Welcome to Litsy!

A rare case of “I think the movie did it better.” Whale Rider is a powerful story, but I found it cinematically more moving (which is a rare take for me). I listened to the audio on this reread and think that perhaps it would have benefited from not being read by the author. Not my fave Ihimaera.

#TPRC 19. Falling: a book that's likely to make you emotional
It took some time searching for emotional book rec‘s that fit with the prompt. I was reading through a Reddit thread and I wasn‘t feeling moved to check out the books mentioned. Until that is I came across a commenter‘s experience with reading The Bone People. That has been on my tbr for years and maybe this is a sign to get it read in the near future.
@Yuki_Onna

A woman lives as a recluse and eccentric in rural New Zealand. Sensing her emptiness, she meets a mute child and his troubled Māori foster father. This book won a whole slew of awards upon its first publishing in the early ‘80s by a small literary feminist collective. The author‘s language is beautiful, dancing between Māori, English, poetry, and prose. Warning: there are many instances of child abuse which may make this a grim read at times.

Māori detective Hana Westerman is sent a mysterious video that leads her to head up the investigation of two murders that quickly multiply. It‘s hard to stop a killer when he has centuries-old retribution as his goal.
Full of Māori history and culture, I highly recommend the audiobook so you can hear how the names and words are pronounced.

I really enjoyed this thriller set in New Zealand and deep within the Māori culture, traditions, and particularly the history that comes from centuries of racism following the British colonizers theft of their native land and sacred spaces. The audio was fantastic and added to the suspense. I‘ll admit to driving white knuckled thru some tense scenes!

Another new-to-me author. This mystery takes place in New Zealand and has a strong focus on Māori culture and identity. The audiobook is great and has two narrators. This is book one and I‘m not sure if this will be a continuing series, but the next one comes out in May.

#ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove2024

Ouch that hurt! One of those stories that hurts to read but it‘s a truth that must be told. An outstanding piece of literary fiction from author Becky Manawatu, drawing on some real life stories and others so cinematically conjured I am certain we‘ll see this on screen soon. Beautiful, raw and #owsie 😓

My summary for #foodandlit New Zealand 🇳🇿 - interesting and sometimes surprising insights into a country on the other side of the world. I liked having an American and a German perspective, they made for a good mix commenting on remarkable, funny and sad aspects of the country's culture , history and customs.

As I did not attempt to actually make a pavlova, so I had some extra kiwis this month.🥝🥝🥝

@Catsandbooks
@Texreader

I‘m enjoying and intrigued by this book that mixes New Zealand history with personal memoir.

I listened to quite a bit of it today while walking with Luthien. She‘s got a new tracking collar so she can spend more time off leash, and she very much enjoyed it today.

#FoodAndLit #NewZealand #ReadingOceania2024 #nonfiction #memoir #audiobook #audiowalk #DogsOfLitsy

This was my pick for #NewZealand #FoodAndLit

It was an interesting look at a Māori tribe trying to keep their ancestral land when developers are trying to convince them to leave. Things get out of hand when the developers realise they can‘t be bought. I don‘t know much about the culture so it was a nice insight into some of the customs.