Waking up in strange places

the long version

John Bluck takes us on a down-to-earth journey through a series of locations which, together, have helped to build his sense of place. He describes the physical and emotional landscape of each town and country - the people he encountered, the events he experienced, the food he ate and, especially, the movies he saw. The markers on his journey reveal new ways for us, as fellow New Zealanders, to see where we stand, in this country and in the world, and to understand and recognise the places that give us a sense of belonging. This book also offers us a novel way of looking back at the extraordinary social changes that have swept through New Zealand in recent decades.