The Matriarch

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title The Matriarch
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Witi Ihimaera
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:512
Dimensions(mm): Height 197,Width 130
Category/GenreModern and contemporary fiction (post c 1945)
ISBN/Barcode 9780143010920
ClassificationsDewey:823.2
Audience
General

Publishing Details

Publisher Penguin Group (NZ)
Imprint Raupo Publishing (NZ) Ltd
Publication Date 30 January 2009
Publication Country New Zealand

Description

The matriarch is a woman of intelligence, wit, beauty and ruthlessness, and has become a mythical figure through her fight to repossess the land and sustain her people against the ravages wrought by the Pakeha. Priestess of the Ringatu faith, she has been virtually a law unto herself. In his search for the truth behind the legends surrounding the matriarch, his grandmother, Tama Mahana delves deeper and deeper into Maori history and lore to understand the mysterious sources of her power and ambition. Witi Ihimaera's prose is at turns lyrical and spare, sensuous and savage. Weaving fact with fiction, this remarkable odyssey into New Zealand history is a novel of stunning imaginative power.

Author Biography

Witi Ihimaera was born in Gisborne, New Zealand, in 1944. He was a pioneer of Maori writing in English: his first collection, Pounamu Pounamu (1972), was followed by Tangi (1973), the first novel by a Maori. A hard-working writer and editor, his works include novels, short-story collections, children's books, plays and numerous anthologies. His book The Whale Rider has been made into a successful international film, which won the Toronto Film Festival People's Choice Award in 2002. Ihimaera is professor of English at the University of Auckland, teaching creative writing and indigenous literature.