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Current Reading Header
I’ve been reading
Below are some of the books I’ve been reading.
For an in-depth review of each book, please click on the cover image. -
THE SURVIVORS
the survivors
Steve Braunias
Prize-winning journalist and crime-reporter Steve Braunias reflects on an eclectic mix of individuals whose lives and/or deaths in New Zealand made the newspapers, and frequently the courtroom too. Sometimes dark, often poignant, and rich in human detail, the stories about lives lived and lives lost resonate all the more for the way they interleave with Braunias’ honest refection’s about his own life and profession.
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PROPHET SONG
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THE BEE STING
the bee sting
Paul Murray
This story, about the disintegration of a well-off Irish family, is told from different family members’ points of view. The use of varying perspectives aligns well with the exploration of pretence and authenticity underpinning the book – namely the lies people tell themselves and others to make sense of their choices. Affecting, funny and deeply human. Highly recommend. -
READING WITH PATRICK
reading with patrick
Michelle Kuo
English teacher Michelle Kuo temporarily forgoes a legal career to resume teaching a former pupil, Patrick, to read, after Patrick lands in jail charged with murder. A poignant, true account of the friendship that grows between the two, and of the power of books to change lives. The memoir resonated with me, particularly for some of the parallels with one of my novels, The Last Time We Spoke. -
ALL THE BROKEN PLACES
all the broken places
John Boyne
In this compelling sequel to ‘The Boy in Striped Pyjamas’, the now 91-year-old daughter of a former SS commandant at Auschwitz is forced to confront her past, after spending a lifetime trying to escape it. A thought-provoking exploration of guilt, complicity, and grief. -
IN MY TIME OF DYING
in my time of dying
Sebastian Junger
When his dead father appears to him while he is bleeding out from a ruptured aortic aneurysm, former war reporter Sebastian Junger is forced to confront his beliefs about an afterlife. In this book he explores both physical and metaphysical explanations for a phenomenon commonly described by those who have survived a near-death experience – namely the visitation of close family members from beyond the grave. A poignant, intelligent, and powerful meditation on human life, as set against the unknown of death. -
QUESTION 7
question 7
Richard Flanagan
This deeply affecting book by Richard Flanagan defies easy description. Flanagan grapples with the enigma that is the human condition, with man’s tendency to do terrible things, with cause and effect, anchoring these huge concepts in his own heritage and history. Highly recommend.