Awhi Tapu

by Albert Belz

At the foot of the Urewera ranges lies Awhi Tapu - a desolate forestry village. With the forestry industry closed down, most have left - Wendyl, Sonny, Casper and Girl Girl have only each other and their fertile imaginations to rely on. This work presents a story of loss, belonging, but most of all, friendship.

66 pages, Paperback

Published December 1, 2006

Reviews

[johanna (jo)]

no doubt we'll go into the deep cultural significance of this at university in the next few weeks, but i didn't think much of it on the first read.

[Lily]

2nd eng101 book- it was good I definitely have to see the play

[Narise Hansen]

This is an assigned text for my upcoming university course, so I thought I'd get a head start and give it a go. I've always loved reading plays, and Awhi Tapu was an easy read. At times it was predictable, but I did appreciate the honest, raw portrait of losing your home and heritage. The internal struggle of clinging to what you know and love, vs conforming to the outside world. However, I didn't find myself enthralled. This can often be the case when reading a play, as it doesn't have as much power as a production does. I'd definitely see this in a theatre.

I'm looking forward to going more in depth with the play, but on a first read it didn't capture me enough to give it more than a 3.5 stars.

[Isabella]

4.5 stars

[Sarah]

LOVED this. So much.