Back from holiday
The Booker Prize winner, Super Rugby, and a Tūī.
Good morning, and welcome back to Field Notes.
I’ve been back at work for a few months, but Field Notes had annual leave to burn so has only just returned from its summer holiday.
It’s an issue filled with a few different bits and bobs.
The 2023 Booker Prize winner, reviewed
I’ll say one thing for Paul Lynch, who won the 2023 Booker Prize with Prophet Song, he can write great sentences. But boy, this book is very bleak. Too bleak for my liking.
It’s about a family that is torn apart as Ireland charges headfirst into becoming a totalitarian state. Lynch does a brilliant job of showing the pain, desperation, and entrapment of the central family.
But there is no light. The misery of this novel’s world is so well imparted to the reader that moments to breathe are desperately needed, but do not come.
To sit through a book that offers not one shred of hope or humour is not enjoyable, nor is it representative of the world we live in. Even in dark times, there is still room for laughter.
I admired the craft, but as a whole, Prophet Song did not quite hit the mark for me.
A Tūī
This photo is part of a growing collection of bird photos I have taken without having to leave the comfort of home. Just how nature was supposed to be enjoyed!
But jokes aside, being able to look out your window and see native birds is a joy and a credit to the conservation work that has been going on in Wellington over the past few decades.
A fun start to the Super Rugby Pacific season
The 14-time champion Crusaders are yet to win after four rounds. The Australian teams, apart from the Force, are looking more competitive than in recent years and have put some good wins on the board. The Waratahs over the Crusaders and the Reds over the Chiefs to name a couple. It’s not just the Brumbies flying the flag for the Aussie teams so far this season. Moana Pasifika is off to its best start in its short history with two wins in four games. Oh, and the Hurricanes are top of the table — that doesn't hurt either.
Hopefully, this can continue throughout the season, as one of the main drawbacks of Super Rugby in recent seasons has been the gap between the top few teams and the rest.
NZ’s top fiction prize
The Ockham NZ Book Awards shortlists were announced this month, whittling the books in the running for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction down to four.
A Better Place by Stephen Daisley, Audition by Pip Adam, Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton, and Lioness by Emily Perkins are the finalists for the $65,000 prize.
Of those four finalists, I have only read Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton and therefore it is by default my pick to win.
The awards ceremony will be held in May so there is plenty of time to catch up on the other three.
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading.