New Zealanders: The Field Guide

by Tom Sainsbury

A guide to the weird and wonderful inhabitants of New Zealand, and the places you'll find them.


After years of mimicking celebrities and Kiwi stereotypes on social media, comedian Tom Sainsbury has compiled all his favourite character types into a book. His array of Kiwi heroes includes the useless Farmhand who is forever jack-knifing the trailer, the Martyr Mother who constantly guilt-trips her children, and the Officious New Zealander who loves narking on his office co-workers for the mildest of misdemeanours. All these descriptions are lovingly collated into a concise, easy-to-use field guide that'll give you an in-depth insight into the people of Aotearoa.

304 pages, ebook

Published November 1, 2020

Reviews

[Rosetta Allan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tom's love and admiration of people and their interesting quirks are clear and enjoyable to read. I'd love to sit at a cafe window ledge watching the world pass by with this author. Laugh out loud funny, as you would expect, but also some cheek reddening as I glimpse aspects of myself here and there.

[Michelle T · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Tom Sainsbury.
Many LOL moments as I read this on the train.
Light humour and an easy read.

[Michele Harrod · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m going to confess I read every single one of these with Tom Sainsbury, Snapchat Genius’s voice in my head, which made it amusing and quirky, with some laugh out loud moments. And a lovely summary at the end, which was a great reminder that no matter where you come from, we are more similar than different. I’m not sure what it would be like to read this not knowing the writer? His true genius really does lie in his Snapchat versions of us… here’s an example of a Kiwi Collection pre our 2019 elections.

https://youtu.be/hAUP_yMjpzg

These are SO accurate! 😂 If you keep these voices and faces in mind, you’ll thoroughly enjoy this book!!

[Matt Hooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty funny! Some accurate descriptions of classic kiwis. But a lot I didnt relate to as well. I particularly enjoyed the story about the Farmhand crashing his tractor. Also Tom has a surprising breadth of vocabulary considering the bad rap comedians can get. Easy read but falls short of the mammoth task of describing more of the people in my life, as expected people are more complex than just one box that they're put in. The chapters themselves got a bit messy e.g. Head girl being put in the rural living chapter. Overall a good laugh and a good way to break up reading something rather slow like Oliver Twist.

[Maggie Jakob-Hoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully insightful book

This book is full of keen observations about people around the author. Told in a very funny and self-depreciating way. Loved it. Can't wait to read more by him.

[Lauren Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a light, enjoyable read. Nothing overly special but it was a good beach book with nice short sections, making it easy to put down and come back to. While enjoyable I probably wouldn’t read it again.

[Cheryll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very amusing - even though I don't have a good sense of humour! Tom has obviously met lots of people. done many jobs and lived in a lot of different places! I could relate to many of his quirky chapters!

[Ursula Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought for my other half for Christmas but I had to read it first. Properly funny, clever observations. I loved it

[Lesley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love Tom, but don’t think his brand of comedy translates that well to this format. A few LOLs, but 2.5 stars from me.

[Alexandra Amon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Light humor, good to read in small doses

[Hilary Fowler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing