatest war in history.
Indeed, she might have been lurking in the back of any of my classrooms over the years whilst I insisted to multitudes of my students that history is largely the story of ordinary people doing occasionally extraordinary things in frequently extraordinary situations.
As a war novel, ‘War Bride’ might have been expected to deal with separate episodes of derring-do, high points of action resulting in narrow escapes, near misses, amazing plot twists and coincidences. In a word, just like a television series.
Well, it doesn’t. The book takes the recurrent fear for loved ones, the impositions and impingements of war demands upon one’s daily life, the blighted landscapes of terrifying and depressing bomb-sites, views of the carnage wrought by total war and the overarching presence of a truly mortal struggle, and distils it all into a state of being that is, like a diseased tooth, always and inescapably there to provide a dull ache framing life, love and fears.
Fenton’s three-dimensional depictions of Welsh-born Evie and Kiwi serviceman Frank as they grow up in the poverty of a Depression that caused AJP Taylor to assert that, “By and large, government accepted a deplorably narrow view of its responsibilities”, show them taking delight in the small things of life and the good times (always relative) that were to be found in their working and living environments, whether in South Wales or the Bay of Plenty.
Attitudes and manners are true to those of the times, and subtle touches lie in Evie’s recognition of her employers’ naming of their daughter, Margaret, for ‘the younger princess’ and the mention of the Abdication. Similarly, my moment’s hesitation over the apparent richness of the vocabulary taught pre-War in New Zealand country schools yielded to another memory that there was, in fact, a time in NZ education prior to the school restructuring of 1989 when erudition was not only taught, but valued.
The author’s skill in description and depiction of motives, purposes and occurrences reveal an outstanding grasp of people and their motivations, and this is nowhere more evident than in her portrayal of Evie’s father and aunt who, understanding that her mother’s worst excesses of envy and spite are due to clinical depression through losing three children and near-death in childbirth, close ranks to protect the young girl.
But, it might be said, there is a reason for everything and the life experiences of Evie and Frank as they grow up in their separate environments are directly responsible for their ability to cope with later demands in life and work that are very different from any they might have envisaged. Evie’s dyslexia, for example, sees her find ways to cope with learning disability that any sufferer will recognise as quite typical, while Frank’s bouts with ill health make him less than A1 for the purpose of overseas service. But they not only cope, but survive—Evie in a London crèche and Frank as a postal clerk and Air-Raid Warden.
All without a commando, secret agent or fighter pilot in sight.
This is an outstanding story of two ordinary, recognisable and totally familiar people from opposite hemispheres who, but for World War II, would never have met. It is the stronger and richer for being based on fact but, as noted, Patricia Fenton never overplays her hand in that and sticks to the story of ordinary people doing occasionally extraordinary things in frequently extraordinary situations.

Review by MJ Burr

Title: War Bride
Author: Patricia Fenton
Publisher: Heritage Press
ISBN: 9781991163059
RRP: Paperback: $39.99, eBook: $9.99
Available: Paperback: Heritage Press and all good bookshops; eBook: Heritage Press

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Revealing book on an artist’s career

14/11/2023

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Don Binney: Flight Path
by Gregory O’Brien

I was very eager to review this book as I have been an admirer of Don Binney’s paintings. His work is instantly recognisable, but there is so much more to this man, as I was to discover.
Donald (Don) Hall Binney OBE (1940–2012) was a painter, printmaker, teacher, writer and ornithologist. His love of birds is evident in his artwork and paintings of New Zealand coastal landscapes.
Don Binney: Flight Path is a revealing book documenting Binney’s career. It is more than just his art. It has analysis, a huge amount of personal context and a wonderful sense of storytelling. For most of Binney’s life he wrote stories, poems, articles, and his writing throughout is almost a memoir and adds a real richness to the book. Binney was a philosopher and a really big thinker. It is not a text book, but rather a story of one man’s life.
Binney taught at Elam Fine Arts School, was head of painting for more than twenty years and influenced a large number of New Zealand painters. He began painting at Te Henga; views of Puketotara with native birds often being a focus in his artworks. He used a variety of mediums, including oil, acrylic, charcoal, ink and carbon pencil. Many of his works depict the west coast of Auckland and Northland, containing sea, sky, native birds, still life and occasionally figures.
The large, 2.5 kilo, hardback book with 400 pages is richly illustrated throughout with Binney's paintings, drawings and prints – alongside photographs and keepsakes.
Gregory O’Brien MNZM is a New Zealand poet, painter and editor who was expertly chosen to take on this large project, with the blessing of Binney’s family.
“Don was a hunter-gatherer, a hoarder and a ‘maximalist’ in many things. His letters, journals, novels, reviews and other writings run to millions of words. As well as many thousands of pages written in a tiny, hard-to-decipher script, there was also a huge archive of photographic negatives, prints and all sorts of other stuff. What a grand adventure this turned out to be.” Gregory O’Brien, Sunday Star Times
Don Binney: Flight Path is divided into six parts, an afterword, chronology including images, and a bibliography.
Part 1, Taking Flight, 1940-62, covers Binney’s childhood, school days and the years of study at Elam, followed by teachers’ college and school teaching.
Part 2, Between Bird & Headland, 1963-67, covers the years of Binney’s rise to fame and popularity through a succession of well-received exhibitions at Ikon Gallery, and later at Barry Lett Galleries. It also focuses on his early environmentalism.
Part 3, Offshore, 1968-73, covers the artist’s time in Mexico, Central America and the United Kingdom.
Part 4, Returning Bird, 1974-1985, covers his return home to New Zealand. His time of reflection and potential exhibitions and commissions.
Part 5, Four or Five Ways of Not Being a Painter, 1973-85; covers the difficult years when Binney became a focus of attack on what was derided as ‘regional realism’ by younger artists and critics.
Part 6, Descending Bird, 1986-2012, covers Binney revisiting his earlier bird-and-landscape centred subjects in the last two decades of his life.
Don Binney: Flight Path is remarkable book about a captivating man and artist. Gregory O’Brien perfectly balances the fascinating human story and a comprehensive reference book and that is not easily done.
Auckland University Press should be very proud of the production of this book. The replication of images is superb, along with strong binding and high-quality paper. Making this the perfect Christmas gift and coffee table book.

Review by Renee Hollis

Title: Don Binney: Flight Path
Author: Gregory O’Brien
Publisher: Auckland University Press
ISBN: 9781869409661
RRP: $89.99
Available: bookshops

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Suspects a-plenty in whodunnit

6/11/2023

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Everything To Hide
by K.V. Martins

From the back blurb:
Australia is in the grip of the Great Depression and Harold is surrounded by opulence: tuxedos, sequined dresses and sumptuous food. But when a severe storm hits and electricity and telephone are cut off, Harold and the guests find that Roland Barry’s vast wealth cannot protect him, and Harold must uncover secrets, discover motives and find the killer.
This is a very enjoyable whodunnit. Very much in the style of Agatha Christie and set in 1933 Australia. It is well paced, fast from the get-go, Martins sets characters quickly and has a great touch with atmosphere and place. The era is evoked well, too with several historical references which had me checking for authenticity and happily proved accurate.
There are suspects a-plenty, motives everywhere and a very unpleasant victim. Harold’s Watson is a delightful surprise with a nose for a killer.
Though very Christie, I thought Martins did a great job of avoiding stereotypes and her characters were nicely nuanced. The victim was very one-dimensional but as a baddie he was great.
One writing technique I feel was overused and that was the revelation-suddenly-cut-off but I was undecided if this was a deliberate ruse so after the first couple I let them do their job without questioning too much.
Detective Senior Sergeant Harold Chesterfield of Sydney Central Police is a nicely written character and one I would happily read more of. His career advancement sets fair for some more interesting cases so I will be waiting avidly.
Much thanks to K.V. Martins for a great read.

Review by TJ Ramsay

Title: Everything To Hide
Author: K.V. Martins
Publisher: Aroona Group Press
ISBN: 978-1-7385923-2-6
RRP: $29.99
Available: Paperback:The Underground Bookstore, Wellington
https://www.theundergroundbookstore.nz/; Paper Plus, Kerikeri; via [email protected]
E-book and paperback: Amazon

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Heavy concerns written about in a readable way

Ordinary people in extraordinary situations

Revealing book on an artist’s career

Suspects a-plenty in whodunnit

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