Crossing and recrossing the fence between fiction and non-fiction, and told entirely in the form of interviews, this is a compelling portrait of a group of friends in Catalonia, who are divided by class and the consequences of their crimes.
"A moving meditation on youth, love, betrayal and the media, as well as an uncompromising political novel. Cercas has yet again expanded our idea of what fiction can do." - Juan Gabriel Vasquez
150 stand-out poems, from the 1930s to today. Includes Nelson-based poets Rae Varcoe, Cliff Fell, Rachel Bush, Jessica Le Bas, Lindsay Pope and Gordon Challis, in luminous company.
The above-mentioned will be reading in the Free House Yurt, Collingwood Street on Thursday 31 July, 6pm. See you there!
A book about pain, Morgellon's Disease, ultra-running, and Frida Kahlo; a book about gangland tours, acting, and feminism; about being mugged, being loved, and thinking hard.
"The Empathy Exams is a work of tremendous pleasure and tremendous pain. Leslie Jamison is so intelligent, so compassionate, and so fiercely, prodigiously brave. This is the essay at its creative, philosophical best." - Eleanor Catton
Someone is watching the Nortons. Domestic comedy turns into twisted fairytale and a forest becomes an almost mythic force in this novel of morality and threat.
"Into the Trees is intensely concerned with the morality of thought and deed without being in any way moralistic." - Guardian
One in 30 of the people on this planet is Indonesian. The 13,000 islands of their homeland, scattered along the equator, stretch the distance from London to Tehran, and the residents of the capital, Jakarta, tweet more than those of any other city on the planet. By any standard, Indonesia is a global hub, one of the most dynamic and diverse countries of the 21st century.
An enjoyable guide to a fascinating country we can't afford to not know more about.
Frame by glorious frame, this beautiful graphic novel captures the essence of the Tour de France - the grit and the glory.
After forming The Flowers of Romance with Sid Vicious in 1976, Viv joined The Slits and made musical history as one of the first generation of punk bands. Here is the story of what it was like to be a girl at the height of punk: the sex, the drugs, the guys, the tours, the hard lessons learned and those not considered.
"Clothes, clothes, clothes! Music, music, music! Boys, boys, boys!" - Viv's mother, c.1976
Interview here.
One day Boy and Girl go out for a picnic. They meet all sorts of creatures along the way - some come with them and some chase them, but whatever happens, today will be a day for Adventure!
A new John Burningham book is a new favourite.
Tiger wants to bake a cake. A chocolate cake. But rabbit has a weakness for carrot cake. Monkey wants a banana cake. Dog is licking his chops thinking about a bone cake. And little Bear really wants a fish cake. Is there a way to satisfy everyone?
Lots of fun!!!
Beginning in the 1940s, the Architectural Centre was on a mission to transform Wellington into a modern city. Julia Gatley traces the impact of these architects.
A window into the lives of displaced Hispanic immigrants.
"In this powerful novel, Cristina Henriquez gives us unforgettable characters, whose destinies are shaped by forces - senseless, random, political - far beyond their control, and yet whose resilience yields a most profound and unexpected kind of beauty." - Ruth Ozeki, author of A Tale for the Time Being
"A quiet, unassuming novel that ravels slowly, quickens without warning, spins into high drama and leaves you in thrall to its vivid characters and its author’s sure hand." - Washington Post
"Evocative and moving. Downie brings a deep and impassioned knowledge of French history, culture, and language to this pilgrimage. The result is an extraordinary account that illuminates France past and present." - National Geographic Traveler
"Caitlin Moran's antidote to Fifty Shades of Grey is a definitely that: snortingly funny and very real, with interesting and mostly flawed characters. Although she clearly states that it is a work of fiction, she no doubt draws from her experiences. Beneath the bravado there are some very strong messages about identity and women, poverty, and how we create who we are." - Sarah
New New Zealand author Gemma Bowker-Wright leads us into the phases of transition and transformation in people’s lives: a dream job, a rare afternoon between son and father, a man losing his wife to Alzheimer’s, a first snow. Like the Red Queen of Through the Looking-Glass, many of these characters are running hard to stay in the same place, but moving ever forward.
Horizontalist movements are the engine by which new social forms are brought into being, and by which political forms are realigned to the people's will. What should democracy look like?
How do states maintain relevance and legitimacy in a world of changing priorities and practices? The authors identify three revolutions in the idea of the state: the nation-state, the liberal state and the welfare state, and suggest that we are currently experiencing a fourth. What is happening and what will the the outcome be?
Imagine a train to take you away. Imagine a city and drops of rain, a world without edges where the wind takes you high where buses are fish and the fish fly the sky. In the city of imagination, anything is possible, and an outing with their mother brings every kind of possibility to life for two lucky children.
A special book with wonderful illustrations.
In 1862, Rev Carl Sylvius Volkner was hanged, his head cut off, his eyes eaten and his blood drunk from his church chalice. His shrunken head was carried around the country. But what really happened and who was behind what was called 'the worst crime in the history of the world'?
A new collection from ex-pat New Zealand writer (author of The Conductor).
A fun, nasty riff on the Wizard of Oz.
Watch this!
Ten stories marking a return to the introspective characters and well-evoked locations that made Snow Falling on Cedars such a hit.
For years, the door has stayed closed. Hannah hardly notices it as she goes about her strange life in an isolated lighthouse. But when a pair of mysterious strangers -- a boy and his guardian -- show up at the lighthouse, things start to go very wrong. Hannah's life is shattered. And the door is now wide open. In order to save herself and her family, Hannah must walk through this door. Into another world. A world where she doesn't belong. A world that wants to capture her and make sure she never makes it back home.
A psychopath is born every 47 seconds. Are they untreatable, or do they suffer from a mental illness comparable to schizophrenia or epilepsy? Does neuroscience give us the tools to understand?
"R.A.Spratt brings us a lively character,a very brainy young detective for us to enjoy. Friday Barnes embarks on great and dangerous adventures, helped and hindered by some wonderful characters. This series will be a hit with all that like a bit of geekiness and a mystery!" - Stella
"Friday Barnes is an extremely readable and fun book, perfect for 5-10 year olds." - Sarah
One hundred kilometers from Seville lies the small village of Marinaleda, which for the last thirty-five years has been the center of a tireless struggle to create a living utopia. Today, Marinaleda is a place where the farms and the processing plants are collectively owned and provide work for everyone who wants it. As Spain's crisis becomes ever more desperate, Marinaleda also suffers from the international downturn. Can the village retain its utopian vision? Can the iconic mayor Sanchez Gordillo hold on to the dream against the depredations of the world beyond his village?
Reveals the part the CIA played in the publication of Pasternak's Dr Zhivago during the 1950s cultural cold war.
Banksy is the world's foremost graffiti artist, his work adorning streets, walls and bridges across nations and continents. His stencil designs are instantly recognizable and disturbingly precise in their social and political commentary, flavoured with subtle humour and self-awareness.
A beautifully written fable of a boy's transformative bond with a groper. Nice edition.
A nutty romp through Europe, with a bit of social commentary thrown in! Do Ikea make beds of nails?
A charming picture book telling the true story of the seal who made her home in Christchurch's Avon River.
The definitive history of the political, cultural, military and personal forces which shaped Europe's path to the Great War - now in paperback.
"MacMillan's descriptions of 'those idiot leaders' are superb and they come vividly to life on the page." - Jan
Winner of the International Affairs Book of the Year at the Political Book Awards 2014
Vango has been in danger for as long as he can remember. He has spent his life jumping across rooftops, fleeing to mysterious islands and evading capture. But Vango will not run for much longer. The mystery of his past has started to unravel, and now, in the shadow of the rapidly changing world of 1930s Europe, Vango will face those who have haunted him for so long and finally find his true identity. If you haven't read Vango #1 - read it first!
"Exciting, unusual, and beautifully written." - David Almond
Mark reads at a high speed. He pauses at a comma, star-jumps at an asterisk and leaps at an exclamation mark! He reads and reads until he reaches...a full stop. From the author of the enjoyable Back-to-Front Bob.
