Author tells stories of New Zealand life

• Published date: 16 June 2022
• Author: Paul Brooks
• Publication title: Guardian, The

Some years ago he wrote a series of books — published by Wilson and Horton — on walking tracks in and around Auckland and further afield. He has also had poetry books published, and lately, he has produced a collection of short stories, entitled, Single Men’s Rd

Short stories are not an easy art form to master, but Foster has done it. He is a storyteller.

His book is about people. Some single men, often written in first person, but other people too. Their personalities and circumstances are varied, but Foster talks about them all with empathy and sensitivity, as if he knows them personally — and he does.

They are rough and ready, or more sophisticated; capable of deep self-awareness or just skipping across the surface, seeing things at face value. Foster’s language changes to suit the character or the moment, and even his punctuation reflects the personality he writes about.

There’s a quaint Kiwi innocence in some, a chunk of another time, when the individual could keep to himself — or herself — and let their thoughts spend time in a land of plenty, if you put in the hard work. The past is an important place in this book. And it is definitely in a New Zealand setting, even if you only “kind of” recognise the invented place names, but you’ll get the dialogue and every shaky isles inflexion. He says they are stories of New Zealand life.

Foster writes knowingly, with a knowledge of things gained from experience. As well as being able to look into his characters’ souls, he understands how they spend their time and what they do to make a living or keep comfortable.

“I wanted to be a writer from when I was about 11, but I didn’t start till I was 30,” Foster...