Book reviews: January 2022
Deals on Wheels reviews some of the latest titles to hit NZ bookshelves
Kiwi Garages:
Inside New Zealanders’ Happy Places
George Lockyer
Bateman Books
$45
Reviewed by Lyndsay Whittle
If you casually glanced at the title and thought ‘not another book about a load of old farts slavering over their old cars’, then you’re in for a pleasant surprise, as the author has chosen an eclectic mix of people, whose imagination knows no bounds when it comes to finding a multiplicity of uses for the humble garage.
Yes, you will find a smattering of old cars and trucks gracing its pages, but let’s face it—it wouldn’t be a book about Kiwi culture without the odd motor vehicle to look at, would it?
Kiwi Garages is written in an easy-to-read style, which invites the reader into the lives of 28 individuals with very individual life interests. An excellent home-grown present to go in the family Christmas stocking. Place it on the coffee table, pick it up as you please, and enjoy a good read.
The Prince of the Skies
Antonio Iturbe
MacMillan Publishers
$37.99
Reviewed by Toni Charlotte
Saint-Exupéry’s most famous work, , sold more than 100 million copies making it one of the most translated books ever published, appealing to both children and adults alike. This astounding true story is expertly told by Antonio Iturbe (author of The Librarian of Auschwitz) and tells the little-known tale of Saint-Exupéry, his adventures, kinship among aviators, and pioneering mail routes across the world in frequently treacherous conditions as World War II foreshadows Europe.
Saint-Exupéry’s passion to fly at all costs puts him at odds with his aristocratic French family and land-loving girlfriend, but together with his great friends, Jean and Henri, they change aviation, opening up new mail routes across the world. Think solo flying with no navigation across deserts, oceans, and rainforests, in pre-war light aircraft, and then add the War.
This is a rollicking adventure tale, which reads like a novel but is a fascinating, true story. Anybody with a yen for heroics, war, grand passion, and friendship among adventurers will love this book.
State of Terror
Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny
MacMillan Publishers
$34.99
Reviewed by Toni Charlotte
A high-stakes political thriller by first-time novelist Hillary Rodham Clinton (former US Secretary of State) and award-wining bestseller, Louise Penny. The story centres on a series of global terror attacks, which throw the world into disarray, and the response from novice Secretary of State, Ellen Adams, tasked with unravelling who is behind the attacks and what role an increasingly out of touch and disengaged US may have played.
Rodham Clinton’s experience as real-life Secretary of State in the Obama Administration constantly brings realism to this tale of high crimes and political intrigue in a way that only a true insider can. A real page-turner of a story; anybody who likes the political thriller genre will enjoy this book. On the basis of this book, I will look out for Rodham Clinton’s next foray into political thrillers (and Louise Penny’s, of course).
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