Books: Novel a winning debut

Paula Hawkins' characters are compelling, but not likeable.

The Girl on the Train
By Paula Hawkins (Doubleday)

There is no one especially likeable in this chilling novel so if you require a character to sympathise with you'd best move on. The men are controlling, the women self-centred. As a catchy and original thriller, however, this debut is a winner. Rachel is a heavy drinking divorcee who catches the same commuter train every morning. Each time it stops at the same signal and she stares out over the backs of houses and gardens. She starts to feel she knows the people she glimpses, making up names for them and imagining their perfect lives. Then Rachel sees something that surprises her and she goes from being a voyeur to becoming tangled in the dramas of these strangers' lives. The story is pieced together in the rhythm of the commuter train -- morning and evening. It has secrets that twist through the plot and unpredictable surprises to spring. A gripping read about the lies we tell ourselves and each other. And who needs likeable characters?

Based on a True Story
By Elizabeth Renzetti (Allen & Unwin)

The blurb describes this novel as Absolutely Fabulous meets The Devil Wears Prada, which is doing it a disservice. It is grittier than both. This is the drink-and-drug soaked fiction of Augusta Price, a washed up but still gloriously flamboyant British soap star in her 50s fresh out of a failed attempt at rehab. Things seem to be looking up for Augusta, who has a surprise hit with her memoir, Based on a True Story, and an acting audition in the offing. Then she gets bad news. Her ex is writing a memoir of his own and there is every chance it will tell the truths she left out of her own book, in particular about her failed relationship with their son. With out-of-work journalist Frances Bleeker in tow, Augusta heads to California to get her hands on the manuscript. The plot might not have much heft but Renzetti's writing is the right amount of tart, the humour wry and the monstrous but charming Augusta is fabulous. Plus, the story has interesting things to say about celebrity and the media as well as the struggle to matter, whether you're famous or not.

Easy Weekends: Food
By Neil Perry (Murdoch Books)

Weekends are the time when we're most likely to try out new recipes, but that doesn't mean we want to wrestle with anything too complex. This new cookbook from top Aussie chef Neil Perry aims to inspire its readers to explore different cuisines, but does so in an approachable way. It's a book that takes in the flavours of the world, from Italian pasta to Korean-inspired dishes, American classics, Indian curry, Chinese stir fries and Moroccan-style concoctions. It could be a muddle but the clean, modern design helps keep things under control. You'll need to do a lot of shopping to try Perry's multicultural cooking: bottles of Asian sauces, heaps of spices and a few things you'll track down only in speciality stores. But although the ingredient lists tend towards the long, most recipes have only a few reasonably simple steps. He has banquet suggestions to challenge more ambitious cooks. A stand-out is the Asian menu with a Chinese red-braised chicken flavoured with cinnamon, star anise and dried tangerine, a salty/sour prawn and tofu salad, and a steamed whole snapper with black beans and chilli.

The Frood: The Authorised and Very Official History of Douglas Adams and the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
By Jem Roberts (Random House)

Space is famously, according to Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, big. So is this book. In a peculiar sci-fi way, it seems bigger on the inside than it is on the outside, so densely packed is it with information on both Adams and his iconic creation. That is perfect for the completist; the obsessive absorber of minutiae. For others it may require ingesting in small bursts or you'll end up feeling just like Adams' perennially bemused Arthur Dent. That is not a criticism but rather a users' tip, and Roberts' light and often irreverent tone also makes it all easier to absorb. This isn't a biography of Adams -- although it covers biographical information it's always in the context of the history of his most famous work. Rather, it is a comprehensive love letter to the books and TV series. Mostly it leaves you with a full head and a sense of loss at what might have been had Adams not died at just 49 in 2001.

Review by Kerri Jackson, an Auckland journalist.

My Real Children
By Jo Walton (Allen & Unwin)

Does memory define us? The year is 2015. Patricia Cowan is living out the last stage of her life in a rest home and struggling with dementia. Her children come and visit her, but Patricia is troubled. To her, she has two histories, both are vivid in her mind. She was Trish, a housewife. She was Pat, a successful travel writer. Which past is real and which is not? Walton takes us through Patricia's lives ... both of them. They begin with the same childhood but then divide with two very different outcomes; not just for Patricia but also for the wider world. Ultimately, Patricia realises she must decide which of the two she will accept as her reality. My Real Children is a gentle story that asks more questions than it answers. I was left pondering whether maybe imagination is just as real as memory. A good read.

Review by Victoria Elmes, an Auckland teacher of English and classics.

Morgan Goes to Nowhere and Morgan Goes to Sleep
By Richard Fairgray, Tara Black and Terry Jones (Square Planet)

Three friends -- Richard Fairgray, Tara Black and Terry Jones -- have created an endearing little guy named Morgan. In Morgan Goes to Nowhere, the reader is shown the place where lost socks, missing building blocks and half-used pencils are kept as Morgan goes in search of his soft toy rabbit. In Morgan Goes to Sleep, Morgan can't go to sleep so goes in search of where sleep is hiding. The style is a cross between a picture book and a comic, which will appeal to even the most reluctant reader. The books are original and imaginative and enjoyable for littlies.

Review by Danielle Wright, a writer of children's books and the news site: newsmummy.com

Nicky's best read

The anti-bullying message is brought to life for the digital generation in Dragon Island by Martin Baynton, in an interactive story for iPads from Auckland publisher Kiwa. Illustrations have animations, sounds and touch-to-hear and touch-to-spell features in the story that centres on the theme of saying no to aggressive behaviour. Kids can also colour in the pictures with a Paint Mode.