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9th out of 380 books
—
141 voters
Once Were Warriors (Once were warriors trilogy #1)
by
Alan Duff
Once Were Warriors is Alan Duff's harrowing vision of his country's indigenous people two hundred years after the English conquest. In prose that is both raw and compelling, it tells the story of Beth Heke, a Maori woman struggling to keep her family from falling apart, despite the squalor and violence of the housing projects in which they live. Conveying both the rich tex...more
Paperback, 208 pages
Published
February 28th 1995
by Vintage
(first published 1990)
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Just finished re-reading Once Were Warriors as part of my little side project "Top Ten Again" - (The ten books from my "Top Ten" in 2003).
It's easy to understand why Once Were Warriors made an impression on me - its unique manner of storytelling, combined with such hard-hitting material, made it a book to be reckoned with. But I don't know why else I liked it - let alone gave it a top ten spot.
Because this time around I found Once Were Warriors so very difficult to stomach. I was still impressed...more
It's easy to understand why Once Were Warriors made an impression on me - its unique manner of storytelling, combined with such hard-hitting material, made it a book to be reckoned with. But I don't know why else I liked it - let alone gave it a top ten spot.
Because this time around I found Once Were Warriors so very difficult to stomach. I was still impressed...more
I seem to have read several books over the last few weeks written in this bleak, stream of thought style and I expect it's partly because of my overindulgence that I didn't really connect to this book.
It tells the story of a Maori family living on a poor estate surrounded by other Maori families with drug and drink problems. It's a story most of us are familiar with (in my case, I was born on a council estate not a million miles away from this) and I feel that that is the main failing of the bo...more
It tells the story of a Maori family living on a poor estate surrounded by other Maori families with drug and drink problems. It's a story most of us are familiar with (in my case, I was born on a council estate not a million miles away from this) and I feel that that is the main failing of the bo...more
Feb 26, 2012
justablondemoment
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
no one
Recommended to justablondemoment by:
LibraryThing
Shelves:
alcoholism,
poverty,
series,
domestic-violence,
read-2012,
all-in-the-bad-family,
clans,
incest,
suicide
Very hard book to read. I actually had to stop reading ..watch movie...then started reading it again just to get an idea of what was going on. The story is an excellent one but the style of writing was horrid for me. It really put a halt on the whole enjoyment of it. I'm really wanting to read the second one but am really hesitating to do so. FYI--the movie is really good to but different from the book.
I'm actually on the fence. I really liked the book, as much as you can like a depressing book that has a fairly predictable plot, because I do feel like it was written from a deep personal reflection (the author is half Maori I believe)? However I think the danger in these types of novels is if it is all you read about Maoris you think, "oh I know their story - drunks, addicts, abusers" and there you go, you've categorized a whole racial group.
As long as you remember that this is fiction and al...more
As long as you remember that this is fiction and al...more
This novel tells the story of the Heke family, Maoris living in what is essentially a Maori ghetto in New Zealand. Their world is full of domestic violence, alcoholism, gangs, poverty, hunger, and feelings of inadequacy, frustration, and anger. The novel doesn't have a traditional "happy ending," but it does end with hope.
I thought the author does an excellent job of taking a hard look at Maori society (he himself is Maori) and challenging individuals to take responsibility for their actions. He...more
I thought the author does an excellent job of taking a hard look at Maori society (he himself is Maori) and challenging individuals to take responsibility for their actions. He...more
I picked this up at the library on a whim, after vaguely remembering having seen the film when I was younger. I have to say I found it really frustrating to read, mostly because of the style of writing (lots of dense clumps of long paragraphs, no line-breaks or punctuation for the dialogue, etc).
On top of that, the book was kind of boring. It was extremely slow-paced, with chapter upon chapter of depressing inner monologues about the state of the Maori culture and of the lives of the characters,...more
On top of that, the book was kind of boring. It was extremely slow-paced, with chapter upon chapter of depressing inner monologues about the state of the Maori culture and of the lives of the characters,...more
Intense and incredibly well written with stream of consciousness narrative and shifting viewpoints. Really paints a picture of a once proud race doing itself in. I read this and the sequel,What Becomes Of the Broken Hearted,back to back. If you enjoyed this,you'd probably enjoy Hubert Selby Jr's ,Last Exit to Brooklyn.Aspects of the book,especially the parts about gang violence also remind me of Anthony Burghess's A Clockwork Orange.For a similar portrait of dead end society ,but set in the near...more
I cannot begin to describe the emotional pull of this story. This is a crushing and honest work about a family and a people. A proud people torn apart by alcohol, rage and shame. But in this, is the pheonix story in its entirety. Few people know of the sequal to this story, which was made into a movie as well. What becomes of the Brokenhearted...If you are a fan of this story and have been unable to resist the soulful desire to see something right come from this story, you must read the sequal....more
Oct 16, 2012
AngielovesYA
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
family-issues,
death,
gang-life,
heartbreaking,
kiwi,
new-zealand,
prejudice,
racism,
rape,
sexual-abuse,
suicide,
violence
I didn't end up finishing this one as the style of writing was hard going. But the characters were realistic and heartfelt, which meant that I didn't feel right giving it less than a 3. It's a book that hits many chords with New Zealanders, and it addresses issues that a lot of people outside of New Zealand aren't aware of. However, I much preferred the movie over the book. I have only read this topic in one other book, but by another author, Marita A. Hansen, and I preferred her style and conte...more
Heartrending. Tragic. Inspiring.
A must read for any segment of society hellbent on destroying itself. The frustration, anger and lethargy which grown out the perceived unfairness of the world can be crippling and this book serves as snap shot of one such lost community, eating itself alive because of the lopsided realities of life. I really think this book should be mandatory reading in the public schools back home, where a lot of the same anger, violence and self-destructive tendencies are cons...more
A must read for any segment of society hellbent on destroying itself. The frustration, anger and lethargy which grown out the perceived unfairness of the world can be crippling and this book serves as snap shot of one such lost community, eating itself alive because of the lopsided realities of life. I really think this book should be mandatory reading in the public schools back home, where a lot of the same anger, violence and self-destructive tendencies are cons...more
A tough, but revealing and poignant story on the component of Maori population in New Zealand living in ghetto-like conditions.
I was struck throughout this violent, despairing narrative by the internal constraints that people take on. There is an intensity of individuals in a small small world, and how they develop ways of coping with apparently no hope for change, though never reaching out or peering over to see the larger society and the possibilities they might escape.
One of the main charact...more
I was struck throughout this violent, despairing narrative by the internal constraints that people take on. There is an intensity of individuals in a small small world, and how they develop ways of coping with apparently no hope for change, though never reaching out or peering over to see the larger society and the possibilities they might escape.
One of the main charact...more
One of my favorite books ever. A depiction of contemporary New Zealand life that tells it through poor, welfare-state Maoris struggling to rise above gang violence and alcoholism. Jake, Beth, and Grace are some of the most memorable characters ever written, and their stories will move you; Jake's, in particular, as the Maori warrior still poised to fight while struggling to live is one I still remember, even though it's been years since I first read it.
Check it out. Really worth it.
Check it out. Really worth it.
I found that this book far outweighed the movie. It follows the same tale of the movie and its sequal 'what becomes of the broken hearted'. If you have yourself grown up in/around alcohol fueled domestic violence beware as this may open up wounds and basically rub salt in them but was still worth the journey in my opion. But if you liked the movie, definatly read this and even if you didn't like the movie you may enjoy this more detailed and heartfelt version.
This is a brutal book. No punches are pulled in the descriptions of domestic violence, gang culture, acoholism, sexual abuse and suicide. It is a raw account of the erosion of cultual identity in the Maori community, and the attmepts of individuals to reconnect with their heritage. Duff's writing is excellent and immmediate, so that the violence of the characters lives never feels contrived for effect.
Aug 01, 2009
Books written by POC
added it
Hard, painful going (it deals with the negative effects of colonialism on Maori culture in general and one family in particular), but well worth it. Made into an excellent movie. [return][return]So hard to read, so beautiful and painful. I watched the movie in "history of the pacific" and reading the book before didn't make the movie any easier. Highly recommend it.
This book is heavy. It's a brutal account of many of the problems indigenous people face in a world conquered by European traditions. I certainly felt a range of emotions for the characters, ranging from compassion, to utter hatred. I'd like to think that things have become better for the Maori in New Zealand since 1990, though.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Elokuvana tämä on tehokas ja kyllä kirjakin toimii. Herättää suunnattomia vihan tunteita, jotka kuitenkin jollain kierolla tapaa muuttuvat kirjan edetessä ymmärrykseksi. Kirjoitustyyli on hyvin veikeä ja paikoin on vaikea tietää, että kuka puhuu. Tyyli kuitenkin istuu kirjaan täydellisesti Parhaita ansioita kirjassa on se, miten hyvin se tuo esiin eri hahmojen näkemyksen asioista.
This book was awful. It was full of filth and had little underlying story. There are F-words on every page in multiple places. I had to read it for an English class, or I never would have read past the first page. I would never recommend this book to anyone.
The parents at the center of this book are terrible people. The lack of empathy they feel for their own children was well past the point of believability. If this is a fair depiction of poor Maori’s, than holy Christ that’s just awful. But I doubt it. I think it’s written to an extreme and for effect.
It’s really a mediocre modern mythical tragedy watching the family fall to see when they hit rock bottom. It’s short and written in a stream of conscious style that’s not difficult to grasp.
It’s really a mediocre modern mythical tragedy watching the family fall to see when they hit rock bottom. It’s short and written in a stream of conscious style that’s not difficult to grasp.
The violent story of an urban Maori family. The book, and its two sequels, raised a storm of response, including two movies. I was shaken by the first movie, which bears the same name as the book. Want to see how the author of the original told the story.
An honest look into the lives of New Zealand's social underbelly. The most saddening and depressing book I have read in a long while.....as we all know its a true account of how some live in our country. Slightly different to the movie.
A difficult read both content-wise and stylistically but worthwhile. The Maori family at the center experiences alcoholism, physical and sexual abuse, other types of violence. It's a compelling if often heartbreaking look at indigenous life within western culture. It's written in a stream of consciousness style in the voices of several characters. It can be challenging but I think it works well to put the reader in the psyches of the characters.
This is a very sad and tragic tale of a Maori family. It could be a tale of any aboriginal family anywhere however. It was emotional, heart rending but in the end uplifting as you can see the community coming together to change their lot in life.
A bleak and chilling picture of Maori life in modern New Zealand written in a stream of consciousness style. As evocative as the book was in the first half, it was incomplete, rushed, and unconvincing in the second half.
Nov 03, 2012
Wendy
added it
Difficult to read, because the world this family lives in is so dark, so desperate. It's heartbreaking. I just didn't want to be there. But I know more about the challenges facing modern Maori, and the end offers hope.
I strongly suggest it to anyone who can handle it. About a family living in poor conditions, Father is abusive. Very hard-hitting. near then end I could barely read any more. Set in 1990 New Zealand. It has revealed to me what many families in New Zealand deal with. It is especially scary because at school I see kids who might be in the same position as the kids in the Heke family. I have learnt a lot about my country.
This book reminds me a bit of book:The Grapes of Wrath. It is moving and sad, the story of the lostness Maoris in New Zealand and their re-finding of themselves. A satisfying story.
Urban Maori youth don't have options beyond joining a violent gang, finding an old-style Maori teacher, becoming a drunk or committing suicide. I want to see the movie.
This book is not as nuanced at Keri Hulme's The Bone People in its depiction of the colonially-damaged Maori, but it is powerful and heartrending nonetheless.
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Alan Duff (born October 26, 1950, Rotorua, New Zealand) is a New Zealand novelist and newspaper columnist, most well known as the author of Once Were Warriors. He began to write full-time in 1985.
He tried writing a thriller as his first novel, but it was rejected. He burned the manuscript and started writing Once Were Warriors, which had an immediate and great impact. The novel is written in juxta...more
More about Alan Duff...
He tried writing a thriller as his first novel, but it was rejected. He burned the manuscript and started writing Once Were Warriors, which had an immediate and great impact. The novel is written in juxta...more
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Sep 28, 2012 03:15am