Scan barcode
gnandini's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
thelaurajay's review against another edition
3.0
This book has me conflicted on all kinds of levels. I appreciated the history, and found the memoir aspect interesting. I just felt like a lot of her tendencies were toward microagressions in her writing that she (or more likely, her editor) failed to detect. She really tried to keep it carefully respectful and when she addressed her preconcieved notions (i.e. trying to remake Kura or then wafting monster truck rallies), I appreciated it. However some of her phrasing, man, it caused a reaction in me. Then at the end, to co-opt the whole book with her own personal genealogy... I got the parallel, but it was poorly executed because it took away from the New Zealand history by removing it as the focal point to fit everything into a neat bow with her family's America colonial past and decimation of natives. Overall, I enjoyed the insight into Maori history with an eye on Seven's family and present. I could have done without the choices the author made toward the end.
shirleytupperfreeman's review against another edition
I can't say the title attracted me, catchy as it may be, but this was a recommended read for an upcoming visit to New Zealand and I liked it. Christina Thompson is a blueblooded, highly educated New Englander with an adventurous streak. Her husband, Seven, is a Maori from New Zealand who grew up with few traditional western values such as education and socio-economic advancement. Thompson's is both memoir, the story of a two culture marriage, and history, the story of the Pakeha's (white people) arrival in New Zealand and the subsequent cultural clash/colonization. The history is both unique and a 'tale as old as time.' Good read.
texreader's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
This is a mix of memoir, travelogue, and history. The American author uses her experiences in meeting, marrying, and having a family with a Māori man as a starting point for chapters on New Zealand history and Māori culture. It’s a bit different technique but it works and I feel I learned a lot more than had it been just a book about New Zealand and Māori. The only fail is a chapter in which she describes her own genealogy, which goes so far off topic it’s jarring. It feels like it’s added in for the benefit of her kids and family and I wish she’d left it as a personal story for them, or an appendix if she was compelled to include it, or even a separate book.
jetia13's review against another edition
3.0
A pretty neat mix of memoir and history, though I felt that the history part took over a lot of the time. I found myself thinking multiple times 'wow, this woman is really recognizing the significance of events in her life, I never have such grand thoughts while traveling' but had to remind myself that this wasn't a real time narrative and that it is her looking back on events.
nerissassippi's review against another edition
3.0
This was in interesting read to start out a trip to New Zealand. A very readable mix of the historical discovery and settling of the islands interwoven with the current Maori/white relations as told through the context of her marriage.
moo_remus's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
My main takeaway from this book was more of a history of the colonisation of New Zealand, which although I had heard elements of before, I was rather unknowledgeable. The author also discussed her personal life which I found interesting in places although the more academic parts about her research were rather over my head.
secreteeyore's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting perspective about a marriage of a Bostonian and a Maori. A memoir that includes the Colonial guilt and implications therein. I learned a lot.