I was looking for just the right words to describe Joy Cowley's memoir Navigation and yesterday I was struggling. Today over lunch I read an interview with her in the latest Next magazine and she nailed it for me. It's a pot pourri.It is funny and thought-provoking, interesting and insightful. And through it all the warm smile and friendly essence of one of our most prolific and loved authors and advocates of Good reading for Kiwi kids shines through. I would have expected no less from Joy Cowley.
If Margaret Mahy is the “Word Witch” of New Zealand children’s literature, then Joy Cowley must surely be the Magician. Observations and memories from her past and her present mingle with commentary on a wide range of subjects. Magical word pictures of her special place in the Marlborough Sounds dance through the pages. Laugh out loud interactions with children around the world prove that are a deceptively perceptive as well as sometimes brutally honest and logical. Joy’s commonsense blends with her love of life in telling her story from childhood, to a teenager coveting a motorcycle, motherhood to author and sought after speaker.
This book was long overdue and a pleasure to read.
No comments:
Post a Comment