![]() ![]() The novel’s Prologue tells the story of the carver who made the wharenui (Maori meeting house) for the community who form the subject of the novel. Breaking one of the principle rules of his trade, which dictates that the poupou (carved wooden figures) that adorn the meeting house may not depict an ancestor from living memory, he carves a representation of himself. The result is a patchwork of events from different points in time and different perspectives that collectively tell a rich and powerful story. Often, two chapters may narrate the same event but from the viewpoints of two different characters. These fragmented recounts take the form of the characters' memories of events or flashbacks and are located at different points in the past. The story is narrated at times by Roimata, at times by Toko, and the rest of the time by an unspecified third voice. What the developers fail to understand about this community, however, is that no amount of money can entice these people away from their sacred land and buildings, and that there is ultimately more strength in the collective efforts of a community working together to fight injustice than there is in corruption and unbridled power. Potiki, a novel by Patricia Grace originally published in 1986, tells the story of a Maori community in New Zealand and their struggle for survival against the attempts of land developers to buy, bully and coerce them off their land. ![]()
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