Strangers in paradise

This is conflicted review, as was the book.

It probably has a place, as an anthology of written works ‘about' New Zealand. It is a real mixed bag - it crosses a long time period, and crosses a range of writing subjects, styles and er, qualities.

There are a number of very dry, very dated explanations about politics. There are a number of writings about social issues. Some of the writing is eloquent, some less so. Most of the work under these topics is fairly uneventful.

There are a lot of opinion pieces - some fawning and over praising, some derogatory and quite close to insulting - some are petty and fault finding which quite frankly make the author look like an arsehole - (Austin Mitchell, I am looking at you). A number are written from a high horse comparison point of view where these colonials (or worse, the natives) just don't measure up. A number of these attempt to analyse the psyche of a nation, and simply revert to stereotype.

There are also a few well written, anecdotal stories which strike a comfortable balance with humour and reality.

The two things I take away from this book are perhaps simple observations (probably generalising more than is necessary, and yes, I already knew these things).
1 - New Zealanders, unfortunately, lack the confidence as a nation to just be what we are, and be happy with ‘what we are' and equally importantly ‘what we have'. We lack the national self-esteem, and need the reassurance of each and every visitor to tell us what we want to hear. This is evident in the fact that every overseas visitor (for the ‘famous' at the airport by a journalist, for the not so famous, by most people they encounter) is asked, almost before the stamp in their passport has dried, that most mundane of questions “What do you think of New Zealand?” Cringe.
2 - The effect of a single interaction in a place (country or city) can effect a persons perception of the entire place - especially negatively. Many of these spiteful writings make criticisms which most people would find unwarranted and unfair when attributed to an entire country.

Highlights for me were Mark Twain, Gerard Durrell, Gabriel Linge, Lady Barker and Arthur Conan Doyle.

A short excerpt from Gerard Durrell:
I shall always attribute my uncertain start in New Zealand to the fact that I was introduced too early to what is knows as the ‘five o'clock swill'. The phrase has, when you consider it, a wonderful pastoral - one might almost say idyllic - ring to it. It conjures up a picture of fat but hungry porcines, all freshly scrubbed, eagerly and gratefully partaking of their warm mash from the horny but kindly hands of the jovial farmer, a twinkling eyed son of the soil.Nothing could be further from the truth.The five o'clock swill is the direct result of New Zealand's imbecilic licensing laws. In order to prevent people getting drunk the pubs close at six, just after the workers leave work. This means they have to leave their place of employment, rush frantically to the nearest pub, and make a desperate attempt to drink as much beer as they can in the shortest possible time. As a means of cutting down drunkenness, this is quite one of the most illogical deterrents I have come across.

Up and down, anywhere from 2 stars to 4 stars, settling on balance at 2, as enjoyed far too few of the excerpts.