Reviews

95bFM's Loose Reads: Going Dark: The Secret Social Lives of Extremists by Julia Ebner by Time Out Bookstore

Beaming in by safe remote access, Kiran reviewed Going Dark: The Secret Social Lives of Extremists by Julia Ebner on 95bFM’s Loose Reads. A fascinating deep dive, it’s an investigative look at extremist movements and their rise, and it helps us understand the ideas driving the far right and extremist groups.

Going Dark.jpg

RNZ's Nine to Noon: Weather by Jenny Offill by Time Out Bookstore

On RNZ’s Nine to Noon, Kiran reviewed Weather the new novel by Jenny Offill, author of the hugely, widely adored Dept. of Speculation. Set during the 2016 US election, it examines the dual catastrophe of political doom and the accelerating climate crisis with a parallel of domestic anxiety. It’s a beautifully poised and refined novel, and it’s not all doom and gloom - Weather is cheerfully wry, witty and funny.

Jenny Offill.jpg

95bFM's Loose Reads: 2000ft Above Worry Level by Eamonn Marra by Time Out Bookstore

On 95bFM’s Loose Reads, Kiran spoke about Wellington writer and comic Eamonn Marra’s debut novel 2000ft Above Worry Level. An episodic series of connected pieces, this novel is written in a spare, laconic style and deals with anxiety, depression, awkward cam sex, and unemployment - but with the most brilliant sense of comic timing and a lightness of touch. It’s remarkably laugh-out-loud funny and touching, too.

Eamonn Marra.jpg

95bFM's Loose Reads: Strange Hotel by Eimear McBride by Time Out Bookstore

On 95bFM’s Loose Reads Kiran reviewed the eagerly anticipated new novel Strange Hotel by Eimear McBride, author of A Girl is a Half Formed Thing and The Lesser Bohemians. A slim novel at only 149 pages, Strange Hotel calls to be read in one feverish siting with a cold white wine which is what our unnamed narrator orders by the bottle from room service as she moves between a series of hotels in France, Prague, Oslo, Auckland and Austin. A searing meditation of the mind, body and loss, this radical novel is perfect for fans of Edna O’Brien and Rachel Cusk.

Strange Hotel.jpg

95bFM's Loose Reads: All Who Live on Islands by Rose Lu by Time Out Bookstore

Kiran reviewed All Who Live on Islands by Rose Lu on 95bFM’s Loose Reads. In this collection of nine essays which move between China, Palmerston North, Wellington, Christchurch and Whanganui, Lu writes with a lightness of touch about food, friendship, relationships, casual and internalised racism, sex, working in the tech industry, and what it’s like to grow up as a Chinese migrant in a multicultural society that has a monocultural focus. Kiran says, “we need more writing like this and I think it’s coming, which is exciting.”

Rose Lu.jpg

RNZ's Nine to Noon: Murmur by Will Eaves by Time Out Bookstore

On RNZ’s Nine to Noon, Kiran reviewed Murmur by Will Eaves. It is a mesmeric novel where science, imagination and literature intersect. It re-imagines the inner world of brilliant mathematician Alan Turing who was a computer science and number theory pioneer and WWII codebreaker. Bringing together deep philosophy, maths and the body, Murmur is also about exclusion, socio-economic stability and human rights - and what happens when these things are threatened. This exquisite novel was the winner of the 2019 Wellcome Book Prize, a prize which celebrates health and medicine in literature.

Murmur.jpg

95bFM's Loose Reads: It Gets Me Home, This Curving Track by Ian Penman by Time Out Bookstore

This beautiful collection brings together music criticism, history, social commentary and biography in eight intelligent and elegantly written long-form pieces by music journalist Ian Penman who has contributed to the NME (when it was still a class act!), Guardian and London Review of Books (from which some of these essays originated). Penman eloquently covers the mod revival, James Brown, Charlie Parker, Frank Sinatra, John Fahey, Steely Dan, Elvis Presley and Prince.

Ian Penman.jpg

95bFM's Loose Reads: Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock & Roll by Nick Tosches by Time Out Bookstore

Think you know about country music? Think again! To celebrate the wild, gutsy and pioneering music journalist Nick Tosches who just passed away, Kiran reviewed Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock & Roll on 95bFM’s Loose Reads. Looking at the history of country music from honky tonk hell to rockabilly heaven, Tosches goes way beyond Hank Williams and excavates the true dark heart of country music, activating the colourful personalities behind it. A super juicy book, filled with tales of brawling, murder and intrigue, it will appeal to any music lover - whether you like country music or not!

Nick Tosches.jpg

95bFM's Loose Reads: 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak by Time Out Bookstore

Kiran reviewed Booker Prize shortlisted novel 10 Minutes, 38 Seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak. The publication of this brave novel has seen Shafak come under investigation by the Turkish government for her unflinching but compassionate look at violence against women in her homeland. This is a profound story of friendship, love and Turkish history, told through the eyes of its marginalised people.

Elif Shafik.jpg

RNZ's Nine to Noon: Girl by Edna O'Brien by Time Out Bookstore

On RNZ’s Nine to Noon, Kiran reviewed our Book of the Month, Girl by Edna O’Brien. O’Brien is an important writer who has long given a voice and created a space for girls and women in crisis. This novel tells the story of Maryam, one of a group of schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria. Girl will rip your heart out, but you won’t be able to put the book down. What a writer!

Girl Edna O' Brien.jpg

95bFM's Loose Reads: Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino by Time Out Bookstore

On 95bFM’s Loose Reads, Kiran reviewed New Yorker staff writer Jia Tolentino’s piercing collection of essays Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self Delusion. It dives deep into the evolution of the internet, the effects of late capitalism, the definitive scams of the millennial era, and the diminishing gap between personal and political delusion. These perfectly pitched essays also come with an endorsement from Rebecca Solnit so what more could you ask for?

Trick Mirror.jpg

RNZ's Nine to Noon: Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss by Time Out Bookstore

On RNZ’s Nine to Noon Kiran reviewed Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss who will be appearing in conversation at Time Out in October and Verb in November. It’s an atmospheric novel about 17-year-old Silvie who goes on an excursion with her mother and father to live on an archeological replica of an Iron Age settlement with the goal of living like ancient Britons did for a flavour of Iron Age life. This is a very mesmerising novel. It’s an exquisite novel, a tremendous mood piece with a heck of an impact.

Ghost Wall.jpg

RNZ's Nine to Noon: Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry by Time Out Bookstore

On RNZ’s Nine to Noon Kiran reviewed Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry which has been longlisted for the Booker Prize. Charlie and Maurice are two ragged Irish gangsters from Cork who are waiting at a Spanish port for a night boat from Tangier. This is a dark novel about crime and its effects, but it’s also very funny and touching, and beautifully deals with love, loss, ageing, parenthood and the fraternity of male friendship.

Night Boat to Tangier.jpg