Kurzbeschreibung
From the day she was born, little Kahu was overlooked by most because she was a girl. Her grandfather, the chief of the village, was too blinded by tradition to see the power his little granddaughter possessed. The author takes us to a little village in New Zealand where history and tradition work together in keeping the tribe's strength. The story is told from the perspective of Kahu's teenaged uncle, who watches her unfold into the role that destiny has reserved for her. Kahu is a vibrant, young girl destined to be the chief of her people. However, due to the fact that she was born a girl, she is challenged to prove herself and regain the strength of her land. She is gifted with the ability to speak to whales, allies to her people for many generations. In addition to the description of this New Zealand village, the somewhat mythical stories of ancestry, as well as Kahu's ability to speak to sea dwellers, will capture young readers right away. Her innocence and determination carry the reader all the way to the very end.
About the Author:
Witi Ihimaera is of Aitanga-a-Mahaki, Rongowhakaata and Ngati Porou descent, with close affiliations to Tuhoe, Te Whanau-a-Apanui, Kahungunu and Ngati Tamanuhiri.
He is the author of Pounamu, Pounamu (awarded third prize in the Wattie Book of the Year Awards), Tangi (first prize in the Wattie Award), Whanau, The New Net Goes Fishing, Maori, The Matriarch (winner of the Wattie Award), The Whale Rider, Dear Miss Mansfield and Bulibasha. He is also co-editor of Into the World of Light and general editor of the five-volume series Te Ao Marama series, the first volume of which won second prize in the Wattie Awards in 1993.
After serving with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Canberra, New York and Washington, Witi Ihimaera now lives in Auckland and lectures in the English Department at Auckland University. He was awarded a Scholarship in Letters in 1991 and spent most of 1993 in the south of France as the Katherine Mansfield Fellow.
Meine Meinung:
Als ich die Verfilmung dieser Geschichte im letzten Jahr sah, war ich einfach begeistert. Es ist eine wunderschoene Erzaehlung, die Traditionen, Mythik, Feminismus und Liebe vereint. Das kommt auch sehr gut in der Romanvorlage heraus. Die mythische Komponente sogar noch staerker. Ist allerdings ein Aspekt, der mich persoenlich weniger interessiert.
Die Wahl des Onkels Rawiri als Erzaehler hat allerdings seine Vor- und Nachteile. Er gibt auch Einblick in das Leben als Eingeborener, wie es in vielen Teilen der Welt sein kann. Andererseits rueckt dadurch Kahu mehr in den Hintergrund, wird zur Nebenperson. Nur im letzten Teil des Buches kommt sie staerker zur Geltung. Und das macht sie als Person schwaecher als sie eigentlich ist und das Buch als ganzes schwaecher als seine Verfilmung, die ganz bewusst Kahu (im Film Paikea) die zentrale Rolle gegeben hat.
Fazit: auf jeden Fall ein schoenes Buch, aber einer der raren Faelle, wo die Verfilmung das Original noch verbessern konnte
Gruss aus Calgary, Canada
beatrix