Steve Braunias

Smoking in Antarctica by Steve Braunias If you are not from New Zealand the beauty of this book may go over your head.
 
Said without patronising you as it has constant references to the fabric of life in wop wop New Zealand. If you don't understand wop wop then stop reading right now.From the man that describes modern cafes that offer Soy Mocha Capuchinos and the like as slop-houses, a man that nips outside for a fag and a man that can write about his baby daughter over and over again and still leave you entranced.I can't say that this book will give you an insight into New Zealand because I don't think it does. It is Steve Braunias all the way through.… (plus d'informations)

Civilisationby Steve Braunias I like this bloke.
 
His writing is like a dream. My only criticism of this book is that it lacks Jane Ussher's stunning photographs. I bought the book so he would get some money and be encouraged to write more.A documentary of outback, off-the-track, take-it-or-leave-it New Zealand. He is able to talk to and higlight dysfunctional people without patronising or humouring them, just showing them as they are. I like the wry smile that lurks behind his words and his sharp instinct for pretension or bullshit. I like the way he sees the world.I think I share with him a love of old school, by-passed, small towns in which people live as if the rest of us do not exist. They don't need us but sometimes I think we need them because we have no moral compass.Thank you Steve Braunias.… (plus d'informations)

If you did not like Steve Braunias's style of journalism you would not find much joy here. Personally I like it, a lot. I like his quirky take on things and his cheeky summing up of people while at the same time not losing sight of the quarry. He is so Kiwi he probably doesn’t know it. If he made movies he'd be right at home in the Cinema Of Unease department.

That last comment refers directly to the subject of this book. The darkness of the human soul as expressed in the many murders this small land commands and their (often) mishandling by the Police.

I've read almost all of his other books and look out for his stuff in the NZ Herald. He is definitely one of NZ's underrated assets.

I came to this country in 1983 from living in central Amsterdam and lived in Christchurch. There were 13 murders in Christchurch in the first 12 months of my stay. I was shocked at how violent New Zealand was (and still is). It still shocks me today.

In exploring some of more notorious murders in NZ's history he brings a view that doesn’t seek to shed "new light" or uncover fresh evidence or analyse, instead he just shines light on them, as if to say, "look at what we have done". It also seems so non-judgemental, which is rare in crime related books.

I felt that the bulk of the book was taken up with Mark Lundy but I'm not sure that is physically true in the sense that if you were to count the pages, but it is certainly true in terms of impact on the spirit. He certainly brings home the truism that in NZ policing the conviction always takes precedence over the truth.

Well done Steve!… (plus d'informations)