The author Merritt Tierce has said, “[A] book ought to make a wound and then stitch it up.” Auē succeeds at this, though I feel like my heart has yet to heal from this heart-wrenching story. This is a horribly difficult book to read: There is so much tragedy, so much horrific violence, so much senseless cruelty, but also moments of redeeming tenderness.

Maori language is used throughout, liberally and organically (a glossary of Maori terms is provided). It is beautifully written, in language that is deceptively simple and direct.

“They’d fallen in love and they’d made a system so they could live together without breaking things, without breaking each other.”

“‘Ever cut glass, boy? Makes you feel magic. Smashing glass makes you feel like an animal, cutting it makes you feel magic. There was so much glass broken that night, I been making broken glass into beautiful things ever since.’”

“All those years ago, it is still beautiful to see two creatures under the spell of lovely things. Lovely thoughts, lovely wishes. Their own loveliness. But they’re fools in love. Tangata whenua, we have myth and legend, not fairy tales. Have they forgotten who they are?”

One of the best books I’ve read this year. ( )

This book took me a while to get into, there are multiple narrators and timelines, which I found confusing. I thought that it was my fault for reading too quickly and not paying enough attention, but I liked at some reviews and others found this difficult as well. Also, the book deals with gang and drug activity, with a fair amount of violence, which was hard to read.

One of the main narrators is Ari, a 6 year old boy. I am not usually a fan of child narrators, ad I do think that this device provided a certain amount of sentimentality, cheaply. However, Ari was a sweet character.

About half way through the book, it came together for me and I found myself really enjoying it. So I am glad that I stuck with it. One of the points of the book, which I liked is that "no one is just one thing." So all of the characters are nuanced, with good and bad sides.

3.5 Stars ( )

"I thought one day life would just get back to normal. I was starting to get it. It wouldn't go back."
This is a story of a Maori family, a story of desperation, of survival and redemption. Four generations centering on the youngest Arama, an orphan. Sex and violence as survival adaptations.
In keeping with the setting, many Maori terms are used. The book includes a glossary of the Maori terms, but only includes a portion of the words used. I found this distracting.
Thanks to Library Thing and Scribe US publishing for the opportunity to read this advance copy. ( )

I started this one a couple of times, but I found it too confusing to continue. The premise sounds interesting, but I did not particularly like the style, and I had trouble keeping up with the relationships among the characters. I didn't finish it.