Short 'n' sweet
Nicky Pellegrino writing in the Herald on Sunday.

Since this is New Zealand Book Month it seems an apt time to discover some home-grown literary talents.
If you only have time for one new local writer in your life then make it Sue Orr. Her debut collection of short stories, Etiquette for a Dinner Party (Random House, $29.99) deserves to be a best-seller.

The 17 diverse stories are poignant, wry and observant, there's a real freshness about them and a strong seam of Kiwi-ness running through the middle. It's hardly surprising that Orr made the longlist of this year's Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award.
Standouts in the collection include Velocity, the story of a woman, a man and a racing pigeon; the wickedly honest How Women Behave When Men Are Losing Their Wives, and Lifeline, the moving tale of a sassy rest-home resident.

Perhaps one reason Orr's work is so sensitive and smart is that she's experienced plenty of life before starting to write.

Read the rest of Pelegrino's story at the Herald online.