Wendy: 

the things we never say 

by Elizabeth Strout

 

I was so pleased and ready to meet Strout's new cast of characters in The Things We Never Say. 

 

It's about loneliness and marriage.

I've just realised that this book reminds me of the rediscovered classic, Stoner by John Williams. 

 

Strout is the type of writer whose books are hard to explain why I like, but I feel like I can really get inside and understand her characters. 

 

A really lovely read. 

jenna:

The valley

by asher emanuel

 

The Valley is a groundbreaking work of reporting that follows a Hutt Valley defence lawyer and a pair of his defendants over a two year period.

 

This is a world where everyone is doing the best with the resources they have - with the focus on two men’s lives filled with repetitive petty crime and the social and societal factors that led them there.

 

It won’t be often that a book like this is published in NZ. Emanuel’s writing holds humour, care and heartbreak and he was a breakout star of AWF. 

Rhi: 

Canon 

by Paige Lewis

 

I'd truly never read a book like Canon before! Taking inspiration from biblical stories and weaving them into a dreamlike queer narrative, Canon follows the parallel quests of two prophets: Yara, a non-binary person with OCD (is this my life story??); and Adrena, a queer woman who has a bone to pick with god. Hilarious and heartrending by turns, Canon tells our prophets' stories as they both strive to defeat Dominic, the leader of the ridiculously-named "Bad Guys". 

katie:

Frida Slattery as herself 

by ana kinsella

 

Raw and honest, Frida Slattery as Herself follows actor Frida and writer John through 16 years of artistic collaboration, personal entanglement, choices and mistakes. A witty and immersive character deep dive of a book.

 

'A gorgeous, immersive story which manages to be both epic and intimate, funny and wise. It is, among many things, a beautiful portrait of Dublin, and a story about difficult love, the lure of ambition and finding your creative voice. Tender and unexpected, the story of Frida Slattery and John Reddan will stay with me for a very long time' - Roisin O'Donnell, author of NESTING 

Pip:

Having spent life seeking

by kae tempest

It's been ten years since Kae Tempest's last novel, and as a longtime fan of his artistry I couldn't wait to get my hands on this new book. 

 

Rothko Taylor has washed back up in their hometown, Edgecliffe, and now the past is accelerating towards them - both the good and the bad. A beautifully moving tale of love, change, and forgiveness, this novel talks to the ebb and flow of life just as Tempest's poetry does. 

Nate: 

my year in paris with Gertrude stein by 

deborah levy

 

Levy's latest novel takes the reader on a ridiculously entertaining journey through past and present Paris. 

Our narrator is attempting to write a biography of Gertrude Stein and the book turns and swivels between these two perspectives; looking at the ideas and art that formed the modernist revolution and the uncertainties of our contemporary period. If this all sounds a bit heavy don't let that put you off - Levy expertly combines her ideas with sharply drawn characters and a search through the streets of Paris for a cat named 'It'. Ultimately, this is a book that examines how we construct our worlds, both interior and exterior, written with all of Levy's considerable intelligence and skill.

Frances:

ghost stories 

by siri hustvedt

 

A careful exposition of grief and love in the wake of the death of her husband, writer Paul Auster, Ghost Stories is disarming in its unflinching reflections, tender sentiment and playfulness of form. Creating a self-described “documentary collage” of memory and philosophical inquiry revolving around the absence of her life-partner’s physical form (and the life they shared before his death), Hustvedt’s signature curiosity and erudition are exercised to immensely moving effect. Gentle and critically rigorous in the same breath, this book only looks away from the pain of loss – what Hustvedt calls “ordinary madness” – to dwell momentarily in the joy of the life that preceded it. 

Amelie: The True True Story of Raja the Gullible by Rabih Alameddine

 

 

 

As the title suggests, this novel follows Raja, a gay 63 year old philosophy teacher, and his mother, who live in Beirut, Lebanon. Despite the civil war, nuclear explosion, Covid 19 pandemic and economic collapse, Alameddine manages to create a delightful and humorous read. The novel jumps through Raja's life--from being held captive by militia men, traveling to the US for a writing workshop, and his upbringing with his homophobic brother and father. Alameddine creates a charming yet heartbreaking story of a mother and son whose fierce love and loyalty to one another trumps all else. 

Rachel:

FAmESICK by 

LENA DUNHAM

 

A fascinating dissection of Lena Dunham's meteoric rise to fame as a young, young person (24!!). I love reading about this period of her life, especially the making of Girls and all of its ups and downs. Dunham writes candidly about her ongoing struggle with chronic pain, at a time when her career was progressing with such momentum – an experience which she likens to “towing a wrecked car across town at midnight”. What results is a deeply personal and humorous reflection on fame, illness, sex, and everything else in between. A voice of a generation for sure.