octavia_cade's Reviews (2.64k)

A short collection of stories out of the Maoriland school of writing (between 1896 and 1915, according to the introduction). Roughly half are about European settlers, and the other half their interactions with Maori. Grace seems relatively sympathetic to the latter, but the stories are necessarily dated, and the characters often seem as if they've come from stock.

Interesting from a historical perspective, but otherwise the stories didn't do that much for me.

I struggled with this. My feeling is that unless you already know a great deal about Mansfield's life, then this is not a particularly clear introduction to it. There's little indication of what's actually going on, it's very fragmented, and honestly I think its main value lies with researchers.

I didn't warm to her - the impression I was left with was that KM was a bit of a drama queen - and while the entries got clearer and less fussy as she developed her writing skills, my opinion didn't much change. I suspect may feel differently if I wasn't reading it essentially adrift, cut off from the context of her life. But maybe not.

There's only 10 poems here, so not a lot to review, but I enjoyed reading them. They read to me like love poems - not erotic, but romantic, a little detached perhaps in the beginning but by the end there's a coming together.

I came across Pavlopoulos some years ago, having read about him in a book by Peter Levi, who translates this collection. It's a strong collection, often bloody, but with a lovely delicate touch when it comes to the environment. Pavlopoulos describes the natural world - his natural world, which is rural Greece - so beautifully it's a real pleasure to read. "Uninhabited Island" was I think my favourite.

An obscure little translated chapbook that moves between fantasy and reality. The title poem, "The Passkeys", is probably the finest description of the problem of poetry I've ever come across - how to access it, how it can be interpreted in a multitude of ways. "Poetry is an open door"... well, sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. That single poem pushed my rating up from three to four stars. It deserves to be better known!

In fairness, philosophy drives me up the wall. Why I keep trying it I don't know, but political philosophy holds more interest for me than most.

Unfortunately this book is a good example of what appears - to me at least - to be a typical philosophy text. That is: it's far more interested in talking about philosophy than in communicating it. There are passages in here - more as the book goes on - which are actually readable, but these are in the minority.

If only philosophy writing could undergo the transformation that science writing is undergoing. Accessibility is not a crime, and one does not have to dumb down in order to open up.

A short collection of 14 folk tales, gathered by the editor from the elders of Manihiki. I think my favourite was the last one - "Maretu and the Sea Urchins" - a story where sea urchins part like the Red Sea so that people can carry a church through the water without stepping on them. (Anyone who's touched kina will know how sharp and spiny they are! If only they'd move out the way...)

A short collection of seven translated legends from the Cook Islands. This collection concludes with a brief archaeological survey of sites (such as marae and burial chambers) on Atiu island, some of which are referenced in the legends.

The survey was the most interesting part for me, even if it's not the point of the collection (I've an interest in archaeology). My favourite story of the seven was "Aketairi the Heroine", wherein the title character defended her home from a war party, organising the women to slaughter the invaders.

Interesting collection of legends from the Cook Islands. There's one in particular that really captures my imagination: "Katikatia", which tells of an old witch-woman who lures children away and eats them. It's really pretty creepy.

Ten short legends, followed by a brief discussion of the contents by the editor. I've come across some of these legends before, in recent readings of similar collections, and it's interesting to see how their presentation changes depending on the teller (all of the legends herein are taken down from oral story-tellers, I believe). The tale of Maui-Potiki, for instance, is more enjoyable here than in previous recordings though that is a matter of personal taste I'm sure.