New Zealand Books 

Below are some book recommendations to help enhance preparations for your New Zealand trip. We will introduce other books with a New Zealand flavour from time to time, if you are interested in being kept up-to-date then join our mailing list.

The Bone People

by Keri Hulme

Paperback - (October 1986) 450 pages

The Bone People weaves its story together with dreams, myths and legends, the world of the dead, and the ways of ancient cultures. The result is an unconventional and powerful novel which, after being rejected by major New Zealand publishers, was published by a women's collective and won the prestigious Booker Prize in 1985.

The Piano : A Novel

by Jane Campion and Kate Pullinger

Paperback (July 1995) 224 pages

In the award-winning film The Piano, writer/director Jane Campion created a story so original and powerful it fascinated millions of moviegoers. This novel stands independent of the film, exploring the mysteries of Ada's muteness, the secret of her daughter's conception, the reason for her strange marriage and the past lives of Baines and Stewart.

Janet Frame : An Autobiography; Volume One : To the Island, Volume Two : An Angel at My Table, Volume Three : The Envoy from Mirror City/ 3 Volumes

by Janet Frame

Recipient of the prestigious Commonwealth Writers Prize in 1989, Janet Frame has long been admired for her startlingly original prose and formidable imagination. A native of New Zealand, she is the author of eleven novels, four collections of stories, a volume of poetry, a children's book, and her heartfelt and courageous autobiography--all published by George Braziller.

Once Were Warriors

by Alan Duff

Paperback - (March 1995) 192 pages

Once Were Warriors is Alan Duff's harrowing vision of his country's indigenous people two hundred years after the English conquest. In prose that is both raw and compelling, it tells the story of Beth Heke, a Maori woman struggling to keep her family from falling apart, despite the squalor and violence of the housing projects in which they live. Conveying both the rich textures of Maori tradition and the wounds left by its absence, Once Were Warriors is a masterpiece of unblinking realism, irresistible energy, and great sorrow