An extraordinary love story between a Maori man and an American woman, that inspires a graceful, revelatory search for understanding about the cent...
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reviews
Jan 14, 2011
Michelle
rated it: 
The fact that it took me forever to read this book should in no way be regarded as criticism of it. Life got away from me for a while. It's an excellent book.
The blurb explaining how it's a memoir of a cross cultural marriage can not even begin to contain all that's in this book. The author is an American woman with a PhD married to a working class Maori New Zealander. While it does explore what it means to have a marriage between people of such divergent backgrounds it's so mu More...
The blurb explaining how it's a memoir of a cross cultural marriage can not even begin to contain all that's in this book. The author is an American woman with a PhD married to a working class Maori New Zealander. While it does explore what it means to have a marriage between people of such divergent backgrounds it's so mu More...
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Feb 25, 2010
Meaghan
rated it: 
This is a book that doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. Christina Thompson has a PhD in Pacific Literature and the book definitely has a literary style, but the topic is more historical/anthropological. Certainly it's part memoir also, but I think the majority of page space is taken up by her history of the Maori people. Then at the end she throws in a history of her own white American relatives and the white settlers' obliteration of the Native American tribes. I understand we're meant to
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(3 people liked it)
Dec 20, 2010
Leslie
rated it:
Come on Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All is two books mixed in one, with possibly the word's most unfortunate choice for a title. It's partly the history of the Maoris of New Zealand in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and partly
of the author's marriage to a Maori man she met in a bar while vacationing in New Zealand.
I found the history of the Europeans' first contact with the Maori to be interesting and the troubled realtions between the two vastly di More...
of the author's marriage to a Maori man she met in a bar while vacationing in New Zealand.
I found the history of the Europeans' first contact with the Maori to be interesting and the troubled realtions between the two vastly di More...
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Mar 16, 2011
Brian
rated it: 
Wish she'd decide what she wanted the book to be about, and delve deeper
I'm trying to remember where I got the suggestion to read this. I'm leaning toward the Economist, but that would make me a little sad, as it would be the first non-fiction bad rec I've gotten from them (the first bad rec of all was Ultimatum, which I still have yet to rate and review cause I'm just at a loss).
In any case, I was a little disappointed. Part personal history, part brief survey of the history of t More...
I'm trying to remember where I got the suggestion to read this. I'm leaning toward the Economist, but that would make me a little sad, as it would be the first non-fiction bad rec I've gotten from them (the first bad rec of all was Ultimatum, which I still have yet to rate and review cause I'm just at a loss).
In any case, I was a little disappointed. Part personal history, part brief survey of the history of t More...
Oct 09, 2009
"Christina Thompson is a lyrical, thoughtful writer with a background in English literature. The pity is, she has nothing compelling to say. This memoir of her life to date discusses her marriage to a Maori New Zealand native and her family's moves through the mainland US, Hawai'i, Australia, and New Zealand, but never really offers more than that. She gives a bit of European New Zealand discovery history, discusses her own feelings about it, and rarely truly delves into the Maori experi
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Oct 25, 2010
Marianne
rated it:
I was attracted to this because it was a cross between a personal memoir and an anthropology account, but to be honest it kinda just skirted both genres. It was okay, without being great and it provided basics, without giving anything really in depth and although it was okay, it didn't really seem to have a massive point. The past and the present aspects worked well enough, but the whole book just seemed to meander along and although you obviously can't manipulate petty dramas in a factual book,
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Sep 13, 2009
Mollie
rated it:
I received Come on Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All as part of the Goodreads giveaway program and was pleasantly surprised. What I expected to be a rather fluffy love story (and I enjoy a prince charming as much as the next person) in a great setting was instead a very readable overview of New Zealand history embedded in one woman's story. The writing exceeded my expectations, the research was substantive (supported by her professional academic work on the topic) and the story was refle
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(2 people liked it)
Aug 13, 2009
Shomeret
rated it:
I think that this author's awareness of racism does her a great deal of credit. I particularly liked the fact that she uncovered the racism in her own family's history and didn't shy away from presenting it.
It occurred to me that the history of Maori domination by the English is a re-capitulation of what had already occurred in Scotland, Ireland and Wales. England began by suppressing their neighbors on the British Isles before they expanded to the lands that they colonized. In th More...
It occurred to me that the history of Maori domination by the English is a re-capitulation of what had already occurred in Scotland, Ireland and Wales. England began by suppressing their neighbors on the British Isles before they expanded to the lands that they colonized. In th More...
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Nov 21, 2008
Gretchen
rated it: 
Very unsatisfying. I picked this up from the library hoping for a history of New Zealand colonization, but instead it was a rambling memoir of the author's trips to Australia and New Zealand, mixed briefly with history only as it related to her personal experiences, which were not in any kind of order. Disappointing, stopped reading it after fifty or so pages.
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Sep 13, 2008
Alohatiki
rated it:
I was really into this book about an American woman who marries a Maori. And then she spent the last few chapters covering her families American history, snooze. I guess she just ran out of stuff to talk about. I like the history of Polynesian Islands since i read all that stuff normally. So really 4 stars until the American history part.
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Aug 19, 2009
Laura
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I received this book through the first reads program at goodreads.com and will have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. This book looks at the effects of colonization as seen through both the colonizers and the natives.
The author looks at this subject through her relationship with her Maori husband and takes the reader on a journey through the past and present. Through her fascination with New Zealand's native Maori's we learn a good deal about the culture itself. I really enjoyed her More...
The author looks at this subject through her relationship with her Maori husband and takes the reader on a journey through the past and present. Through her fascination with New Zealand's native Maori's we learn a good deal about the culture itself. I really enjoyed her More...
Jul 06, 2009
Susie
rated it:
According to Hester Carr - Ladies Summer Reading Tea 2009 - this is a lovely love story - A woman and her relationship with her Maori husband and about the cultural misunderstandings.
Update - Hester has never steered me wrong before - but I think that part of the reason she loved this book so much is that a. she's smarter than I am, b. she and her husband lived in New Zealand and her 2nd daughter was born there and c. this said daughter is now off to New Zealand volunteering for the world More...
Update - Hester has never steered me wrong before - but I think that part of the reason she loved this book so much is that a. she's smarter than I am, b. she and her husband lived in New Zealand and her 2nd daughter was born there and c. this said daughter is now off to New Zealand volunteering for the world More...
Sep 07, 2009
Leslie
rated it:
"I MARRIED A CANNIBAL" could be an alternate title of this book. It's actually two books in one. "COME ON SHORE AND WE WILL KILL AND EAT YOU ALL" is the history of the Maori people and how they greeted visitors who came to their remote island, now known as New Zealand. They didn't actually kill and eat "all", just some. "I MARRIED A CANNIBAL" is the story of the author (American Christina Thompson) and the Maori she met (at a bar) and married while doing r
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Sep 16, 2009
Kate
rated it:
This story is partly a history and partly a love story, although it does neither particularly well. While there is a vague sense of chronological order, the story seems to meander haphazardly between past and present without a good sense of direction. The book is not a love story in that it provides major details of the author's relationship (we married, we moved, etc) without providing the essence of how the relationship developed and works. Also it is not a history, but rather tells interest
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Aug 31, 2011
Deborah
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I really liked Thompson's blend of past and (near) present. If someone had told me beforehand how much of it is about her own life, I would've thought the book sounded tacky and narcissistic. And whilst reading, I occasionally wondered what her family thinks of it all. However, her style was casual enough to make her story interesting, and scholarly enough to make it anthropological. I especially liked the linguistic notes at the end of the book. I'm not always the greatest fan of nonfiction, bu
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Oct 20, 2009
Adrienne
rated it:
This taught me a lot about a part of a the world I very knew little of. Very engaging.
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Oct 20, 2009
Michael
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Oct 27, 2009
David
rated it:
A very interesting book, by one of my former professors. It's literary and literate without being dry, personal, which I really enjoyed, but with enough context to provide the events of the people in the book's lives with some real context. I felt reading this book the same way I felt reading Common Ground, or learning about my family's history, or learning about my friends -- it's the process of becoming aware of oneself in a way that allows us to see some of the patterns that form the fabric o
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Oct 20, 2009
Kelli
rated it:
This is a memoir by an American woman who, while studying in Australia, visited New Zealand and started a relationship with a Maori man. The book focuses mostly on the history of New Zealand and the Maori peoples and not so much on Thompson's personal story, making it more of a historical account than a memoir proper.
Very fact-filled, the book reads like a history book to some degree but showcases Thompson's flair for taking dry material and making it interesting. The arrival of the More...
Very fact-filled, the book reads like a history book to some degree but showcases Thompson's flair for taking dry material and making it interesting. The arrival of the More...
Jan 29, 2012
Jonathan
rated it:
Is it a autobiography? Is it a Novel? Or is it simply just a re-hashed History asignment?
Well actually it is a bit of all of the above - and it kind of works. Definately struggle through the first 2 chapters and although you wont be overly entertained you will certainly be intrigued.
This book educates you in an interestinly unique way. You learn all about early Western voyages of discoveries as well as how natives are now having to settle in western dominated area's.
Some of it is like reading se More...
Well actually it is a bit of all of the above - and it kind of works. Definately struggle through the first 2 chapters and although you wont be overly entertained you will certainly be intrigued.
This book educates you in an interestinly unique way. You learn all about early Western voyages of discoveries as well as how natives are now having to settle in western dominated area's.
Some of it is like reading se More...
May 13, 2010
Katie
rated it:
Kelly, thank you for loaning me this book, you knew I'd love it!! How do you not love a story that starts with a hatpin through Boston to the other side of the globe, includes a love story that begins with a bar fight between a Maori and a Pakeha, and ultimately is an entertaining and quirky commentary on the long-term effects of colonization (or "civilizing" uncharted land as our adventurous European ancestors liked to think of it).
One of my favorite lines in this book is on p. More...
One of my favorite lines in this book is on p. More...
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Sep 18, 2009
Connie
rated it:
I enjoyed this book for a variety of reasons.
1) I plan to travel to New Zealand and this is a great introduction to the North Island.
2) The story of how she met her husband, married him, and moved around until they found where they belonged is delightful.
3) The historical accounts of how New Zealand was “discovered” and damaged by new settlers is realistic and disheartening.
I was amazed and pleased how the author was able to weave all of this together. I plan to More...
1) I plan to travel to New Zealand and this is a great introduction to the North Island.
2) The story of how she met her husband, married him, and moved around until they found where they belonged is delightful.
3) The historical accounts of how New Zealand was “discovered” and damaged by new settlers is realistic and disheartening.
I was amazed and pleased how the author was able to weave all of this together. I plan to More...
Oct 06, 2009
Pamela
rated it:
I love this book. I love the mix of history intertwined with a story of love and family. This is a memoir of the quest of discovering who we are and who our love is. How love spans the test of time through history...past, present and future. That love is not confined to boundaries like culture and societal expectations. Beautifully written and well-researched....a wonderful peek at the world and how we all fit in it.
FURTHER PROCESSING:
It has been about a month since I finish More...
FURTHER PROCESSING:
It has been about a month since I finish More...
3 comments
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Nov 08, 2009
Laura
rated it:
This book resonated with me on so many levels: I come from a mixed racial & cultural background; grew up in a household of academics; lived in many places as a child (including Hawaii & Australia) and have parents from different socio-economic backgrounds. Rarely have I found a book so intelligently and perceptively written that tackles the many ways in which our personal and national histories, cultural conditioning, and class expectations create unexpected challenges as we go out into the worl
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Oct 20, 2009
justme
rated it:
I had the opportunity to read this book since Christina Thompson came to guest teach a class at my grad school recently, and she actually clarified a few things about her book.
First, it's falsely advertised as a "love story" about her and her husband when in all truth, it's just as much a research driven story about the history of the Maori and New Zealand, as it is a story about her relationship with her husband and how they came to be. Her being a white American woman and More...
First, it's falsely advertised as a "love story" about her and her husband when in all truth, it's just as much a research driven story about the history of the Maori and New Zealand, as it is a story about her relationship with her husband and how they came to be. Her being a white American woman and More...
Sep 20, 2008
Stefan
rated it:
Thompson initially sets out to explore the moment of "first contact" between new zealanders and europeans, describing how different groups of people react when meeting an entirely different group of people. In the europeans case, it resulted the decline of native culture, while in Thompson's own case, it resulted in her finding a husband.
The intertwined New Zealand history and family biography starts to become irritating rather than revealing to the reader about halfway throu More...
The intertwined New Zealand history and family biography starts to become irritating rather than revealing to the reader about halfway throu More...
Dec 08, 2008
AnnP
rated it:
Yeah, OK, so admittedly I have a New Zealand "thing". I couldn't resist the title and truly expected to skim more than read. But I did read it, cover to cover, and found it extremely well-written, well-researched, entertaining, and engrossing. It is a bit of memoir, travelogue, history, anthropology, and sociology all mixed together with balanced views. There is really no "natives good, colonizers bad" stuff here (or vice versa). The author is attempting, and to a good e
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Oct 10, 2011
Larissa
rated it:
DUDE. this book is my life. an american college student studies in New Zealand and ends up meeting a Maori boy whom she marries. this book describes the cultural issues and historical lessons learned due to her cross cultural marriage. I could relate to so many aspects of this book. it was almost a little scary. thank you to this author for sharing your personal story. I loved it and needed it. ---especially when I am missing the little heaven on earth, Aotearoa.
Dec 23, 2011
Nancy
rated it:
I read several reviews of this book that lamented that the author couldn't seem to decide what her book was about. Was it Maori history in New Zealand? Was it a personal memoir of her life married to a Maori man? Was it a history of the European explorers in the Pacific?
It's true that it's hard to pinpoint exactly what the book is about, but do we *need* to pinpoint it? Everything is interrelated - from the arrival of the Polynesians thousands of years ago, to the first contact betw More...
It's true that it's hard to pinpoint exactly what the book is about, but do we *need* to pinpoint it? Everything is interrelated - from the arrival of the Polynesians thousands of years ago, to the first contact betw More...
Jan 24, 2009
Moyo
rated it:
This book was a fantastic mix of personal memoir and historical explanation/analysis. The author (from New England) examines her relationship with her Maori husband and her interest in Maori and Polynesian history in the context of the history of European conquest and the subjective nature of historic narratives. That overview may sound dry, but the book itself is well-written and well-paced. It was a pleasure to read.
