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These Islands Here: Short Stories of the South Pacific Kindle Edition
Literary fiction inspired by life in the South Pacific.
These 32 tales reflect life, events and conditions in the islands and nations of the South Seas-Polynesia, particularly Aotearoa-New Zealand - aka Land of the Long White Cloud, Down Under, Kiwiland.
Together they present the varied facets of living in this region of the globe - pleasure, pain, calamity, comedy, fun, misfortune, loss, triumph - indeed, as in any part of the world, of being human.
Most have been published previously, in magazines, newspapers, anthologies, and broadcast on radio. Several have won or been placed in short story competitions.
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateDecember 8, 2018
- File size847 KB
Editorial Reviews
Review
Thirty-two stories divided into decades give this collection an attractive style. There is an introduction to each decade so the reader is well located in the era each story is set.
These are our stories. These are narratives which underscore our culture; give pictures of who we are or perhaps who we would like to be. We are New Zealanders. We are the South Pacific. Our connection to the stories is strong.
Elsmore is good at encouraging your own imagination to meld with the story, and like all good story tellers at the end we are left wondering 'what next'? She is clever at leading the reader along to assume a conclusion and then introduce a twist at the end.
Unlike the sin of having a favourite child I think it is perfectly usual to find a story that becomes a favourite. For me it was "Last Night I dreamt I was Kate Sheppard". This story is skilful, tightly written, with a witty strand of humour.
Many of these stories have been in print, several have been prize winners and rightly so. Some have been read on Radio NZ so it is a joy to have them now in a collection to read and re-read.
Highly recommended. Review by Rae McGregor, flaxroots.com/flaxflowerArt of the short story
This collection of 32 short stories provides glimpses into life in the South Pacific that span nearly 200 years.
Though they cover a wide variety of characters and topics, they all have one common factor - they are each beautifully crafted.
Auckland author Bronwyn Elsmore has mastered the art of the short story - the ability to magically paint an entire scene, pinning it in time and place with just a few deft words and saying just as much with what she leaves out as what she includes.
They include tragic tales such as the death of a lone woodsman, the darkest of macabre comedy, politically loaded commentary and youthful romance. They are each carefully drawn studies of character and voice.
Some of the stories mark stepping stones in New Zealand's history including women's suffrage, the depression and the Springbok tour protests. There are also many that are just for fun, like an escapade involving animals pulling off a crime of vengeance.
Written over the past 40 years, most in this collection have been published in magazines and newspapers, including the New Zealand Listener and Takahe, or broadcast on Radio New Zealand.
Four have been included in anthologies and several have won short story competitions.
The stories have been arranged into timeframes, starting in the early 1880s and progressing to modern day. Each section begins with a summary of the time period the stories fit into.
As well as stories from New Zealand, there are a few from our neighbouring islands.
Visit flaxroots.com for more of her work.
Diane McCarthy Eastern Bay Life, 8 March 2019
From the Author
Product details
- ASIN : B07L7JNX4V
- Publisher : Flaxroots (December 8, 2018)
- Publication date : December 8, 2018
- Language : English
- File size : 847 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 256 pages
- Page numbers source ISBN : 0992249171
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,423,512 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #856 in World Literature Short Stories
- #1,746 in Short Story Anthologies & Collections
- #2,379 in Action & Adventure Short Stories (Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
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When Bronwyn was about ten, she wrote to Author Enid Blyton telling her she was going to be a writer too. She kept to her plan and that’s been her occupation since – she admits it’s a fair while now. Over that time she has been an advertising copywriter, freelancer, contract writer, editor, education writer, playwright, writing mentor and tutor, and an academic writer during the years she was also an academic.
Of the genres she has written – fiction, non-fiction, radio stories, articles, humour, books, short stories, plays, novels – she now most enjoys writing fiction. Short stories have always been a favourite, but currently she is having a renewed love affair with the form of the novel.
If Bronwyn is not at her keyboard in Auckland, the stunning New Zealand ‘City of Sails’, she’s likely to be feeding stray cats. When seen gazing in an abstract way she’ll either be plotting the next script or trying to calculate how many million words she has produced over her career.
You can also meet Bronwyn at -
* her website at http://www.flaxroots.com including her blog at http://www.flaxroots/blog
* follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/flaxrootsNZ
* follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/flaxroots
* Keep up with Bronwyn and other award winning authors at http://enovelauthorsatwork.com
* Sign up for eNovel Authors At work Newsletter. It will only land in your mailbox to tell you when books are on special, announce a book tour, giveaways and contests.
Summary of published creative works
BOOKS
* Every Five Minutes, e-book, fiction, novel
* Seventeen Seas, e-book, Creative Non-fiction
* Creedism - Religious Prejudice in New Zealand, Non-fiction, Nagare, 1995
* Te Kohititanga Marama - New Moon, New World, Non-fiction, Reed, 1998
* Mana From Heaven - A Century of Maori Prophets in New Zealand, Non-fiction, Reed, 1999 republished Libro International 2012
* Like Them That Dream - The Maori and the Old Testament, Non-fiction, Reed, 2000 republished Libro International 2011
* Religionz - A Guide to Religions in New Zealand, Non-fiction, Reed, 2006
CHILDREN'S BOOKS
* The Cats of Dipping Dell, Golden Press, 1979
* Which Shoes to Choose? Nelson-Price Milburn, 1989
BOOKS EDITED
* Will Wandafar - Writings of Bernard Teague, Nagare 2003
* Southern Edge - New writers from Manukau Counties, Writer in Manukau Libraries, 2006
OTHER
* Short Stories published 30+
* Articles Approximately 160
* Children's Stories & Plays 10
* Broadcasts Approximately 40
* Plays Staged or Broadcast 11 (some have had multiple productions)
* Poetry Published 8
WRITING AWARDS
* Winner Christine Cole Catley Short Story Award 2013
* Winner, Franklin Writers Short Story competition 2011
* Winner of NZSA Auckland Short Story competition 2010
* Second Prize, PANZ competition for play, "Shells", 2006
* Winner International Writers Workshop short story competition 2003
* Winner of PANZ/Minolta Playwriting competition for "Rushton Roulette", 1999
* Doug Wren Award, Playwrights Association of New Zealand, 1997
* Winner of PANZ/Minolta Playwriting competition for "Celestial Pursuits", 1997
* Winner of PANZ competition for play, "Drought", 1992
* Winner of Phillips Cup for children's poetry, 1987
* Winner of Keith Henderson Award for Short Story, 1976
* Plus many smaller awards, and other placings.
LITERARY EXPERIENCE
* Member of NZ Women Writers' Society from 1974-1991
* Member of New Zealand Society of Authors/PEN NZ since 1984
* Chairperson Central Districts Branch PEN 1990-1992
* National Council PEN 1990-1992
* Member Playwrights Association of New Zealand since 1979
* National Executive Playwrights Association of New Zealand 1989-2011 Vice-President 1999-2006
* Teacher of Creative Writing
* Judge New Zealand Book Awards, non-fiction section, 1993
* Judge PANZ playwriting competition for full-length play, 2007
* Judge Thames Writers Short Story competition, 2007
* Judge Waitakere Writers Short Story competition, 2010
* Judge for several additional writing competitions
PREVIOUS WORK EXPERIENCE
Writer in Residence Manukau Libraries
Senior Lecturer, Massey University
Freelance & Contract Writer
Teacher of Creative Writing
Education Writer, Bay of Plenty Times
Editor, Moana Press
Production Writer, Radio New Zealand
Customer reviews
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Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonTop reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2023This book will have you rolling in laughter at the incredible dry humor. Check it out!
- Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2019Reading this book is like opening a bag of little treasures – perfect miniatures, each one unique. I laughed out loud at a few of them, wept at others.
Bronwyn Elsmore is a talented and skillful writer. I've read her work before and knew I'd be in good hands here. But because what I'd read were novels, I hadn't anticipated the range of voices she can command, or the confident frugality that's necessary to make any short story work clearly and flawlessly.
I didn't start this book in order to learn more than I knew about the history of New Zealand, but that was one of the results. These stories opened a new window for me on what it's like to be alive in the world.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2019Ever since reading Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific, visiting the Islands has been a bucket list item. Bronwyn Elsmore captures the history, culture , and melding of two cultures — the original inhabitants and the influx of Europeans. A series of vignettes chronicling the ever changing lifestyles paints a picture of New Zealand and all the islands that will capture your imagination. That bucket list item just moved toward the top of my list!
Top reviews from other countries
- PamReviewed in the United Kingdom on September 28, 2021
4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting book
Not quite what I expected but I like the way it moves through the years. Some interesting short stories.
- Stephanie H. HammondReviewed in Australia on June 22, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written and interesting stories
I loved Bronwyn Elsmore's writing style - no wasted words, painting the picture she wanted the reader to grasp. Each story kept me enthralled and I learned a lot about the people of New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Each story was different. The way she sorted the stories into periods of the last century or so gave a good context for the stories.
- vivienneReviewed in Australia on March 7, 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars A little of everything.
Funny, empathetic, insightful, historic, sad, uplifting, inspiring, nostalgic, fantastic, Just about any adjective you could think of would apply to at least one of the stories in this amazing collection! I recommend it to all readers.