Ireland's Islands by Peter Somerville-Large

This coffee table book has some stunning pictures of wild-looking windswept rocky isles off the coast of Ireland. It was an entertaining read and I learnt about the pirate Grace O'Malley who used to have hide-outs on some of these islands. The book is divided into a few pages per island, giving a short history and even some geological information.

Ireland's Islands (Salamander Books, 2000)

   Some of the islands are still inhabited and a handful are home to speakers of the native tongue, long stamped out on the mainland. If you enjoy the BBC series Coast, then you'll find this an enjoyable read. The photographs are by David Lyons.
   (I found this copy in the library so please excuse the library sticker.)

Devil-Devil by G.W.Kent

In the tradition of Ann Kengalu's Murder on the Mataniko Bridge comes another crime story set in the Solomon Islands. Devil-Devil is a complicated story of custom killings, smuggling and power-struggles set mostly on the island of Malaita.
   The author, G.W. Kent, spent eight years in the Solomons working in education and broadcasting. It is obvious that he has a thorough understanding of Malaitan customs, particularly in the north of the island although this knowledge doesn't cover all of the archipelago. (His reference to sorting out a dispute in Isabel using bride price is a case in point). I was also a little bemused about how the detective could walk from north Malaita, straight through to Kwaio land without coming across other language groups such as the Kwa'rae.

Devil-Devil (Constable and
Robinson, 2011).

   Despite these shortcomings the plot keeps readers wondering how all these murders and the disappearance of an American could be related. There is plenty of action and tension and some violent scenes, but nothing too graphic.
   The story is set in 1960, fifteen years after WW2 and almost as many years to come till independence. Kent does his best to show the islanders' disdain for their colonial masters. The main detective Ben Kella is a Lau man and the only indigenous policeman to reach the rank of sergeant. He is an aofia, a custom man highly respected in his community. However he is considered by other islanders as a 'white blackfella', too educated to be a true islander, and too traditional to be accepted by the expats.
   Kent has managed to capture the curious intertwining of faith that is common in the Solomons. Not only does Ben Kella straddle both worlds of spiritual tradition, but the other protagonist, the plucky Catholic nun, also accepts the presence of the pagan spirit world.
   The familiar landmarks of the G. Club, Point Cruz wharf, Chinatown and the Fishing Village are all described well to those who know Honiara.
   I enjoyed reading this although the quality of the writing is below average. Adverbs a-plenty pepper each page and make many sentences unwieldy, slowing the pace. If you enjoy a good crime plot however, and can overlook the flowery prose then you will enjoy Devil-Devil.

Fisherman

I love this picture of a Nauruan man net fishing. Thanks so much Fredrick for your pic.

Net fishing, Nauru. Source: F. Canon, June 2013.

Isle of Tears by Deborah Challinor

Isle of Tears (Harper Collins, 2009)

I must admit I'm not a fan of historical romances but I thought I'd give this one a go as it was set in New Zealand during the Maori/Pakeha wars in the late 1800s. Deborah Challinor has a talent for historical writing and wanted to write about this conflict but felt she didn't have the cultural clout to do so as she wasn't a Maori. What she did to resolve this was to write through the eyes of Isla, an orphaned Pakeha teenager who was taken in by local Maori.
   Isla grows to womanhood and marries a young Maori warrior. When tensions ignite between Maori and Pakeha in the Waikato region Isla accompanies her man to war. Battle weary, Isla leaves the conflict to search for her younger siblings and is captured by officers of the queen who take her back to Auckland. Isla is determined to escape and return to the Taranaki region to be with her Maori family.
   Challinor has gone into great detail explaining the gritty realities of trench warfare. The reader can feel the hunger, the fear and desperation that the Maori must have gone through in these pitched battles. From the perspective of someone who is not a Kiwi I found a lot of the historical references confusing and confess I skimmed over a lot of the war strategy discussions. However the way Challinor describes daily Maori life is fascinating.
   Much of the dialogue is written in a broad Scottish accent which is initially unsettling, but becomes easier to cope with as you get engrossed in the story. A good novel for those who like historical romance.

Island Bound by Deb Loughead

Island Bound (Pearson Education
NZ, 2007)

Island Bound is Hannah's story of discontent when she finds out that her family are moving to Bermuda for two years. Hannah loves her home and friends in Canada and doesn't want to be uprooted, despite her love of Bermuda, where the family have regular holidays. The family flies to Bermuda for a week to find a house to rent and prepare for the big transition. Whilst riding a bicycle along the road, Hannah encounters an apparition. Hannah's house-keeper believes it's the ghost of Martha Cox but she won't elaborate. Hannah is determined to uncover more.
   This children's story starts out slowly, so slowly it may bore many readers, which is a shame because once the plot about the ghost kicks in, at around chapter six, it's actually quite an engaging story. A good one for primary school aged children if they have the stamina to persevere with the first third of the book.

Tusi Tamasese webcast

Tusi Tamasese, Samoan born writer
and film director

For those interested in Pasifika movies, Tusi Tamasese, the Samoan born award winning writer and film director can be heard on the latest webcast from Pacific Voices-Commonwealth Writers. Tamasese talks to Kath Akuhata-Brown about his latest project 'The Orator'. To register, email Joe Byrde at j.byrde@commonwealth.int . The webcast is scheduled for Saturday the 15th of June, 2013, 6-6.45pm (NZST).

The Lost Island of Tamarind by Nadia Aguiar

Three children adrift on the ocean, land on a tropical island and begin searching for their parents who were washed overboard during a fierce storm. So begins the ambitious adventure The Lost island of Tamarind by Nadia Aguiar. The main characters Maya and Simon have to care for their infant sister as they trek through the treacherous terrain. On their journey they encounter carnivorous vegetation, blood-thirsty pirates, and an evil child-stealing woman who rides a jaguar. All this would be action enough but the island of Tamarind is in chaos as unscrupulous soldiers fight a bitter civil war.

The Lost Island of Tamarind
(Puffin, 2008)

   Aguiar writes lengthy passages of description which plunge the reader into a tropical zone, but tend to slow the pace in places. Her imagination is vivid. She tells of giants, mermaids, glowing mineral wealth and a village that lives in the tree-tops. I love the way she describes life on the Pamela Jane, the small boat the children call home. Also the wildlife she writes about sound wondrous: butterflies and monkeys, parrots and turtles.
   Although written for Young Adults I would recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy. It is a large tome though, so be prepared for a long read.

Maraea and the Albatrosses by Patricia Grace

Maraea and the Albatrosses (Puffin, 2008)

Maraea grew up in a Maori village on a clifftop overlooking the sea. Each year her family welcomed the nesting albatrosses and cared for the chicks when the parent birds were out gathering food. Year after year the village grew smaller as the older people died and the younger ones left to live elsewhere. Soon only  Maraea remained to welcome the albatrosses.
   This children's picture book shows how a local community can bond with an ecological phenomenon and make it central to their lives. The sadder theme though, deals with the notion of the seduction of the big cities and how rural communities can wither and die, along with their specialised local knowledge.
   The drawings appear to be done in water-colour and pastel, but I'm no expert in artistic technique. The birds are depicted accurately and the artist Brian Gunson captures the melancholy of the story.
   A beautiful picture story book pitched at young readers, but one that all ages can admire.

Micronesian canoes

A model of a Nauruan canoe.
Source: B. Montgomery

I recently travelled to Canberra and while there I was privileged to tour the Menzies library at the Australian National University. On the first floor were two exhibits from their Asia Pacific collection: a model of a Nauruan canoe and an actual outrigger canoe from Kiribati. Lovely examples of island craftsmanship.

An outrigger canoe from Kiribati. Source: B. Montgomery