78/2021. Potiki, by Patricia Grace, is a novel set in a Maori community in Aotearoa (New Zealand) about family, cultural and economic survival, and how all are linked to environmental caretaking.

A traditional Maori whānau community, the Tamihanas, and their way of life, already under pressure from generations of settler-colonialism, are threatened by ruthless developers who want their land. Their allies, other Maori, local people resisting change, and environmentalists, prove ineffectual against big business with government and the police on their side, but the Tamihanas have a deep-rooted connection to their homeland and their extended family which gives them strength. The story also effortlessly includes disabled family members as half the main point of view characters.

Quote: "She made her way along by the water's edge singing, sometimes talking as she went. Every now and again she would bend and pick something up. If it was something that either lived or could live - a crab, a shellfish or a weed - she threw it into the sea. If it was something that did not live and could not - paper, plastic or tin - she put it into her bucket to take home." ( )

A group of native New Zealanders survive on their land, some overcoming their alien educations and some fighting to regain territories taken from them ostensibly for a war time landing strip but never so used. A very internally told narrative, a woman, her husband, their children a few others.Their land is valued by external money makers, but they and their way of life are considered obstacles requiring them to persist in spite of what is brought to bear against them. ( )

Potiki is not only the story of one family, but it looks at the issue of Maori land ownership in the modern world. It is narrated through the eyes of individual family members and the reader gradually gains an appreciation and new perspective on the rural Maori lifestyle, their desire to live a simple life on the land conserving their natural resources. The book is divided into three parts. In the first section we look at the family, their land and the history. In the second the modern day dilemmas of what price progress and is it, in fact, progress, are presented and confronted. The third section brings resolution and conclusion with hope for the furure.
Hemi and Roimata and their children and extended family have worked hard to make a living from the land and sea but in tough times were forced to sell off portions. When a property development company approaches them to buy the rest of their land or at least access through their remaining property to create a tourist complex, their quiet lifestyle is threatened.
Patricia Grace weaves mythology throughout the tale and engenders a respect for the past and hope for the future. I think this is a very important piece of New Zealnd writing that deserves a wide audience.
One thing I feel is lacking is a glossary with the translation of the many Maori words to enhance the readers appreciation and knowledge. ( )

See the very positive review on my blog http://awayofwriting.blogspot.com/2011/12/real-thing.html ( )

Reading the large print version of this book, along with the childlike, repetitive prose style put me off this book initially. But I am glad I finished it. It's interesting to think this book was written 25 years ago now = at times the themes seem a bit obvious - the dichotomy of good and evil too obvious - but 25 years ago this was a really important, and until then, untold story. And, on second thoughts, that's probably still the case now; the story needs to be told even if it seems old to those who have already heard it. ( )