Friday, November 04, 2011

Fireworks with Fiona Kidman

With Guy Fawkes looming, The Trouble with Fire is the perfect read. A book of short stories by Fiona Kidman which has been on the bestsellers’ list for 11+ weeks, it’s imbued with and expressive of fire in all its permutations. Fire is something Dame Fiona has been fascinated by since she woke as a small child in Kerikeri to the smell of an orange grove burning, and this fascination comes through in her latest book. ‘That’s the trouble with fire, you never know which way it will turn,’ is a line from the title story of the collection, and it’s true too of this collection.

The latest review of The Trouble with Fire is by Landfall Review Online’s Azure Rissetto, who says, ‘The ‘Fire’ of the title moves from the literal to the figurative, offering fires in the bush, and underground, and in the distance; but it also becomes an index of extreme emotion: adolescent lust, homicidal anger,
malicious envy. The fiery power of ‘storytelling’ is evident everywhere, starting with the opening story.’
Fire.’
The whole review is here.
Vintage - $36.99

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