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By: COROM 002
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2025-07-09 09:57:46 |
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We really enjoyed Owen Marshall's short stories, and found them great for discussion. We are now reading his 'New Stories' and 'The Larnachs'. |
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By: WHAKA 010
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2025-05-21 13:45:44 |
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Our book group realised that we prefer the plot and character development of a novel. Great stories - just not our preferred format. |
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By: PALMN 001
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2025-04-28 14:08:57 |
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Most people enjoyed some of the stories. They were well-written. Probably better to have a "whole story" as we found with so many stories, that it was hard to recall some of them. Short stories are great for picking up for a short read. 'Return to Harikoa Bay' was a good authentic story. |
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By: DUNED 115
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2025-03-13 10:07:32 |
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Enjoyed the idea of short stories, especially quick bedtime reading. Huge variety of scenarios and characters with many a great reflection of his N.Z. heritage. |
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By: NELS 023
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2025-03-10 11:39:21 |
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Despite the fact that many of our group are not fans of short stories, we all enjoyed this book. We appreciated the N.Z. themed stories and the twists at the end. We thought the writing was excellent. |
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By: CHCH 479
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2024-11-29 14:52:05 |
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Apart from 1 member who didn't like short stories, we all loved the book. Several were Owen Marshall fans and agreed that the stories were excellent. The wide range of subjects, characters and settings was stunning. He paints pictures with words and specialises in relationships. My favourite N.Z. author! |
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By: WELL 012
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2024-10-21 09:28:46 |
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Our favourite story was 'Return to Harikoa Bay', as many of us reminisced about baches by the beach as children. |
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By: CHCH 552
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2024-09-18 15:03:13 |
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Beautiful collection of short stories, we really loved the author's ability to write from different perspectives and the distinctly 'kiwi' feel to a lot of the stories. |
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By: TAUP 012
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2024-08-28 14:31:44 |
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Not a book many could read from cover to cover, but lovely short stories. A great coffee table book, or one to take on holiday. |
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By: WELL 041
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2024-05-22 11:47:37 |
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This book was largely much enjoyed. We think Owen Marshall writes beautifully and is a master of the short story. Each story was a pleasure to read. However, one or two of the group find short stories too short, preferring the longer format of novels, biographies etc. |
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By: AUCK 443
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2024-05-06 12:53:34 |
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The group felt that the stories were very NZ oriented. Marshall is a visual writer and the settings tended to define the characters and their feelings/emotions. The stories also tended to reflect Marshall's own experiences and observations which made them very relatable to us as NZ readers. Comparing them with Katherine Mansfield's and Janet Frame's short stories, which we did, they seemed a little pedestrian. On average our preference was to give the collection of stories a 3. |
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By: CHCH 518
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2024-01-15 11:17:10 |
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This book convinced several in our group that short stories were an enjoyable read. We all liked the title story in particular. |
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By: AUCK 422
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2023-12-01 17:32:47 |
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Our main discussion was about the title story, so this rating was based on this one story. First time we have ever unanimously given such a high score! But such a perceptive and beautifully written story, that we could all relate to in some way. It stimulated a great discussion. |
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By: ROTO 003
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2023-10-25 10:32:39 |
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We enjoyed the snippets of people's lives and characterisations. Some thought they'd like the stories to develop more. Great that so many were N.Z. based. Personally I loved them. |
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By: LOWER 024
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2023-09-13 12:28:09 |
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Well-written; we liked the different voices...male, female, different ages. Authentic settings and we enjoyed those set in N.Z. Some people didn't get into it or finish. |
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