Initially, I was reluctant to start reading Sons for the Return Home. A tale about a Samoan family in the 1960s moving to New Zealand for Economic reasons? Nah, I'll pass.
Luckily for me, I did eventually get around to reading it. I found this book to be a profound look at the struggles of a family who, really, just wanted to go home. Eventually. Well that was the plan. This was always the plan for the family; Move to NZ, make some decent money, return to Samoa, and everything will be fine and dandy!
Well.
Unfortunately, these things don't always go according to plan. The parents' plans of arriving back in Samoa and reintegrating their New Zealand-adjusted sons back into island life was probably a bit fruitful in hindsight.
The book follows the younger son who, as we find out, has some severe identity issues. Is he Samoan? Is he a New Zealander? Is he a real person? You get the picture. Sonny (let's just call him that shall we?) meets a lovely papalangi (white) girl (who henceforth shall be known as 'Missy') with a family that definitely has some issues of their own (mostly in the bigotry category).
Both sets of parents really cannot seem to get along with each other's kids, which really doesn't sit well with either Sonny or Missy. This is just one of the many examples of the theme of prejudice and stereotypes that the novel throws at the reader throughout its 217 pages of general misery.
See, back in those days, New Zealanders were far less tolerant than they are now. Islanders were considered 'dirty' and were generally looked down upon.
This is what makes Sons such a landmark title. Up until its release, a lot of NZ literature was very Euro-centric. Sons offered a very different perspective at the time, and today is still raised for its portrayal of life back in that era. Not only this, but it proved that Samoan writers had something to say, and shouldn't be dismissed by European New Zealanders.
I would rarely call any work of fiction 'important'. Sure, you get works such as Harry Potter which resonated very powerfully on an emotional level and pretty much got me through most of my formative years, but is it 'important'? Not in the grand scheme of things. Wendt's novel is important because it offered an entirely different perspective on life in 1960s NZ. Something which no one else had dared to do. Sons is a brave novel for anyone, even today, to attempt to write.
Luckily for me, I did eventually get around to reading it. I found this book to be a profound look at the struggles of a family who, really, just wanted to go home. Eventually. Well that was the plan. This was always the plan for the family; Move to NZ, make some decent money, return to Samoa, and everything will be fine and dandy!
Well.
Unfortunately, these things don't always go according to plan. The parents' plans of arriving back in Samoa and reintegrating their New Zealand-adjusted sons back into island life was probably a bit fruitful in hindsight.
The book follows the younger son who, as we find out, has some severe identity issues. Is he Samoan? Is he a New Zealander? Is he a real person? You get the picture. Sonny (let's just call him that shall we?) meets a lovely papalangi (white) girl (who henceforth shall be known as 'Missy') with a family that definitely has some issues of their own (mostly in the bigotry category).
Both sets of parents really cannot seem to get along with each other's kids, which really doesn't sit well with either Sonny or Missy. This is just one of the many examples of the theme of prejudice and stereotypes that the novel throws at the reader throughout its 217 pages of general misery.
See, back in those days, New Zealanders were far less tolerant than they are now. Islanders were considered 'dirty' and were generally looked down upon.
This is what makes Sons such a landmark title. Up until its release, a lot of NZ literature was very Euro-centric. Sons offered a very different perspective at the time, and today is still raised for its portrayal of life back in that era. Not only this, but it proved that Samoan writers had something to say, and shouldn't be dismissed by European New Zealanders.
I would rarely call any work of fiction 'important'. Sure, you get works such as Harry Potter which resonated very powerfully on an emotional level and pretty much got me through most of my formative years, but is it 'important'? Not in the grand scheme of things. Wendt's novel is important because it offered an entirely different perspective on life in 1960s NZ. Something which no one else had dared to do. Sons is a brave novel for anyone, even today, to attempt to write.
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