Selected stories Maurice Shadbolt

by Maurice Shadbolt

Book by Shadbolt, Maurice

363 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1998

About the author

Maurice Shadbolt was a major New Zealand fiction writer and playwright. He published numerous novels and collections of short fiction, as well as novellas, non-fiction, and a play. His writing often drew on his own family history. Shadbolt won several fellowships and almost every major literary prize, some more than once. He was capped Honorary Doctor of Literature by the University of Auckland in 1997.

Reviews

[dia 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yum colonialism

[Michel Guy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have just read "The People Before", one of the short stories in the collection, and found it extremely interesting. I find it to be both an interesting and perplexing tale, and I would like to read more pages. I am not personally concerned by the question which side Shadbolt was, what matters is that he writes well and makes us ask ourselves how we would behave in similar circumstances ...

[Rohani · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Only read 'The People Before', so this review is about that story]

Set during the depression in New Zealand, it's a story told through the perspective of the landowner's son. His father recently purchased land that has become a symbol of his pride and competence, especially in a time where others struggle to make ends meet. But as the economy descends for the worst, he could no longer deny the burdens of upkeeping land that does not give back. So what used to give him pride is now met with deep resentment. One day, unexpected guests, the Maoris, arrive. As they were previous owners of the land before Europeans confiscated them, they tell them about its rich history and the generations of the people before who lived there. They suddenly perform a strange ritual that suddenly became the straw that broke the camel's back. Loved the presentation of the Maori people and them really not giving two shits in the end. Despite some heavy topics on land entitlement, generational trauma, toxic masculinity, safety and security, etc. I actually really enjoyed it because these issues were quite subtly embedded in the story, so it didn't feel too heavy at all.

[2nd Reading]

What a difference a year makes. This is a compelling read that is as relevant today as it was when it was first published in 1963.

As I was teaching this text to my class the other day, I could tell students made the connection to what is happening right now in Occupied Palestine and "Israel" because the parallels were so glaringly obvious. I can't believe I didn't see it before. Parallels such as settler colonialism on sacred land, the annihilation of indigenous peoples, imperialist/racist attitudes and treatment of the natives as if they are second-class citizens, the hebraization of the names of Palestinian cities, white settlers living on/selling stolen land just because they can...

While Shadbolt tells a story about a WWI veteran who buys a piece of land on an isolated part of NZ, he really draws attention to attitudes toward land, landownership and the personal/spiritual connection we have with them. He also brings forth this idea that history starts the moment we set foot on the land, completely (and conveniently) disregarding the fact that there were people who lived there before. People whose entire tribes, communities and histories have been wiped out due to white (British) imperialism and laws that decide they can 'confiscate' land they felt they were entitled to.

My takeaway from this re-read:
1. If Shadbolt was still alive, would he have been on the side of the oppressors or would he be on the right side of history? (Personally, I think he would've been the latter)
2. Have we really learnt fucking nothing from history?