Books: Best NZ fiction from 2023
Pet, Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, RRP $38)
In the same year novelist Chidgey won a welldeserved Ockham for The Axman’s Carnival she released Pet, a gripping thriller set in both 1984 and 2014 New Zealand. It follows the story of pre-teen Justine, who is drawn to her glamorous new teacher. Stuff’s Philip Matthews described it as a story about “temptations of charismatic, attractive characters” while The Post called it “piercing and magnificent”.
Everything is Beautiful, and Everything Hurts, Josie Shapiro (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
This debut novel from
Shapiro was chosen from the publisher’s popular commercial fiction prize submissions, and for good reason. Following five-foot, dyslexic Mickey Bloom’s thirst for running, which helps her get through a series of life challenges, it’s a story about resilience, achieving your dreams, and family. Paula Green, for Kete Books, called the novel “genius”.
Birnam Wood, Eleanor Catton (Te Herenga Waka University Press, RRP $38)
Yes, we’ve gone on a lot about Catton this year (in April she told the StarTimes how she sorted the bad ideas from the good – “You have to just have a strong enough stomach to tolerate your own bad ideas long enough”). But this environmental thriller set in a fictional NZ national park, is that good. Wrote The New York Times’ Dwight Garner, “Very much of its moment... Like a refreshed The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, it’s all laptops and cycle helmets. You will learn more here about thermal imaging, drone evasion, burner applications and the raiding of other people’s browser histories... than you thought possible.”
One of those mothers, Megan Nicol Reed (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
This debut novel from the former Sunday Star-Times columnist is a domestic noir compared to Liane Moriarty or those who loved the Nicole Kidman/ Reese Witherspoon drama Big Little Lies (who didn’t?). The fictional suburb of Point Heed is rocked by a gross scandal – a heinous crime committed by a local father, with repercussions all round. NZ Review of Books’ Pamela Morrow said the novel was “accessible and plausible” and could prompt tough conversations between parents and children.
Landed, Sue McCauley (Bateman Books, RRP $38)
In 90s Timaru, after the suicide of her husband Brewer, 60-something Briar is working out what her life looks like. McCauley is an awardwinning author, most notably for 1982’s Other Halves. Jenny Purchase, for Kete Books, says Landed is a “wry, pensive, character-driven novel”.