Washday at the Pa cover

Washday at the Pa, photographs by Ans Westra, with text by Mark Amery, Suite Gallery, RRP $24.95, ISBN 9780473198466, Available now.

Any photography lover, any NZ photography lover and any NZ School Journal lover will have to get themselves a copy of Washday at the Pa. Originally a series of photographs taken by Ans Westra of a Maori family in Ruatoria, made into a booklet by the Ministry of Education with accompanying “story” by Ans Westra, controversially published and withdrawn due to a complaint by the Maori Women’s Welfare League, republished the next year… the history and story of Washday at the Pa (both photographs and the previously accompanying text) is a fascinating one, revealing much about using photos to capture moments… and then compiling those moments into the story you wish to tell.

Suite Gallery have published this beautiful new edition to accompany their exhibition of the original photographs and as well as including all the original photos, they’ve also added a full history of the images and books, their reception at various times and the shifts in opinion regarding the meaning of the images. Or, as Mark Amery puts it:

Washday will always be like that – a barometer of cultural outlooks at any particular time in history.

To see the photos in isolation from any “story text” is to come to the realisation that we don’t know the story, either of the photo setup or the subjects pictured, but that the images evoke a strong feeling of family life, family affection – it’s an experience akin to leafing through your own family album and remembering the stories behind each snapshot.

In our world of almost constant images, both self-portraits and media portraits, Washday at the Pa is a timely reminder that “a picture is worth a thousand words” – and a thousands stories.

Author of The Infernal Devices – the prequel trilogy to the bestselling The Mortal Instruments.

All text courtesy of Walker Books.

1. The first book in The Infernal Devices, Clockwork Angel, ended on a cliffhanger as Will went to seek help from Magnus Bane, but we weren’t told why. Can you tell us where Clockwork Prince picks up?

Clockwork Prince picks up about two weeks after the end of Clockwork Angel. We still don’t know why Will went to Magnus, and a Council is being held to determine whether Charlotte should get to keep her position as the head of the Institute after the disastrous events of Clockwork Angel.

2. You mentioned that Will is hiding a big secret that might be revealed in Clockwork Prince. Can you give us any clues as to what this might be?

That would be telling! I can only say that it is a secret that has shaped much of his life, and that it is why he is so unpleasant to everyone. We do find out what it is in Clockwork Prince, and Magnus was definitely the right person to go to for help!

3. In Clockwork Angel, Tessa is torn between moody and mysterious Will and devoted yet drugaddled Jem. Will Tessa be forced to make a decision in Clockwork Prince?

Oh, dear, poor Jem. He isn’t really addled by his drug – he’s more like a diabetic that needs insulin. The real downside is that the drug doesn’t even get him high; it just keeps him alive, poor thing. But I would say that in Clockwork Angel, Tessa is drawn to Will but he pushes her away. She doesn’t really notice Jem. In Clockwork Prince Jem steps up and demands to be noticed. She definitely will be clear on both boys’ feelings by the end of the book.

4. You often carry out real urban explorations and do a lot of research to inspire the settings for your books; for Clockwork Angel you read nothing but Victorian literature for six months. Can you tell us what kind of research or preparation you did for Clockwork Prince, and if there were any particular areas or real-life settings that you used?

Well, for both Clockwork books I traveled to London. For Prince, I also went to Yorkshire, because some key chapters of the book take place there. I took the train to York, as Will, Jem and Tessa do, and explored the city. The Institute in York is based on the Holy Trinity Church just off Goodramgate in the centre of York. I also drove around the area a great deal to get a sense of the countryside and used a particular house, Nunnington Hall in North Yorkshire, as Ravenscar Manor.

5. The Infernal Devices is a prequel trilogy to the bestselling The Mortal Instruments series. Did you set out to do a prequel series to The Mortal Instruments from the start, or was this series a story that became apparent after you’d began writing The Mortal Instruments?

I had the image in my head for a long time of a boy and a girl in period costume, standing in the middle of Blackfriars Bridge on a misty night. From one end of the bridge a group of clockwork automatons was advancing silently. For a long time I didn’t know what the story was with those two, but I played around with it in my head and somewhere between City of Bones and City of Ashes the idea of The Infernal Devices happened.

6. Finally, The Mortal Instruments is set in modern-day New York, and The Infernal Devices is set in Victorian-era London. If you had to choose one of these settings to live in, which would you choose, and why?

Much as I love the Victorian era, I would still choose to live in modern day. One word: antibiotics.

www.theinfernaldevices.com

Three books that have passed over my desk recently and I have passed my eyes over recently… with varying results.

People, People, People : A Brief History of New Zealand by Stevan Eldred-Grigg, Bateman Publishing, RRP $24.99, ISBN 9781869538132, Available now.

A short and well-produced history of New Zealand, the best part of People, People, People is by far the excellent selection of illustrations, paintings, and photos. The text is aimed at younger students or international students but I’m not sure how well the book will fare in that sector, considering the fairly obvious political bias at work (not surprising with Eldred-Grigg – you get what you get).

Does what it says on the cover and does it well.

The Two of Me by John Dybvig, Hurricane Press, RRP $29.99, ISBN 9780986468445, Available now.

Both publisher and author clearly know the public’s opinion of the subject of The Two of Me, billing it very much as a “don’t make your mind up before you read” book. Which is fair enough, The Two of Me has a lot going for it – it’s pacy, it’s lively, it’s easy to read – but the story doesn’t really bear out the premise – that John Dybvig has changed as much as he says he has. Centred around a health scare the “inspiring story” really is not actually that inspiring at all. Man has health scare, determines to take better care of his health and he does. Man decides he is alone in the world, determines to meet someone and coincidentally does shortly thereafter. Man determines not to act like so much of an a*sehole. Man fails. This isn’t overcoming great obstacles, people.

At one point Dybvig tells an editor “I don’t need to know anything to have an opinion.” Yes, indeed. General sports autobiography type readers will probably enjoy.

The Spanish Helmet by Greg Scowen, Whare Rama Books, Available on Kindle and Kindle Apps for US$0.99, Paperback RRP US$16.99, ISBN 9781463558482, Available now.

A conspiracy thriller with a New Zealand twist, The Spanish Helmet centres on Matthew Cameron, archaeologist and historian, who travels to NZ to investigate findings that point to an alternative history of New Zealand, in particular that the Spanish were in NZ before the Dutch and that Celts had travelled to NZ before the Maori arrived.

Sigh.

The story itself is reasonably well-written and for people who don’t want to think too hard (so most of your conspiracy thriller types then) it’ll be a fun and quick read.

But for me there was way too many moments of clunk to enjoy reading. My favourite happens right at the beginning when Dr Cameron is convincing his fellow academic to cover for him while he travels to NZ to “investigate”.

“Anyway, Warren believes that New Zealand was settled by someone other than the Maori,” Matt said, “his particular studies follow the theory that the Celts discovered New Zealand some thousands of years ago. He’s struggled to find evidence to support his theory and believes the government is out to stop him, but now he thinks he has something and wants me to go and look.”

“Sounds great.”

That’s academic inquiry, that is!

The idea that academics have a vested interest in stopping New Zealanders from knowing the “true story” of New Zealand habitation is more than a little laughable. Not quite as laughable as the shady secret-police style organisations in The Spanish Helmet who are busily tailing said academics, but still.

The Spanish Helmet isn’t going to re-write New Zealand history any more than The Da Vinci Code rewrote Christian history. Let’s just hope that Tom Hanks doesn’t get hold of it.

The Infernal Devices Book 2

Clockwork Prince

Cassandra Clare

Love and lies can corrupt even the purest heart…

Tuesday 6th December 2011, worldwide cult-teen literature sensation Cassandra Clare releases the hugely anticipated second instalment in the bestselling urban fantasy series The Infernal Devices today.

With an incomparable underground fan following, The Infernal Devices is the prequel trilogy to international bestselling series The Mortal Instruments, which has sold over two million copies worldwide and has been translated into more than 19 languages.

Set in the magical underworld of Victorian London during the reign of Queen Victoria, 16-year-old orphan Tessa Gray has at last found shelter with the Shadowhunters, a band of warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons. Still reeling from her terrifying confrontation with the mysterious and murderous Magister, and her own brother’s betrayal, Tessa finds herself drawn ever-deeper into the Shadowhunter’s dangerous supernatural underworld.

In a desperate attempt to help her friends, Tessa tries to uncover the truth about the Magister and learns that his vendetta against the Shadowhunters is deeply personal, blaming them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life.

Meanwhile, Tessa’s feelings for the fiercely devoted Jem and the handsome yet self-destructive Will are growing more complicated, and soon she is forced to acknowledge that any choice she makes will either save the Shadowhunters of London – or end them forever.

The first book in The Infernal Devices series, Clockwork Angel, debuted at number one on the New York Times Bestseller list and spent ten weeks in the charts.

Cassandra’s first book in The Mortal Instruments series, City of Bones, is being made into a blockbuster Hollywood film set to star Lily Collins (The Blind Side, Abduction) and Jamie Campbell-Bower (Harry Potter, Twilight) in the lead roles.

To find out more about The Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments series visit: www.walkerbooks.com.au

Carole Beu and her amazing team at The Women’s Bookshop have put up their “Faves & Raves of 2011″.

This is the pile of books that needs to be beside your bed!

The Broken Book Carole’s ‘Book of the Year.’ Sublime prose & poetry about walking through life on shaky ground. $35
There But For The Dinner guest locks himself in upstairs bedroom; hilarious, painful, wise, stunning word-play. Brilliant. $32
State of Wonder Atmospheric adventure about an elusive woman doctor ‘experimenting’ in the depths of the Amazon. Stunning. $37
The Dovekeepers Extraordinary epic about the fall of Masada in ancient Israel, featuring four strong women. Breathtaking. $37
A Visit from the Goon Squad Winner 2011 Pulitzer Prize; bizarre, marvellous, edgy satire on Western society. $25
A Train in Winter French Resistance women taken to Auschwitz; gut-wrenching, gripping, inspiring. $43

…

This just the first six in their great list – see the whole list at www.womensbookshop.co.nz.

The judging panel for the New Zealand Post Book Awards for 2012 has been announced, and last year’s NZ Post Supreme Book Award winner is heading up the judging panel.

The judges are Chris Bourke, David Eggleton, Mary Egan, Paula Green, and Reina Whaitiri (Kai Tahu).

Read the full announcement and article on the Booksellers NZ site - Last Year’s Supreme Book Award Winner is This Year’s Top Judge