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isabellarobinson7 's review for:
Bugs
by Whiti Hereaka
Rating: 3.5 stars
I am all for supporting local authors (and for me that just means ones in the same country as me), but the thing about NZ authors is they tend to write NZ fiction. Almost exclusively. Yes, there are obvious exceptions, but when you look at the most famous, or the highest praised, they are pretty much always this same brand of small town vibe with commentaries on poverty, race, culture, and indigenous peoples. And these are all really important things to talk about, and they should most certainly continue to be published, but I just find that whenever I want to support a NZ author, I'm reading the same thing. That's great for someone who loves this type of literary fiction, but for me whose nerdy scifi fantasy loving heart needs books to satisfy that craving, I am more often than not having to look outside my home country to find them.
That's basically what happened with Bugs. It was well written, entertaining, had an important message to get across. In other words, Kiwi fiction through and through. Good, great even, but not my personal taste, nor what I reach for 99% of the time.
I am all for supporting local authors (and for me that just means ones in the same country as me), but the thing about NZ authors is they tend to write NZ fiction. Almost exclusively. Yes, there are obvious exceptions, but when you look at the most famous, or the highest praised, they are pretty much always this same brand of small town vibe with commentaries on poverty, race, culture, and indigenous peoples. And these are all really important things to talk about, and they should most certainly continue to be published, but I just find that whenever I want to support a NZ author, I'm reading the same thing. That's great for someone who loves this type of literary fiction, but for me whose nerdy scifi fantasy loving heart needs books to satisfy that craving, I am more often than not having to look outside my home country to find them.
That's basically what happened with Bugs. It was well written, entertaining, had an important message to get across. In other words, Kiwi fiction through and through. Good, great even, but not my personal taste, nor what I reach for 99% of the time.