Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
Auckland, N.Z.: Tandem Press, 1991
Description
Once Were Warriors is Alan Duff's harrowing vision of his country's indigenous people two hundred years after the English conquest. In prose that is both raw and compelling, it tells the story of Beth Heke, a Maori woman struggling to keep her family from falling apart, despite the squalor and violence of the housing projects in which they live. Conveying both the rich textures of Maori tradition and the wounds left by its absence, Once Were Warriors is a masterpiece of unblinking realism, irresistible energy, and great sorrow.
User reviews
LibraryThing member bastardmoon
Reading this book was such a colossal chore, which is why I didn’t finish it. Don’t quote me but I believe F. Scott Fitzgerald once dismissed Jack Kerouac’s novels as an example of “typing, not writing.” I believe the same sentiment applies here.
Once Were Warriors focuses on the Hekes, a
There are several things that make this novel hard to read. Alan Duff does not write in the conventional way; his sentences lack punctuation and are often grammatically and syntactically incorrect (hence the comparison to Jack Kerouac). The characters are bogged down by Mr. Duff’s persistently morbid vision and simplistic moralizing; Mr. Duff then does a 180 and resorts to cheap sappiness for the ending (which I won’t reveal here).
That’s not to say that the book wasn’t emotionally stirring. Given the state of race relations here in the US, I’m sure that many American readers would be able to relate or would at least be familiar with the Hekes’ situation. But the author’s aggressively dismal tone throughout the book ruins the reading experience; the characters never emerge from their roles as the bitter outcasts, and Mr. Duff’s (misguided) political and social grandstanding show that he has no sympathy for his own characters. Mr. Duff’s self-important moralizing screams of arrogance and self-satisfaction.
So, yes, Once Were Warriors is thought-provoking (although that’s not necessarily meant in a positive way), but is it good writing? I’m inclined to say, no, absolutely not.
Once Were Warriors focuses on the Hekes, a
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Maori family living (if it can be called that) in the slum of Pine Block; the Hekes’ home is directly adjacent to the palatial mansion of the pakeha (meaning white, and therefore much loathed, apparently) Tramberts. Way to kick a brother when he’s down, right? Beth and Jake are both too drunk and disillusioned to care much for their kids: Nig, who has joined the local gang; Boogie, who was sentenced to a juvenile correctional facility (his parents were unable to attend the sentencing as they were both too hungover and Jake had beaten Beth to a pulp the night before); and Grace, who is the fragile, sensitive girl and, in keeping with Alan Duff’s cliched characterizations, is doomed by her situation.There are several things that make this novel hard to read. Alan Duff does not write in the conventional way; his sentences lack punctuation and are often grammatically and syntactically incorrect (hence the comparison to Jack Kerouac). The characters are bogged down by Mr. Duff’s persistently morbid vision and simplistic moralizing; Mr. Duff then does a 180 and resorts to cheap sappiness for the ending (which I won’t reveal here).
That’s not to say that the book wasn’t emotionally stirring. Given the state of race relations here in the US, I’m sure that many American readers would be able to relate or would at least be familiar with the Hekes’ situation. But the author’s aggressively dismal tone throughout the book ruins the reading experience; the characters never emerge from their roles as the bitter outcasts, and Mr. Duff’s (misguided) political and social grandstanding show that he has no sympathy for his own characters. Mr. Duff’s self-important moralizing screams of arrogance and self-satisfaction.
So, yes, Once Were Warriors is thought-provoking (although that’s not necessarily meant in a positive way), but is it good writing? I’m inclined to say, no, absolutely not.
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LibraryThing member John
Duff is a Maori writer, and this is a novel about brutal, wasted, stunted, twisted, thwarted lives in a dead-end stratum of society where there is no expectation of a better future, no love, no caring, no respect, a world where everyone is a victim: women are brutalized, kids at best are neglected
Perhaps the greatest frustration is the abandonment and, more the crushing, of individual potential. Those who dare to dream of a better life are ridiculed and pulled back down into the morass. But in the end, despite this bleakness, the book ends on a strong note of hope. After Beth and Jake's daughter commits suicide at 13 (because her father was raping her), Beth seizes her life, confronts and throws Jake out, and begins to work with kids in the housing block. She infuses them with a sense of life and hope and potential largely through her own strength and example, but also by connecting with the roots of the long-neglected Maori culture and history. The basic message from her and the Maori elders is to stop complaining and using all the handy scapegoats such as the Pakeha (white man) as excuses for a wasted life, and to find the inner strength to realize that there are alternatives, that there is a different and a better way to live.
A bleak story, but very well told, and one with a number of strong messages that leave the reader thinking.
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at worst abused, and the men are captive of pressures they can neither understand nor control and so they vent their frustration and impotence through violence. I don't think I have ever read such a stark accounting, and I believe that it would be easy to transpose the whole sordid mess to a Canadian setting of native peoples. Duff's style is direct and terse, but he succeeds very well in conveying the rage and frustration and fear of his characters. He is also very good on the search for belonging and identification as a substitute for love whether manifested in the support accorded a gang member such as Jake and Beth's doomed son Nig,, or in Jake Heke's own reputation for violence hence a form of respect and fear, which is, course, only tangible until a better fighter comes along and then there are no other resources to draw upon and the downward spiral is rapid. Perhaps the greatest frustration is the abandonment and, more the crushing, of individual potential. Those who dare to dream of a better life are ridiculed and pulled back down into the morass. But in the end, despite this bleakness, the book ends on a strong note of hope. After Beth and Jake's daughter commits suicide at 13 (because her father was raping her), Beth seizes her life, confronts and throws Jake out, and begins to work with kids in the housing block. She infuses them with a sense of life and hope and potential largely through her own strength and example, but also by connecting with the roots of the long-neglected Maori culture and history. The basic message from her and the Maori elders is to stop complaining and using all the handy scapegoats such as the Pakeha (white man) as excuses for a wasted life, and to find the inner strength to realize that there are alternatives, that there is a different and a better way to live.
A bleak story, but very well told, and one with a number of strong messages that leave the reader thinking.
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LibraryThing member wordygirl39
This book broke my heart. It is beautifully written, every word carefully chosen, and the story itself is the story of Colonization and slavery all over the world. It is also the story of a people--of a woman--who survives.
LibraryThing member gmillar
This is scary good even if you are not a New Zealander. So is the movie but this is a better way of telling the story and it sticks. I read it a long time ago and it still comes back to me at night.
LibraryThing member kesimina
Once were warriors by Alan Duff.
I tried to enter Duff's newest book "Dreamboat dad" but I couldn't find it on list. My daughter in America tells me that when she announced she came from New Zealand the first girl commented, "Ahh, Once were warriors!!!
You lot are quite violent down there arn't
This book has definitely given us Kiwis a wrong Identity from some people in US. How scary is that.
I tried to enter Duff's newest book "Dreamboat dad" but I couldn't find it on list. My daughter in America tells me that when she announced she came from New Zealand the first girl commented, "Ahh, Once were warriors!!!
You lot are quite violent down there arn't
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yous."This book has definitely given us Kiwis a wrong Identity from some people in US. How scary is that.
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LibraryThing member booksofcolor
Hard, painful going (it deals with the negative effects of colonialism on Maori culture in general and one family in particular), but well worth it. Made into an excellent movie.
So hard to read, so beautiful and painful. I watched the movie in "history of the pacific" and reading the book before
So hard to read, so beautiful and painful. I watched the movie in "history of the pacific" and reading the book before
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didn't make the movie any easier. Highly recommend it. Show Less
LibraryThing member devonorrin
The story of a lower-class Maori family, their dynamics, and the dynamics of the close-knit community.
Students will have minimal knowledge of the Maori culture, so they will come to this text with a rare blank-slate. This becomes an excellent opportunity to not only teach the book and the culture,
Students will have minimal knowledge of the Maori culture, so they will come to this text with a rare blank-slate. This becomes an excellent opportunity to not only teach the book and the culture,
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but about cultural biases and capital. Show Less
LibraryThing member justablondemoment
Very hard book to read. I actually had to stop reading ..watch movie...then started reading it again just to get an idea of what was going on. The story is an excellent one but the style of writing was horrid for me. It really put a halt on the whole enjoyment of it. I'm really wanting to read the
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second one but am really hesitating to do so. FYI--the movie is really good to but different from the book. Show Less
LibraryThing member Vivl
Gruelling (but there's some hope there) and compelling.
This reminded me of Christiane Rochefort's Les Petits Enfants du siècle which I read (and loved) a quarter of a century or so back for 20th century French lit at uni. Both books examine the effects on individuals, particularly young
This reminded me of Christiane Rochefort's Les Petits Enfants du siècle which I read (and loved) a quarter of a century or so back for 20th century French lit at uni. Both books examine the effects on individuals, particularly young
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people/children, of a culture that has been stripped of its dignity and meaning. Show Less
LibraryThing member amartino1208
This sad tale of a mother who watches her own family fall to pieces, even after she has tried everything to keep it together. This book brings about the life of a traditional tribe and all their cultural actions. It tells of a family who slowly falls apart from many different trudges. I enjoyed
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this book because of how it taught me not to expect things to always have a happen story plot. Although it started out as a happy, go-lucky family; it did not end that way. I would love to read this book again for more of a thorough understanding of the characters and experiences they live. Show Less
LibraryThing member evilmoose
Listening to this book was a little bit like being hit in the face with a brick. I knew the story involved Maoris in modern day New Zealand, and domestic violence, and drunkenness. But it was intense, and overwhelming, and Jay Laga'aia did a really good job of reading. Having read a few excerpts
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online, I think I would have struggled with reading it in book form - audio was definitely the right choice for this one, especially with such a good narrator. Some complain of Duff's incessant moralising and grandstanding - for me, he pulled it all off. Show Less
LibraryThing member arubabookwoman
This book portrays the underbelly of modern Maori life, through the compelling story of one family, Beth, Jake, and their children, who live in a government housing estate occupied soley by Maoris. Beth occasionally has good intentions, but usually slips back into the morass of drink, drugs,
The book is written in a unique style--there is no dialogue and virtually the entire novel is presented through the interior monologues of the various characters, including the children. This may take some getting used to, and the book can be difficult to read, both in terms of style and subject matter.
The book was made into an excellent movie of the same name, which I saw years ago.
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poverty, spousal abuse, incest, and the prevailing desparation permeating their lives. By far the most haunting are the children, who are abused and basically left to raise themselves.The book is written in a unique style--there is no dialogue and virtually the entire novel is presented through the interior monologues of the various characters, including the children. This may take some getting used to, and the book can be difficult to read, both in terms of style and subject matter.
The book was made into an excellent movie of the same name, which I saw years ago.
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Subjects
Awards
Goodman Fielder Wattie Book Award (Runnerup — 1991)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1990
Physical description
198 p.; 20 cm
ISBN
0908884001 / 9780908884001