‘We’re not getting very far with this are we?…I must say I expected you people to be more accommodating….’ I’m not sure that you have fully understood…Your land here would skyrocket. There is nothing you can say, no words, no amount of money….’ ‘Mr Dolman, I know we’re hurrying you, but it’s only fair that you should know. We have, since our previous communication, had another look at the figures. Dolman) was a representative of the businessmen just wasn’t understanding why the Tamihanas wouldn’t sell their land if their wharenui (meeting house) was moved in it’s perfect state to another location. I was particularly interested in the thirteenth chapter, when the “Dollarman” (really a Mr. It just happened that this book promised such a struggle in the form of traditional family land being coveted by the enterprising white businessmen. I wanted to read a book that had a large focus on a struggle between the native population of the Maoris and the “intruding” white people. This is what initially interested me when I began looking for books set in New Zealand.
Characters are developed and find themselves throughout the story.įor the most part, the story focuses on the Tamihana family and the “power people” who want to buy their family land to turn it into a tourist resort. And the larger Tamihana family are portrayed, the aged granny, the mentally handicapped aunt, the strong father and mother, amongst them. Tangi, James, Manu, and Toko are all very different from each other and, at the same time, have similarities–this describes my sisters and me to a T. And because of modern conveniences that are mentioned–jet boats, for one–is a clue that it can’t be too “historical” in nature. The characters portray a wide range of people–coming from a family of four children, this really struck me. It is, however, mentioned that the location is on the coast–the Tamihanas live on land between a rocky beach and hills (I’m not familiar with the topography of New Zealand, but it seems this could describe many coastal areas.) As for the time period, it seems to me that the story is not very far in the past, and the book was published in 1986. The time period and location of the story aren’t mentioned precisely.
The story takes place in New Zealand, following the Tamihana family. Potiki is a novel by Maori author Patricia Grace.
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