Geoff Chapple began ‘a year-long journey to seek out the powerful forces that shape this country’ and has written about his findings in Terrain. Along the way he met with geologists and others who work with rock.
I’m liking
The text is well written and in places, very interesting. Being a personal account, it is quite obvious how much Chapple is passionate about New Zealand’s rich geological history. There’s a good section of the country covered in the book, including Northland, the East Coast, Taupo and Wellington in the North, and Marlborough, Westland and Southland for us Southerners.
Things that made me go hmmmm
There is no denying that this text is hard going in places. I found myself glancing over whole paragraphs, barely able to take much in. A few repeat reads were required, or else moving on and deciding to forego the odd section was necessary. Really, you need to have some geological background or strong interest in rock to get the most from this book. I think I would have been helped along by the inclusion of some maps/photographs or more than the few technical drawings included, but for some reason they were absent – noticeably so!
The conclusion
If you inhabit one of the regions covered, or know it well, then you’ll probably be interested to see what Chapple has to say about its geological history. To be honest I think the target market for this book is pretty small, and it won’t suit everybody.
Terrain by Geoff Chapple is published by Random House NZ and has an RRP of $40.00
