Care package

First, listen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBrpQv2mzNk It's an unashamed, iconic Kiwi love song. And this list is my list of uanashamed Kiwi-author love :)

Now. On to the list. When Care at http://bkclubcare.wordpress.com/ said 'bring it on' for Kiwi authors, I took it as a challenge. And here is my list. It's purely subjective, and the authors are my Kiwi favourites.

So this list is completely subjective. Books I think you all (not just Care) should read by Kiwi authors who are The Goods:
My Name Was Judas by C K Stead.
Because:
It's short
It's about what-might-have-been in the life of Judas Iscariot
It's good, and it's vivid and intriguing

Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
Because:
It's beautifully written
It's set on a Pacific Island
It made me want to read Great Expectations again, and I hate Great Expectations
It's sad, and horrific and uplifting all at once

Under the Mountain by Maurice Gee
Because:
It's kind of a rite-of-passage YA novel for Kiwi kids
It has slimy alien monsters
And a kindly sad alien
It has the ocean, and summer holidays, and volcanoes
It's short
Also The Halfmen of O trilogy by Maurice Gee – okay, anything YA by Maurice Gee.

Towards Another Summer by Janet Frame
Because:
The prose nearly made me cry when I read it
It's intensely personal; it was written many years ago but not published until after Janet Frame died
It's evocative, and awkward and wonderful, all at once

The Vintner's Luck by Elizabeth Knox
Because:
Fallen angel. Fallen angels are my fiction-crack
Uhm … it's beautiful, and sad, and an incredible and unlikely love story
It has my second-favourite end line ever (after Lord of the Rings), which actually broke my heart a little bit, and now I have it memorised. And because of lines like this, which I've mentioned before: “The terms of the pact are this: 'Xas shall go freely. God shall have his pains and Lucifer his pleasures'.”
Dreamhunter by Elizabeth Knox
Because:
Parts of it are sort-of set near where I live (well, if the Rainbow Opera and other things were real …)
It's one of those magic, fantastic novels that makes you wonder why no one thought to write it before
It's based around dreams, and dreaming
There's a sequel (which I haven't read yet) – Dreamquake, but I'm sure it's just as good. I need to read Dreamhunter again first, though

Uhm … anything by Witi Ihimaera. Anything at all. He writes prose like it's poetry. I've read a couple of his later books – Nights in the Garden of Spain (which would be an awesome Challenge That Dare Not Speak It's Name book, btw) and The Uncle's Story. I'm partway through The Matriarch (slow read) which is unbelievably good.

Oh! And Margaret Mahy. Specifically, The Changeover, and The Catalogue of the Universe, both excellent YA novels.

And for littlies, the Hairy McLary series by Lynley Dodd is a must.

I'm missing lots. But that's a good start. :)