The week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by Steve Braunias
FICTION
1 Kāwai by Monty Soutar (David Bateman, $39.99)
When J Wiremu Kane applied for the 2022 Surrey Hotel-Newsroom writers residency award, his proposal was to work on his novel in progress, Whakarongorua, which he described as "a sweeping period epic spanning almost 50 years of the early European settlement of Aotearoa New Zealand". I thought: how great and at last that a Māori writer is going to write a historical novel from a Māori point of view. He was duly awarded the residency. And then along came Māori writer Dr Monty Soutar with Kāwai, a sweeping 18th Century epic; it's been number one on the bestseller chart for six weeks now, proving there's a clear appetite for historical fiction told from a from a Māori point of view. It will be reviewed in ReadingRoom by – of course! – J Wiremu Kane.
2 The Doctor’s Wife by Fiona Sussman (David Bateman, $37.99)
"It’s a fine thriller that hooks the readers in early and never lets up. But it’s the human element of Sussman’s writing that will linger long in the memory after the intricacies of the tightly planned plot have faded": from a review by Greg Fleming in The Listener.
3 Harbouring by Jenny Pattrick (Penguin Random House, $36)
4 The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $35)
Number four with a bullet, in its first week; and Chidgey's latest novel, told by a magpie, will surely be number one next week, after hordes rush into bookstores over Labour Weekend to buy it on the strength of Rachael King's fulsome praise in her ReadingRoom review, published on Thursday: "The Axeman’s Carnival is remarkable, brilliant, a classic in the making…All hail, Chidgey."
Surely the year's best cover of a novel. Art by Jesse Newton.
5 Eddy, Eddy by Kate De Goldi (Allen & Unwin, $29.99)
6 Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $35)
7 Poor People With Money by Dominic Hoey (Penguin Random House, $37)
Gritty crime drama set in the mean streets of Auckland and a no-street remote settlement in the Far North.
8 Tarquin the Honest by Gareth Ward (David Bateman, $34.99)
9 Pounamu Pounamu by Witi Ihimaera (Penguin Random House, $30)
New edition of the classic 1972 collection of short stories, the first published by a Māori writer. One of the best stories is the shortest, "The Emerald City", about a family who leave their small settlement to seek work in Wellington. The father says, "You got to go where the money is. That's the Pākehā way." His brother responds, "The Pākehā way, the Pākehā way. And next thing you know the Māori turns Pākehā too…"
10 The Wrong Woman by J.P. Pomare (Hachette, $36.99)
NON-FICTION
1 Straight Up by Ruby Tui (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
“It was a brutal 80 minutes,” said Wales's skipper, Siwan Lillicrap, after the Black Ferns smashed their World Cup opponents 56-12 this week; Tui, inevitably, was among the try scorers. The Black Ferns play Scotland this weekend at Okara Park in Whangarei.
2 Simple Fancy by Margo Flanagan & Rosa Flanagan (Allen & Unwin, $45)
Food.
3 Wawata by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin Random House, $30)
"When I am exploring the forensic issues for our taitamāhine, our young women, that come into contact with the court, I see the cycles of pent-up female rage…Where does this aggression and destructive energy come from? It breaks my heart to say that most of these young women I have got to know through my work as a child and adolescent psychiatrist have developed their fearsome wrath because of being subjected to violence themselves…We must try to face our own anger, rage and desire to control and possess": from a powerful excerpt published in ReadingRoom on Monday.
4 Salad by Margo Flanagan & Rosa Flanagan (Allen & Unwin, $45)
More food.
5 Dish Summer by Sarah Tuck & Claire Aldous (SCG Media, $45)
More and more food.
6 Aroha by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin Random House, $30)
7 Here For a Good Time: Organised thoughts from a disorganised mind by Chris Parker (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
"Comedy".
8 A Quiet Kitchen by Nici Wickes & Todd Eyre (David Bateman, $45)
More, more, and more food.
9 Kiwi Bikers: 85 New Zealanders and their motorbikes by Ken Downie (Massey University Press, $65)
1908 Indian moped. 1927 Brough Superior SS100. 1942 Harley-Davidson WLA. 1956 BSA B33 500. 1966 Ducati 350 Mach 1. 1969 Honda C2O1E. 1972 Suzuki GT750 J. 1989 Honda NX650 Dominator. 1992 Britten V1000. 2007 Triumph Bonneville T100. 2018 MV Agusta 675 triple. 2020 Kawasaki KX250F...Beautiful colour photography in a great big coffee table book; every spread is hog heaven.
10 Miss Polly’s Kitchen by Polly Markus (Allen & Unwin, $45)
Food.
