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a_shelf_of_books's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
charlottemccoll's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
mnboyer's review against another edition
4.0
The story follows the very different lives of three Maori cousins living in New Zealand. Mata is the first cousin that we begin to learn about, and as a small child she is brought to the home of her aunt and grandparents for a visit. It becomes clear rather quickly that she does not feel comfortable in this environment because she's been raised in non-Maori customs. Mata continues to remind herself about her Christian upbringing, which leads to problems of modesty (for example, her cousins pee outside on the grass and for Mata this is seen as very inappropriate). She also thinks that everyone is always speaking "in a language she didn't understand" (p37). She's referring to members of the family that can speak Maori, so the reader begins to understand that she has not learned Maori from her mother (who has passed, we come to learn) or from her father (a Pakeha who likely never knew Maori).
When Mata considers what her grandparents' home will be like she continues to compare it to previous experiences from her paternal grandparents' home. She thinks there will be a glass verandah, big kitchens, etc., and this is not the case when she reaches the home of her Maori grandparents. Thus, we are led to believe that Mata has been raised in a situation where she does not identify with being Maori, which seems to be problematic and she has trouble adjusting to the new environment and making friends with her cousins. In fact, when she arrives she keeps saying that her name is "May Palmer" but her family tells her that her given name was Mata. As Keita tells her, "'He (her father) didn't want any Maori name or any Maori daughter for that matter, or wife. Only wanted a slave for him and a prospect of land'" (p45). This seems to be the case because her father's family is no longer interested in Mata once they realize the father cannot inherit the land--only Mata can--which leads her to become a ward in the home of another Pakeha woman.
Mata has to return "home" to where she is a ward, and never ends up returning even though it is clear that her Maori family wants to take her in as one of their own. She ends up working at a factory where she does make friends with another Maori woman, and eventually she marries a Maori man named Sonny. The relationship is strained because Mata has issues with her identity and she does not really enjoy a sexual relationship with Sonny, who eventually strays. She finds herself single and takes in a friend's child, but the friend eventually returns for the child, leaving Mata alone again. Devastated, she ends up walking the roads alone.
Makareta is the next cousin we are introduced to. She lives more of a traditional Maori life and goes into detail about birthing and mothering her child. But there is a war going on and her husband Rere is soon deployed to Europe and ends up dying there. Makareta lives with the family for some time but the elders eventually want her to marry Rere's younger brother. Unable to find interest in the arrangement, Makareta leaves and takes her daughter with her. But eventually the family comes to take the daughter back home with them so that she can learn and live her Maori heritage.
Missy is another, shorter, story about Missy's life but because of its brevity it seems to leave much to be desired. Eventually Makareta begins trying to change her community and, especially, issues the Maori are having with the government. She also finds Mata at one point and attempts to bring her home.
A wonderful story about the ordeals Maori women face in their lives and how very different those lives can be based on where a person chooses to live, whom they choose to love, etc.
When Mata considers what her grandparents' home will be like she continues to compare it to previous experiences from her paternal grandparents' home. She thinks there will be a glass verandah, big kitchens, etc., and this is not the case when she reaches the home of her Maori grandparents. Thus, we are led to believe that Mata has been raised in a situation where she does not identify with being Maori, which seems to be problematic and she has trouble adjusting to the new environment and making friends with her cousins. In fact, when she arrives she keeps saying that her name is "May Palmer" but her family tells her that her given name was Mata. As Keita tells her, "'He (her father) didn't want any Maori name or any Maori daughter for that matter, or wife. Only wanted a slave for him and a prospect of land'" (p45). This seems to be the case because her father's family is no longer interested in Mata once they realize the father cannot inherit the land--only Mata can--which leads her to become a ward in the home of another Pakeha woman.
Mata has to return "home" to where she is a ward, and never ends up returning even though it is clear that her Maori family wants to take her in as one of their own. She ends up working at a factory where she does make friends with another Maori woman, and eventually she marries a Maori man named Sonny. The relationship is strained because Mata has issues with her identity and she does not really enjoy a sexual relationship with Sonny, who eventually strays. She finds herself single and takes in a friend's child, but the friend eventually returns for the child, leaving Mata alone again. Devastated, she ends up walking the roads alone.
Makareta is the next cousin we are introduced to. She lives more of a traditional Maori life and goes into detail about birthing and mothering her child. But there is a war going on and her husband Rere is soon deployed to Europe and ends up dying there. Makareta lives with the family for some time but the elders eventually want her to marry Rere's younger brother. Unable to find interest in the arrangement, Makareta leaves and takes her daughter with her. But eventually the family comes to take the daughter back home with them so that she can learn and live her Maori heritage.
Missy is another, shorter, story about Missy's life but because of its brevity it seems to leave much to be desired. Eventually Makareta begins trying to change her community and, especially, issues the Maori are having with the government. She also finds Mata at one point and attempts to bring her home.
A wonderful story about the ordeals Maori women face in their lives and how very different those lives can be based on where a person chooses to live, whom they choose to love, etc.
wildbecs's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
gingerrachelle's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
rachael_nz's review against another edition
4.0
What a very good way to start my year. This story was beautiful, rich, heartbreaking and so wonderfully told. Every character has a distinct voice and it's all woven together so cohesively. I give it 9/10, and it would probably be 10/10 if i hadn't read other Patricia Grace novels that have moved me more (Potiki made me actual weep, ya know)
jaclyn_sixminutesforme's review against another edition
5.0
If you’ve followed for a while you know I love intergenerational family narratives… COUSINS by Patricia Grace had an element of that while also focusing on an intragenerational story of three cousins. What I found so compelling across Mata, Missy and Makareta’s stories was how powerfully Grace deployed voice in each perspective. The shifts in narrative voice were sublime—I think I first noticed it when the story was told in Missy’s chapters for the first time. The shifts were delicate and deliberate and invested the reader so quickly into each of the women and their unique experience. I felt like they also gave me some sense of what Grace wanted to show me as a reader in how she was sharing the narrative at each point.
From a narrative perspective, I loved how this was less a story about growing apart but more one about growing back together, finding connection and meaning and, ultimately, each other. There’s so much in here to reflect on purpose and destiny and tradition and family—I particularly found Makareta’s narrative thread teased out the complexities at the intersections of these themes. But I loved the interdependence of the narrative complexities. They were each their own women while being such inextricable parts of each other’s story. I found that such a powerful way to write women within family without also writing away their autonomy, such a fine balance.
From a narrative perspective, I loved how this was less a story about growing apart but more one about growing back together, finding connection and meaning and, ultimately, each other. There’s so much in here to reflect on purpose and destiny and tradition and family—I particularly found Makareta’s narrative thread teased out the complexities at the intersections of these themes. But I loved the interdependence of the narrative complexities. They were each their own women while being such inextricable parts of each other’s story. I found that such a powerful way to write women within family without also writing away their autonomy, such a fine balance.