David Herkt

3 weeks ago | nzherald.co.nz | David Herkt

John Boyne: Answering his own questions. Images / Rich GilliganReview by David Herkt Barely 30 pages into John Boyne’s new novel, I knew I would not be stopping until I reached the end. It’s a page-turner. In the mid-20th century, the French writer Georges Simenon wrote hundreds of such novels: detective-procedurals, novels of passion, or on the darker mysteries of the human heart, all around 150 pages in length, designed to be read in an evening.

Mar 12, 2025 | nzherald.co.nz | David Herkt

Robert Dessaix: A slow-motion journey in self-discovery that still leaves us wondering. Photos / supplied It has been clear for a long time that the late works of any artist differ from those of the rest of their career. There is a freedom from the necessities of form. A desire to shuck off tradition also mingles with an ability to use and enjoy a particular sense of fragmentation on the brink of nothingness. This occurs in no other period of creative life.

Oct 9, 2024 | nzherald.co.nz | David Herkt

Damien Wilkins: A revelation of human nature as time unfolds. Photos / suppliedTense with circumstance, sudden accident, vivid recollection and occasional foreboding, Damien Wilkins’ new novel is a charged book. Ostensibly set in a time too often considered “the sunset years”, it captures in its blaze the entirety of human life. Wilkins confronts the much-promoted glow of retirement and reveals some harder-edged truths, personal and general.

Mar 23, 2024 | thespinoff.co.nz | David Herkt

Booksabout 13 hours agoDavid Herkt takes a close read of Josiah Morgan’s poetry collection, i’m still growing, and is delighted with what he finds. Sometimes a young poet can be more sensitive to the spirit of the times than many older writers. To be unconstrained by tradition is a valuable thing when coupled with skill. Queer writing is no exception to the rule.

Dec 17, 2023 | northandsouth.co.nz | Sasha Borissenko |Nikki Mandow |David Herkt

‘All Watched Over…’ — Saint Maria De Perpetuo Succursu, or the Madonna of the Perpetual Succour, a 19th Century Chromolithograph, based upon a Byzantine original. The Madonna & IHis partner’s faith means this agnostic sleeps amongst icons. By David Herkt