A poignant -- and surprisingly feminist -- portrait of a middle class woman's life in a society that is undergoing massive social change. There is a commentary on gender threading through this novel; expectations of women, their right to agency and control over their bodies, their income, and their freedom of movement are just as visible as the themes around capitalism, labor, and class.

A poignant, reflective collection of stories that transports the reader to Samoa, but not in a touristy, tropical-islands-in-the-suns, superficial kind of way; Wendt's collection feels like the removal of a veil, so that the reader gets a glimpse of authentic island life. His characters are tangible through their flaws, their peccadilloes, the irony of their decisions. They are the centerpiece of life and of this collection. Here as anywhere else, it is not about the place, but the people.