Read Around Oceania Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Oceania.
Best books from Oceania (206)
131.
The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep by H G Parry EN
Country: Oceania / 
New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
'Parry knocks it out of the park . . . Just plain wonderful' Kirkus For his entire life, Charley Sutherland has concealed a magical ability he can't quite control: he can bring characters from books into the real world. His older brother, Rob - a young lawyer with an utterly normal life - hopes that this strange family secret will disappear with disuse, and he will be discharged from his duty of protecting Charley and the real world from each other. But then, literary characters start causing trouble in their city, making threats about destroying the world, and for once, it isn't Charley's doi... continue
132.
The Luminaries : A Novel by Eleanor Catton EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
Arriving in New Zealand in 1866 to seek his fortune in the goldfields, Walter Moody finds himself drawn into a series of unsolved crimes and complex mysteries.
133.
The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
Eight-year-old Kahu, a member of the Maori tribe of New Zealand, fights to prove her love, her leadership, and her destiny when hundreds of whales beach themselves and threaten the future of the Maori tribe. Basis for the 2003 feature film.
134.
Faces In The Water by Janet Frame EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
'Janet Frame's luminous words are the more precious because they were snatched from the jaws of the disaster of her early life . . . and yet to read her is no more difficult than breathing' Hilary Mantel When Janet Frame's doctor suggested that she write about her traumatic experiences in mental institutions in order to free herself from them, the result was Faces in the Water, a powerful and poignant novel. Istina Mavet descends through increasingly desolate wards, with the threat of leucotomy ever present. As she observes her fellow patients, long dismissed by hospital staff, with humour and... continue
135.
Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
Sorcha, the seventh child and only daughter of Lord Colum, faces the difficult task of having to save her family from its enemies, who have bewitched her father and six older brothers while forcing her to choose between the life she has always known and a special love. Reprint.
136.
Son of the Shadows by Juliet Marillier EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
Beautiful Sorcha is the courageous young woman who risked all to save her family from a wicked curse and whose love shattered generations of hate and bridged two cultures. It is from her sacrifice that Sorcha's brothers were brought home to their ancestral fortress Sevenwaters, and her life has known much joy. But not all the brothers were able to fully escape the spell that transformed them into swans, and it is left to Sorcha's daughter Liadan to help fulfill the destiny of the Sevenwaters clan. Beloved child and dutiful daughter, Liadan embarks on a journey that shows her just how hard-won ... continue
137.
The Bone People by Keri Hulme EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
Integrating both Maori myth and New Zealand reality, The Bone People became the most successful novel in New Zealand publishing history when it appeared in 1984. Set on the South Island beaches of New Zealand, a harsh environment, the novel chronicles the complicated relationships between three emotional outcasts of mixed European and Maori heritage. Kerewin Holmes is a painter and a loner, convinced that "to care for anything is to invite disaster." Her isolation is disrupted one day when a six-year-old mute boy, Simon, breaks into her house. The sole survivor of a mysterious shipwreck, Simon... continue
138.
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
"This novel is about a woman called Martha. She knows there is something wrong with her but she doesn't know what it is. Her husband Patrick thinks she is fine. He says everyone has something, the thing is just to keep going. By the time Martha finds out what is wrong, it doesn't really matter anymore. It is too late to get the only thing she has ever wanted. Or maybe it will turn out that you can stop loving someone and start again from nothing - if you can find something else to want."--Provided by publisher.
139.
Once Were Warriors by Alan Duff EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
Life as a Maori in present day New Zealand, chronicling their poverty, their alcoholism and their despair. The narrator is a Maori woman who has nothing but contempt for Maori men--warriors who degenerated into lazy bums.
140.
The Quiet People by Paul Cleave EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
Suspicion is cast on two successful crime writers, when their seven-year-old son goes missing. Are they trying to show that they can commit the perfect crime? A mesmerisingly twisty, dark thriller from number-one bestselling author Paul Cleave... 'A cinematic, raging, rollercoaster of a plot with a wry humour ... The Quiet People is wildly entertaining and will keep you guessing right to the end' New Zealand Herald 'A superb novel from a champion storyteller' Crime Watch 'Cleave writes the kind of dark, intense thrillers that I never want to end. Do yourself a favour and check him out' Simon K... continue