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Potiki

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( 2,170 ratings, 235 reviews)
Brief Description
Potiki by Patricia Grace is a poignant and powerful novel set in a small coastal community in New Zealand. The narrative delves into the lives of a Māori family as they navigate the challenges posed by developers who seek to exploit their ancestral land. This compelling... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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Potiki

Winner of the 1987 New Zealand Fiction Award. This compelling novel highlights one community's response to attacks on their ancestral values and symbols provides moving affirmation of the relationship between land and the people who live on it.

A prize-winning classic novel, as relevant today as when it was first written.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Potiki by Patricia Grace is a poignant and powerful novel set in a small coastal community in New Zealand. The narrative delves into the lives of a Māori family as they navigate the challenges posed by developers who seek to exploit their ancestral land. This compelling story explores themes of cultural identity, resilience, and resistance.

At the heart of the tale is Tokowaru-i-te-Marama, known as Toko, a prophet child whose physical limitations are offset by his extraordinary spiritual and visionary abilities. With an acute awareness of his surroundings and an innate connection to his heritage, Toko becomes a guiding light for his people in their struggle against the encroaching threats of bulldozers and the lure of easy money.

As developer pressures mount, the community faces a time of fear and confusion, punctuated by a growing sense of anger. Toko's foresight and deep compassion allow him to see the clash between tradition and modernity in stark relief. When the sanctity of the marae, the communal and ceremonial centre of their life, is threatened by dramatic events, Toko's grief and rage become almost unbearable, threatening to overwhelm the confines of his damaged body.

Patricia Grace masterfully weaves a narrative that is both rich in cultural significance and deeply human. Through lyrical prose and vivid storytelling, Potiki brings to life the strength and spirit of a people fighting to preserve their way of life against formidable odds. The novel is not just a story of resistance but also one of hope, rooted in the deep connection to land and community. Toko's all-seeing eye gazes upon a future that holds both peril and promise, offering an unforgettable portrait of a community at a crossroads.

Potiki is a testament to the enduring power of Indigenous voices and a call to honour and protect the lands that shape our identities and lives. It is a narrative deeply entrenched in the Māori worldview, making it an essential read for those interested in indigenous literature and cultural survival.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780140088038

Publisher: Penguin Group (NZ)

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 12 September 2001

Country: New Zealand

Imprint: Penguin Books (NZ)

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 15.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 180g

Pages: 192

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About the Author

Patricia Grace (Ngati Toa, Ngati Raukawa and Te Ati Awa) is one of New Zealand's most celebrated writers. She has published over 35 titles, including novels, short-story collections, works of non-fiction and books for children, a number of which have been translated into te reo Maori. Among numerous awards, she won the Goodman Fielder Wattie Book Awards in 1986 for the much-loved Potiki, which also won the New Zealand Fiction Award in 1987. She was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2001 with Dogside Story, which won the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Fiction Prize. Tu won the 2005 Montana New Zealand Book Awards Fiction Prize and the Deutz Medal for Fiction and Poetry. She was also awarded the Neustadt International Prize for Literature, Oklahoma, in 2008. Her children's story The Kuia and the Spider won the Children's Picture Book of the Year and she has also won the New Zealand Book Awards For Children and Young Adults Te Kura Pounamu Award. Patricia was born in Wellington and lives in Plimmerton on ancestral land, in close proximity to her home marae at Hongoeka Bay. Her book Cousins was made into an internationally-acclaimed film in 2021, directed by daughter in law Briar Grace-Smith and Ainsley Gardiner.

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