Aotearoa NZ: Living Here Lately
Haere Mai, welcome! Here you will find a non-exhaustive list of modern literature that evokes the feeling of what it is like to live in Aotearoa New Zealand today.
All books here are written by New Zealanders and set in modern time New Zealand (or a fictionalised version of).
Very open to recommendations!
created by amandatothewall
last updated April, 2026
Comments
ohhh what a fun list!! where would you recommend a total newbie start?
Thanks! And great question. Eleanor Catton is probably the best know author included on this list outside of NZ. Of the two I put here, I think that Birnam Wood is the better book and easiest to read without cultural context. Elizabeth Knox might be one of my all time favourite authors and Wake is a very fun, sometimes violent, slow apocalyptic horror - so if that sounds like you, Wake is a great book to start on!
awesome, thank you!
ahhhh such a lovely lovely list! thank you for creating this!
