Not-so-reticent Kiwis’ pithy utterings collected

Quotable New Zealand Quotes, compiled by Jim Weir (New Holland Publishers, RRP $28):

Us Kiwis always have something to say and there’s no denying that some of us manage to say things that are worth repeating.

Not all of us, mind you. Some of us stagger through the day barely managing to string two words together. However, there are plenty of New Zealanders who have uttered word worth repeating: quotable quotes, in fact.

This book features snippets from politicians, columnists, sportsmen, actors, comedians, poets and more. There’s everyone from Joe Bennett, Sam Hunt and Steve Braunias to Dai Henwood, Helen Clark and Sam Neill.

And of course, word-meisters such as Max Cryer and Karl du Fresne also feature.

There’s everything from post-quake Christchurch resident Trevor Evans with his “I now have a nervous pee every hour” to arts curator Hamish Keith saying of parliamentarian Peter Dunne he “always looks as if he is going to announce that the cat is dead”.

Jim Weir, a former New Zealand ambassador to Moscow, Rome, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, has done a fantastic job compiling the sparkling collection of contemporary quotes of note.

The quotes range from serious to silly and will make this book one of the most well-thumbed in your home library.

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