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Potiki

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( 2,405 ratings, 265 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Potiki by Patricia Grace explores the resilience and unity of a Maori community resisting the encroachment of developers who threaten their land and way of life. Through the voices of family members, the novel beautifully intertwines themes of cultural identity, heritage, and the power of storytelling. This moving narrative delves into the struggle for self-determination and the preservation of tradition.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate captivating stories steeped in indigenous culture and identity. It explores themes of community, family, and resilience against the backdrop of Māori life in New Zealand. If narratives that delve into the tension between tradition and modernity intrigue you, this title will likely captivate your interest.

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It is a time of fear and confusion. Dramatic events threaten the maræ. Potiki is Patricia Grace's best-selling novel about a coastal community in danger. It is a work of spellbinding power that weaves myths of older times into the political realities of today.

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

A spellbinding story of a community defending their land, by one of New Zealand's most established contemporary writers.

Destroy the land and sea, we destroy ourselves

On the remote coast of New Zealand, at the curve that binds land and sea, a small Māori community live, work, fish, play, and tell stories of their ancestors. But something is changing. The prophet child Toko can sense it. Men are coming, with dollars and big plans to develop the area for tourism. As their ancestral land comes under threat, the people must unite in a battle for survival.

Weaving myth and memory, Patricia Grace's prize-winning novel is a spellbinding portrait of a defiant community determined to protect their way of life at any cost.

Series: Penguin Modern Classics

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Potiki is praised as a profound exploration of human nature by Patricia Grace, a renowned figure in postcolonial and Maori literature. It is acknowledged for its timely themes, highlighting both the resilience and the vulnerability of the human spirit, capturing moments of clarity amidst tragedy and suffering.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780241413555

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 27 February 2020

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Classics

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 10.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 146g

Pages: 192

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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