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Where We Once Belonged
by
Sia Figiel
Fiction. A bestseller in New Zealand and winner of the prestigious Commonwealth Prize, Sia Figiel's debut marks the first time a novel by a Samoan woman has been published in the United States. Figiel uses the traditional Samoan storytelling form of su'ifefiloi to talk back to Western anthropological studies on Samoan women and culture. Told in a series of linked episodes,...more
Paperback, 247 pages
Published
November 2nd 1999
by Kaya Press
(first published June 1st 1997)
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This book was depressing and boring. Sia Figiel was born in Western Samoa and moved to New Zealand at the age of 16. She has also studied in the US and American Samoa and has a B.A. in History. After living and studying overseas she returned to Samoa and found it very hard to fit in. This book seeks to overturn the romanticised Western view of the Pacific Islands as places of paradise and it succeeds only too well.
The book is set in Samoa and Sia Figiel shows us a community and culture which is...more
The book is set in Samoa and Sia Figiel shows us a community and culture which is...more
My English teacher in my Senior year at Samoana gave this book to me to read. It was my very first fiction book written by a Samoan writer. The story ends with how natives perceive the college-educated Samoan who comes home after years of college abroad with ideas that clash with their views and is labelled "crazy." It also tells of three adolescent Samoan teine's and their approaching puberty stories. All in all, it is a chick-lit book for fans of The Sisterhood of the Ya-ya whatevers. I rated...more
Im Rahmen meiner literarischen Weltreise habe ich mich diesmal nach Samoa begeben und dort das junge Mädchen Alofa kennengelernt. Sie ist gefangen in einer Welt voller Zwänge und Verbote und steckt zusätzlich mitten in der Pubertät. Allerdings handelt es sich nicht um einen Roman, in dem man Alofas Geschichte verfolgen könnte, sondern um einige Episoden, die nur lose durch ihren Bezug zu Alofa zusammenhängen. Ein Gesamtbild über sie, ihre Familie, ihr Dorf und Samoa ergibt sich erst ganz am Ende...more
Where We Once Belonged is the tale of a Samoan girl coming of age in her small town. It is a story of family, of community mores, of gender politics, of island life. The book weaves Samoan language into the English narrative. In the back of the book there is a dictionary that translates some of the words, but by no means all. As a non-Samoan speaker, I found this both helpful--I loved to hear the music of the language and the ways that English morphed into new Samoan vocabulary in the mouths of...more
In the glossary of this novel written in English (mostly) and Samoan (interspersed), there is the definition of "su'ifefiloi - stringing together flowers, a way of telling a story in linked vignettes." The novel is a string of stories, sometimes dreamlike, often poetic, told from the point of view of a young girl, which is to say obliquely, with childlike vulnerability, confusion, and poignancy. The author is a performance poet and this book would be great to hear performed.
et in Samoa where we once belonged is the coming of age story of Alofa, a 13 year old girl growing up in the village of Malaefou. I wrote my final year English essay on this, and Perception of Polynesia in literature, so you’d think I would have remembered it. Well, most parts I did, but there were some I didn’t.
Alofa is our narrator, we see life through her eyes. But there are also songs and poems blended in, a mix of Samoan myth and legend. Allowing us a glimpse into life for Samoa. A life whe...more
Alofa is our narrator, we see life through her eyes. But there are also songs and poems blended in, a mix of Samoan myth and legend. Allowing us a glimpse into life for Samoa. A life whe...more
I feel I should have liked this book more, but the sequence of tales about childhood in a small Samoan town was dark without a balancing level of investment in the characters themselves. The prose veered into mythology and poetry, however I found it distracting rather than intriguing, perhaps missing the buried purpose of these interludes. Hoping until the end there would be some kind of forward movement or development for the characters, I came away disappointed.
The glossary in the end was unhelpful, as it contained maybe half the words and none of the phrases. I don't feel like we got to know the characters as well as we should have. Also, this book needs some sort of family tree. When they finally named Lili's attacker I completely blanked out on who he was and why it was so shocking.
I didn't find this book boring at all,I really enjoyed reading it. it's not often that you find literature with a Samoan woman as a main character, or involving any Samoan woman at all. It can be a bit flowery at times but it's beautifully written.
Book was an amazin. Incite to the Samoan lifestyle and community. The Samoan wors that are left in the text is a realization this is not just an Americanized novel from an Americanized land.
I liked it, despite the fact that I don't tend to be a fan of things stories that aren't chronological. She used a lot of Samoan words, but not all of them were in the three page glossary at the end.
Absolutely loved this book. It explores life for young people in Tonga, exposing all sorts of social issues. Although bleak at times, it is also uplifting, particularly with the loyalty within the relationships portrayed. Havent ever read a book set in Tonga so it was very interesting. A gritty, good read.
A landmark book for me. Every Samoan woman/girl should read this one.
Didnt like. period. : )
An exceptionally interesting book about Samoan life in the 1970's, stylistically unique. The only reason it doesn't get five is because it interupts it's own narrative flow too often.
This book might have been better than I'll rate it ... by this time in my semester I am tired of books about abused women, ratially discriminated against women, etc. and longing for some good old-fashined fairy tales. So I didn't really enjoy this book. Actually, I was somewhat offended by the things that she chose to share, and I've read some pretty seemy books lately. This one just seemed to really rub me the wrong way.
Oct 14, 2008
Liz
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
People moving to Samoa or interested in samoa
I really enjoyed this book. This was a great book on modern Samoa from the perspective of a teenage girl circa 70s. The narrative form is interesting and travels between the adolescent girl and the other Samoan characters. I highly recommend this book to get inside the modern Samoan mentality. Caveat: this would be a much more Western Samoan mentality than an American Samoa.
Great book. It took me back to my childhood. Love the book a bunch. Great job Sia.
Couldn't get on with this book at all. Unusual for me, but I gave up half way through. Glad of the glossary to make it more understandable, but there are too many other books I want to read.
Read as part of compass journey page
My favorite novel. Love it, love it, love it.
Captivating, rich & unapologetic.
May 12, 2013
Nikkiyutuc14yahoo.com
marked it as to-read
May 09, 2013
Siulia
marked it as to-read
May 05, 2013
Cecilia Seve
marked it as to-read
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Sep 10, 2012 02:45am