Barry Crump (1935–1996)

Wild Pork and Watercress by Barry Crump is an interesting adventure read. A young half-Maori boy, Ricky and his cantankerous uncle, Hec, take to the wilds of New Zealand in order to avoid Social Services taking Ricky into care after his Aunt Bella dies. The story is touching, funny, charming and full of adventure.

First published in 1986, I wasn’t sure if this “boys” book that would hold my attention, but no worries, I was grabbed from the start as Ricky and his Uncle Hec, both natural loners, learn to live together and eventually trust each other. So when Uncle Hec’s wife, Bella, dies, Hec is not at all agreeable to giving Ricky up. Hec is an outdoors man and knows the country through which they travel and he teaches Ricky how to survive in these wild lands. Together these two forge an unbreakable bond that sees them through the rough living and sparse comfort that they endure.

While the writing of Wild Pork and Watercress is fairly simple, it’s easy going style and economical charm woos the reader and the story is a touching one that stays within the boundaries of being believable.… (more)

I usually think the book version of a story is better than the movie, but sometimes the opposite is true. In this case, I enjoyed the book (Wild Pork and Watercress) and the movie (Hunt for the Wilderpeople) equally even though they have very different endings. Barry Crump (book) and Taika Waititi (movie) both have wonderfully humorous ways of looking at the world, and if anybody had to turn this book into a movie, I can’t think of anyone who could do it better. The book has a lot of words and phrases that would be familiar to any New Zealander, but I had to look things up (for example, a chook is a chicken) which added to my enjoyment. Wild Pork and Watercress is funny, engaging, touching, and sometimes sad. Long live Ricky Baker!… (more)

fantastic humorous yarn of how things used to be back in the good old days 50's - 70's. Dinny and Watcher, are the central characters of Scrapwaggon, and their life as city dustmen is peaceful and profitable, for they also indulge in a spot of rubbish-disposal which the City Council don't know about.
Their only trouble is that Dinny, keeps accumulating gigantic quantities of this rubbish in his own yard to the fury of his prim suburban neighbours. The rubbish might have a use, could be sale-able "A mans rubbish is another man's treasure' so he re- deposits it in his yard.
Then out of the blue, this girl turns up to stay - Dinny's long-forgotten daughter. He and Watcher try every kind of trick to get her to go away again (very humourous reading these strategies as they are fair dinkum kiwi habits of yester-year), but she's inherited her Dad's streak of obstinacy, and it's not long before she, too, is on the Scrap-waggon and in the game of dealing in rubbish.
Irate and disgusted neighbours try to banish the whole squalid setup. The City Council discover the racket - and also discover that Dinny and Watcher aren't so easily sacked, after all. Romance moves in next door and Dinny & Watcher again worry about their rubbish empire crumbling
The characters are true-to-life, down to the last tiny detail of dialogue and behaviour, and you see and hear them all, in the good old kiwi days.… (more)