Someone's Wife

by Linda Burgess

'You'll want to read this in one sitting but it's worth savouring every line.' Madeleine Chapman

'Somehow it makes perfect sense that a great New Zealand memoir would be written by a dreamy, left-handed wife of an ex-All Black.' Steve Braunias

These pieces read like the freshest of recent novels: clever, restrained and wittily observant. They range across the personal and the observational. There are essays on her lifetime of being an All Black wife (once an AB, always an AB); her love of teaching, education and the young; and a powerful essay on the death of her baby, Toby, striking in its honesty.

Linda is interested in family and friendship; shared and sometimes distorted memories. Her personal truths link to universal truths. Linda explores the era in which she grew up, and her experiences are timeless. She looks at living overseas, at children leaving home, at house-hunting in Wellington, at travelling with a grandchild, at Leonard Cohen concerts as tribal gatherings.

Moving but never sentimental, Linda Burgess's essays are an engrossing read.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Essays

182 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 3, 2019

About the author

Linda Burgess is a freelance writer, short story writer, script and television writer, novelist and reviewer. She was shortlisted for the Best First Book of Fiction in the 1995 Montana New Zealand Book Awards, and was Writer in Residence at Massey University in 1997. Linda and her husband Robert live in Wellington.

Reviews

[Simon Sweetman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic set of essays that forms a "memoir of sorts" - beautifully observed, whimsical, hilarious, heartbreaking and so perfectly written. Huge heart here.

[Wendy Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful book this is. I'm about half way through and loving it. Some of the stories have brought me to tears. As someone who grew up in New Zealand but is no loner living there, it brought back my childhood so much. The best part is you can read a story at a time, and relish it. A book like that is worth buying.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

OG AB WAG. #3wordbookreview

[Laurence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely voice.

Captures growing up in provincial NZ in a way that makes me feel I lived it, despite only moving here when I was 30.

Almost a conversation, I can hear the author's voice (full disclosure - Linda is a friend, so I know what her voice sounds like)

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Burgess has a lovely style of writing - just the way she talks. It is easy to read and she uses good specific detail to paint her pictures. I would enjoy these as one off columns. The piece on teenagers coming home just nails it. As a collection, I am tempted to keep reading and there's a disconnect between the entries. I would have been better to just dip in and then leave it. I'm not keen on the present tense and she really comes across as her own person not someone's wife.

[Grace Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this book. I loved how Burgess organised the chapters, as well as the different topics she covers. I found this to be a really easy and enjoyable read. At moments I felt I wasn't quite following the thread of the story, however Burgess writes in such a poetic way that it was still enjoyable.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable memoir. I don’t know anything about Linda’s ex-All Black husband, or Linda herself. She writes a series of essays about both funny and very sad parts of her life, which are interesting and engaging.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book

[Helen Cummings · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. There is something so relatable to her stories of growing up in New Zealand. As one reviewer said “wittily observant”!

[Merryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this!! So much I could relate to, and love her dry, wry sense of humour.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple, clever, sometimes funny, yet moving stories of earlier times. An engrossing read...

[Laura Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful, witty, wonderful read. I devoured it and highly recommend.

[Kathy Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Each chapter is a story on its own. Tracks the life of a woman who married an All Black. Set in late 40s until today. Great tales of life in NZ.