I have been a long-time admirer of Monty Soutar and his military histories tracing Māori involvement in two World Wars through his books Whiti Whiti Whiti E! and Nga Tama Toa: The Price of Citizenship: C Company 28th (Māori ) Battalion, so I looked forward to reading his entry into the world of fiction with anticipation.
Kāwai: Tree of Nourishment is the second in an anticipated trilogy. It’s set against the backdrop of probably the most turbulent time in 19th century Aotearoa history with the arrival of Pākehā bringing new technologies and new ideas, and the impact that that had on traditional Māori life and values.
In some ways the arrival of those new technologies expanded some aspects of Māori life. As described in the book, internecine warfare for example took on a new and terrifying aspect with those tribes able to gain early access to guns wreaking havoc on those without the new firesticks.
Unfortunately the author’s writing is overblown. His prose verges on the edge of purple: “As the fog began to dissipate, she could see the bush that stretched across the vale below and swept up the mountainsides of Aorangi and Taitai. Behind them, the snowcap of Hikurangi stood majestic as the first rays of dawn turned its white crest to pink. The serenity of the breathtaking vista was broken only by Manākura’s intoning and the occasional screech of the kaka and rich bell notes of the koko directly across the valley …”
He also commits the occasional cross-cultural gaffe. A hungry warrior is described as “wolfing” down his food. This is a story set in 19th century Aotearoa where in that time and place wolves are unknown and foreign. We all understand the term in its modern context, but it grates when used here in a period piece. There are many other examples so that following the storyline dissipates into a game of gaffe-spotting like counting dead possums on the roadside.
Spot the American possum in this dialogue.
“Kua pai koe?” She asked. Are you alright?
“Kare he raru,” he replied. There’s no problem. “I was just overwhelmed by it all.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked again.
But while the storyline is desperately turgid in parts, I welcome the bilingual aspect of the text. It’s a valuable step towards normalising te reo into our shared culture.
Kāwai: Tree of Nourishment would take little effort to convert into a big-budget Netflix series.
The book is a brave foray into a new genre, and someone must always go first and show where the path begins. Monty Soutar deserves credit for that.
Tree of Nourishment (Kāwai 2) by Monty Soutar (David Bateman, $39.99) has held the number one bestseller position this past fortnight on the Nielsen BookScan chart, and is available in bookstores nationwide. A free copy was offered in last week’s ReadingRoom book giveaway. It was among the most in-demand giveaways we have ever conducted; the winner is announced tomorrow (Friday).
This post was originally published on here
