My first column is also available on Books in the Trees.
Book Watch Column 28 April 2013
Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew, by
Shehan Karunatilaka (Vintage, 2012) - see http://www.amazon.com/Chinaman-Shehan-Karunatilaka/dp/0099555689
(US $9.99 Kindle ebook; also available in paperback and hardback)
Shehan
Karunatilaka, who is a guest at the Auckland Writers & Readers Festival
2013, studied at Massey University. Perhaps this is why this entertaining
picaresque about the greatest and least recognized Sri Lankan cricketer,
Pradeep Mathew, a Tamil spinner whose imaginary exploits often echo the real
exploits of Muttiah Muralidaran, is full of references to New Zealand – from
the expected (Hadlee, the Crowes, Dipak Patel) to the less expected (Anchor
Milk). And the denouement of the book takes place in and around Whanganui!
This novel weaves a rich tapestry of cricket, politics, corruption,
the Sri Lankan civil war, and a dogged journalist with a dodgy liver determined
to track his elusive quarry down. Highly recommended.
PS: Shehan Karunatilaka is a guest at this year's Auckland Writers & Readers Festival - something I didn't know when I started writing the review!
Amigas, by Elena Bossi and Penelope
Todd, published by Rosa Mira Books (2012) – see http://rosamirabooks.com/books/index.html#Amigas
(US $10.00 ebook)
Argentine writer Elena Bossi and New Zealand writer Penelope Todd wrote
this bilingual novel (that is to say, the novel exists in complementary but not
identical English- and Spanish-language versions within one ebook) after
meeting at the University of Iowa Writing Programme in 2007 - and it's an
interesting and enjoyable novel, though sad at times. It follows the chance
meeting of two teenage girls, one from New Zealand and one from Argentina, at
Rome Airport in 1969; their developing friendship, in person and then by
letter; and the threat that hangs over that friendship. To say any more would
be to enter spoiler territory – check it out for yourself!
Enter Night: Metallica: the Biography, by
Mick Wall (Orion, 2011) - see http://www.amazon.com/Enter-Night-A-Biography-Metallica/dp/B007K4FIGA/
(NZ $29.99 paperback)
Mick Wall's biography of Metallica is
very strong on their early years as progenitors of thrash metal, and on the
musical and personal significance of bassist Cliff Burton, killed in a bus
crash in 1987. But as the years and the albums go by, the book becomes less and
less informative. There's a lot more to be gleaned about their struggles as
adults from the excellent documentary Some
Kind Of Monster than there is from Enter
Night. All the same, for its eyewitness account of 1980s Metallica, this is
good reading for all Metallica fans.
Names: Poems, by Marilyn Hacker (Norton,
2010) - see http://www.amazon.com/Names-Poems-Marilyn-Hacker/dp/039333967X/
(US $23.95 hardback, 11.66 paperback)
Marilyn Hacker is a
distinguished American poet whose work I had not previously read. Contrary to
my perception of her as a “difficult” poet, and though many of the poems in
this collection are long, I found them to be moving, engaging, beautifully
written and full of meaning. There is a sureness of voice which I enjoyed, but
without the dogmatism that can be its shadow. These poems were a very pleasant surprise
to me, and are worth the attention of any poetry lover.
1 comment:
Haven't read Marilyn Hacker, for much the same reasons you mention. But maybe now I'll give her a try.
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