Water Thieves, The
Mahon, SamSam Mahon, galvanised into action by rumours that the Hurunui River is under threat, agrees against his better instincts, to become involved in local politics. He embarks on a crusade that rivals the best of Shakespearean comedy: he's comically disarming, yet often a blistering social satirist. His energy for sustaining the good fight is prodigious, his techniques for gaining media and political attention are hilarious, bloody-minded and bold. From pyrotechnics to mock funerals, from stabbingly witty speeches to asking men in power to drink polluted river water, Mahon demonstrates all the qualities of a firebrand. NZ Interest.
Comments from Groups
We all found it enlightening (and worrying). Wellington 062 An interesting subject but all got bogged down by the trivia of meetings and side issues. A very unorganised mind writing it. Its redeemable feature was the wonderful poetic, descriptive prose of the iconic areas he cared about. Waipukurau 001 We were all surprised how much we enjoyed this book! Wellington 107 Good debate! Everyone admired the sentiments expressed but a number of members deplored the writing style. Hamilton 007 The book evoked lots of political discussion. Motueka 002 Provocative - great discussions. Culverden 001 Good discussion - all a little upsetting and not a great advocate for democracy. Te Kuiti 002 Meaty discussion...Unusual style of writing. Important topic - still an issue today. Good on Sam! Wellington 130 The book was very thought provoking and topical. Everyone in NZ should be reading it. Wellington 031
Pages
269
269
Year
2006
2006
Reviews
01-12-2021
Beautifully written and very topical - only 3 had read it though which was disappointing!
01-12-2021
The 6 of us at our meeting had a vigorous discussion about The Water Thieves - we all felt completely in sympathy with Sam Mahon's concern for the rivers everywhere, not just the Canterbury ones. Some readers were unable to cope with all the names, but those of us who really liked the book were not bothered by them. Sam Mahon's lyrical descriptions of scenery appealed to us all; much of the book is quite moving. All in all, a good book to have read.
01-12-2021
A vey factual and informative description of the activities that this group found necessary to draw the attention of the public to - the state of the rivers at that time and the action necessary to inform the public of conditions as they were. Although we agreed that some sort of remedy was necessary, none of us really enjoyed reading the book.
01-12-2021
Good discussion - but general feeling was that the book ranged too widely - tramping/art/lobbying. Considerable concern about water problems but lack of appreciation of how bad things are in Canterbury.
01-12-2021
Most people liked the book, especially the beautiful descriptions of the landscape/tramps. Some found the many meetings/people confusing.
01-12-2021
Very good discussion! Members of the group had varied opinions and this broadened the responses which followed. Main thoughts were along the lines of how far N.Z. had come in terms of protection of the environment - and the ideas of the 'Green Party' becoming more centrist and "acceptable".
11-06-2020
All 10 of us disliked the book, and several could not finish it, including our passionate non-fiction lover who chose it. It was disjointed and confusing with many random characters appearing without explanation. However several of us enjoyed the poetic writing and descriptions of the country; whilst others found this style "overdone". We admired Sam's commitment to environmental issues. We did have a very good discussion.
05-08-2019
Funny, passionate, and in need of a good edit BUT that would have removed all the good bits.
05-08-2019
We all enjoyed the first 3 or 4 chapters but then found it rather it tedious. Great effort and good cause, but not that engaging for the reader.
05-08-2019
Most of us liked the book very much - especially the New Zealanders liked the tramping bits, and also knew quite a few people in the book. Very lively discussion, since the problem has become a lot worse. Some found the writing somewhat confusing with his jumping from WeCan to his private life to meetings to letter writing.
05-08-2019
Sam Mahon is a wonderful writer of descriptive prose, and we were all amazed at the lengths went to, to promote 'saving our rivers", along with a few other dedicated people. His life was on hold for 9 months helping to promote the cause - hard work, dedication and a sense of humour helped to keep him going.
05-08-2019
There were very different responses. One person who was born in the area really appreciated the excellent descriptions and lovely language, and found it an interesting read. Others in the group felt it was very Canterbury centric and the narrative jumped a lot. They also noted there was a lot of 'name dropping' and too many people were included in the book. They considered that photos of the damaged rivers would have been more appropriate to include than some of the paintings. The group appreciated the questions in the Book Notes.
05-08-2019
We thought it was very worthwhile, and certainly reinforced the need to care for our environment for future generations. While the writing was a bit disjointed, the local connection added to the read.