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Sons for the Return Home (Talanoa: contemporary Pacific literature) by Albert Wendt (31-Jan-1996) Paperback
A Samoan boy who immigrates to New Zealand with his family has difficulty adjusting to his new life in an alien land
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First published January 1, 1973
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About the author
Albert Wendt
47 books61 followersAlbert Wendt was born in Apia, Samoa.
Wendt's epic Leaves of the Banyan Tree (1979) won the 1980 New Zealand Book Awards. He was appointed to the first chair in Pacific literature at the University of the South Pacific in Suva. In 1988 he took up a professorship of Pacific studies at the University of Auckland. In 1999 Wendt was visiting Professor of Asian and Pacific Studies at the University of Hawaii. In 2001 he was made Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to literature. In the 2013 Queen's Birthday Honours he was appointed a member of the Order of New Zealand.
Wendt's epic Leaves of the Banyan Tree (1979) won the 1980 New Zealand Book Awards. He was appointed to the first chair in Pacific literature at the University of the South Pacific in Suva. In 1988 he took up a professorship of Pacific studies at the University of Auckland. In 1999 Wendt was visiting Professor of Asian and Pacific Studies at the University of Hawaii. In 2001 he was made Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to literature. In the 2013 Queen's Birthday Honours he was appointed a member of the Order of New Zealand.
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August 24, 2022
First published in 1973, this book by Samoan author Albert Wendt must have been pretty edgy back then. It is pretty edgy now.
In spite of the blurb (both on the book and on GR) it is not set in Auckland, but Wellington, and is the story of a Samoan boy brought by his family to New Zealand to complete his schooling. Over the course of the novel, he completes his University degree and the family return home to their Samoan village.
The theme throughout the novel is race - racial stereotypes, racial interactions, racial self-identity, inter-racial relationships. Not as you might expect just Samoan peoples relationships with palagi (Samoan for white, or European people), but Samoans with Maori; New Zealand Samoans with Island Samoans; town Samoans with rural Samoans. But primarily the story revolves around the two main characters referred to as "he" and "she" throughout. "He" is Samoan, and " she" is his white girlfriend.
The story covers a number of unpleasant themes - violence, domestic violence, infidelity, relationship problems to do with trust and communication. Religion is examined - mostly because "he" doesn't prescribe to religion, despite the Samoan culture overwhelmingly following Christianity. This book also exposes the flaws in each of the characters.
I enjoyed the writing, which felt more modern than it is. The dual timeline chapters were also well done - having to guess at the characters involved, but not such that it didn't become obvious. There was much honesty in the writing. Supposedly semi-autobiographical, the story is continually tinged in sadness.
4 stars.
In spite of the blurb (both on the book and on GR) it is not set in Auckland, but Wellington, and is the story of a Samoan boy brought by his family to New Zealand to complete his schooling. Over the course of the novel, he completes his University degree and the family return home to their Samoan village.
The theme throughout the novel is race - racial stereotypes, racial interactions, racial self-identity, inter-racial relationships. Not as you might expect just Samoan peoples relationships with palagi (Samoan for white, or European people), but Samoans with Maori; New Zealand Samoans with Island Samoans; town Samoans with rural Samoans. But primarily the story revolves around the two main characters referred to as "he" and "she" throughout. "He" is Samoan, and " she" is his white girlfriend.
The story covers a number of unpleasant themes - violence, domestic violence, infidelity, relationship problems to do with trust and communication. Religion is examined - mostly because "he" doesn't prescribe to religion, despite the Samoan culture overwhelmingly following Christianity. This book also exposes the flaws in each of the characters.
I enjoyed the writing, which felt more modern than it is. The dual timeline chapters were also well done - having to guess at the characters involved, but not such that it didn't become obvious. There was much honesty in the writing. Supposedly semi-autobiographical, the story is continually tinged in sadness.
4 stars.
September 5, 2019
“Sons for the Return Home” was one of the very first novels published by a Pacific Islander and probably the first book by a Samoan author - and we're talking about a text that came out in 1973! Since then, Albert Wendt has become one of the most famous writers from the South Pacific and a tireless advocate for Polynesian literature (Albert Wendt has German ancestors, hence his name; the now-Samoan islands of Upolu, Savai'i, Apolima and Manono used to be a German colony from 1900-1914).
It is a sad fact that writers like Herman Melville, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jack London, and W. Sommerset Maugham traveled the Pacific and shaped the image of Polynesia for generations of readers, while native voices have long been ignored (and that the Pacific Islands have predominantly oral literary traditions is clearly not the main reason here). This started to change in the late 1960’s when the University of the South Pacific was established, a place that still puts considerable research and resources into studying and promoting the culture and arts of the region. Wendt himself taught there, and later set up the Samoan branch of the school.
As a key piece of post-colonial literature, “Sons for the Return Home” is a roman à clef that tells the story of a young Samoan who lives in New Zealand and falls in love with a fellow university student, a white Kiwi woman. The young man came to New Zealand as a child, and his parents want their son to become a doctor and to one day return home to Samoa - the imaginary Samoa they cling to, that is. As his mother explains:
“We Samoans (…) must stand together, with God as our guide. If we don’t, we shall all be destroyed as the papalagi (white people) have destroyed the Maoris and the Hawaiians. And so she continued throughout the years, until a new mythology, woven out of her romantic memories, her legends, her illusions, and her prejudices, was born in her sons: a new, fabulous Samoa to be attained by her sons when they returned home after surviving the winters of a pagan country.”
Both the young man and the young woman he falls in love with have no name, so Wendt highlights that their experiences stand for those of many others: Samoan New Zealanders constitute one of the country’s most sizeable ethnic minorities, and Samoan is the third most-spoken language in New Zealand (after English and Maori). Wendt vividly describes racial prejudices from all sides, how they are upheld and rationalized and how they harm everyone involved. Wendt does not spare any group from his criticism. Here another quote from the mother:
”Remember always that a true Samoan is a full-blooded Samoan, and always be proud of your race and the Church which has given us so much” (ironically, missionaries played an important part in exploiting indigenous peoples).
For someone like me who is not an expert on the region, the fact that parts of the Maori and Samoan community in New Zealand are also prejudiced against each other and employ the same racial stereotypes that whites would use to discriminate against native peoples was first puzzling, but then of course it shows once more the whole absurdity of racism (there is also a hate crime committed by whites against another white man who is Jewish; plus a New Zealander saying: “The Aussie are the rudest, most uncouth bastards I’ve ever met!” – the racist and nationalist wheel of stupidity just never stops).
What impresses me is that Wendt uses what we would today call an intersectional approach: He does not only talk about race, he describes how race intersects with gender, age, education, culture, and religion. He also underlines the fact that history is never truly over: The people in this book are haunted by the deeds of their ancestors and the consequences that persist, even when those who provoked them are long gone. On a narrative level, Wendt often illustrates the feelings of his protagonists by reaching back to Polynesian myths and oral history, opposing these elements with modern life in New Zealand.
Nevertheless, there are some passages in this book that seem quite questionable by today’s standards (“One man patted her familiarly on her buttocks. She laughed as she went out the door. He felt jealous.”). Additionally, there are parts in which the character development is a little lacking in as far as characters rather suddenly change their pattern of thinking or behavior.
But although this text certainly has its fair share of flaws, I have to give it four stars: It is extremely interesting, absorbing, and a brave and early effort to discuss racism from a Samoan perspective – and I just have to end with this beautiful quote about Samoa’s oral literary tradition:
“A man who had the gift of words was truly inspired; he was human yet he possessed the essence of immortality because only the word was eternal.”
It is a sad fact that writers like Herman Melville, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jack London, and W. Sommerset Maugham traveled the Pacific and shaped the image of Polynesia for generations of readers, while native voices have long been ignored (and that the Pacific Islands have predominantly oral literary traditions is clearly not the main reason here). This started to change in the late 1960’s when the University of the South Pacific was established, a place that still puts considerable research and resources into studying and promoting the culture and arts of the region. Wendt himself taught there, and later set up the Samoan branch of the school.
As a key piece of post-colonial literature, “Sons for the Return Home” is a roman à clef that tells the story of a young Samoan who lives in New Zealand and falls in love with a fellow university student, a white Kiwi woman. The young man came to New Zealand as a child, and his parents want their son to become a doctor and to one day return home to Samoa - the imaginary Samoa they cling to, that is. As his mother explains:
“We Samoans (…) must stand together, with God as our guide. If we don’t, we shall all be destroyed as the papalagi (white people) have destroyed the Maoris and the Hawaiians. And so she continued throughout the years, until a new mythology, woven out of her romantic memories, her legends, her illusions, and her prejudices, was born in her sons: a new, fabulous Samoa to be attained by her sons when they returned home after surviving the winters of a pagan country.”
Both the young man and the young woman he falls in love with have no name, so Wendt highlights that their experiences stand for those of many others: Samoan New Zealanders constitute one of the country’s most sizeable ethnic minorities, and Samoan is the third most-spoken language in New Zealand (after English and Maori). Wendt vividly describes racial prejudices from all sides, how they are upheld and rationalized and how they harm everyone involved. Wendt does not spare any group from his criticism. Here another quote from the mother:
”Remember always that a true Samoan is a full-blooded Samoan, and always be proud of your race and the Church which has given us so much” (ironically, missionaries played an important part in exploiting indigenous peoples).
For someone like me who is not an expert on the region, the fact that parts of the Maori and Samoan community in New Zealand are also prejudiced against each other and employ the same racial stereotypes that whites would use to discriminate against native peoples was first puzzling, but then of course it shows once more the whole absurdity of racism (there is also a hate crime committed by whites against another white man who is Jewish; plus a New Zealander saying: “The Aussie are the rudest, most uncouth bastards I’ve ever met!” – the racist and nationalist wheel of stupidity just never stops).
What impresses me is that Wendt uses what we would today call an intersectional approach: He does not only talk about race, he describes how race intersects with gender, age, education, culture, and religion. He also underlines the fact that history is never truly over: The people in this book are haunted by the deeds of their ancestors and the consequences that persist, even when those who provoked them are long gone. On a narrative level, Wendt often illustrates the feelings of his protagonists by reaching back to Polynesian myths and oral history, opposing these elements with modern life in New Zealand.
Nevertheless, there are some passages in this book that seem quite questionable by today’s standards (“One man patted her familiarly on her buttocks. She laughed as she went out the door. He felt jealous.”). Additionally, there are parts in which the character development is a little lacking in as far as characters rather suddenly change their pattern of thinking or behavior.
But although this text certainly has its fair share of flaws, I have to give it four stars: It is extremely interesting, absorbing, and a brave and early effort to discuss racism from a Samoan perspective – and I just have to end with this beautiful quote about Samoa’s oral literary tradition:
“A man who had the gift of words was truly inspired; he was human yet he possessed the essence of immortality because only the word was eternal.”
October 2, 2017
Whilst this is a love story, it is more about how racism is within all who fear and are ignorant of the differences. Wendt tells a story of an unnamed Samoan growing up in New Zealand in the swinging sixties. He falls in love with a white woman and there is lose and grief. Wendt highlights the differences between the races and within each race who all carry some sort of fear or hatred of people outside of their circle (rich vs poor, Samoan-New Zealand vs Samoan villager, Samoan-villager vs Samoan-city dweller, Samoan vs Maori, etc).
It's over 40 years old this book but it still is relevant today.
It's over 40 years old this book but it still is relevant today.
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February 7, 2016I have mixed feelings about this book. for starters, I knew of Albert Wendts literary status among the Pacific community long before I read any of his work (this being my first) and I felt this default need of having to like his stuff. I wanted to like it before I tried it. which is a weird prejudice...
i don't know what I expected but for the lost part, I was disappointed. I felt that he third person narration didn't contain Free Indirect Discourse so much as it was wholly F.I.D. It was an uncomfortable way to read a story, which then grew on me in the last five chapters. The use of third person narrative indicated a discomfort with retelling a story one is ashamed of, which is something the characters were going through.
I also felt like this book played the role of a history text book that didnt add much to the story. But then, I'm assuming the target audience is for Kiwis who don't know much about the daily life in Samoa (even Samoan kiwis). It was only tiring to me cos it would be the equivalent of describing about to catch a Wellington bus using Snapper.
I couldn't tell the difference between what the characters were saying and what the author was saying: cos it felt quite personal at times, the critique of Samoan culture. Maybe that's a flaw, or maybe that's the point. I don't know.
I understand this was his first book so I doubt its his best. I want to try another one, maybe Pouliuli next..
i don't know what I expected but for the lost part, I was disappointed. I felt that he third person narration didn't contain Free Indirect Discourse so much as it was wholly F.I.D. It was an uncomfortable way to read a story, which then grew on me in the last five chapters. The use of third person narrative indicated a discomfort with retelling a story one is ashamed of, which is something the characters were going through.
I also felt like this book played the role of a history text book that didnt add much to the story. But then, I'm assuming the target audience is for Kiwis who don't know much about the daily life in Samoa (even Samoan kiwis). It was only tiring to me cos it would be the equivalent of describing about to catch a Wellington bus using Snapper.
I couldn't tell the difference between what the characters were saying and what the author was saying: cos it felt quite personal at times, the critique of Samoan culture. Maybe that's a flaw, or maybe that's the point. I don't know.
I understand this was his first book so I doubt its his best. I want to try another one, maybe Pouliuli next..
August 25, 2017
Wendt’s “Sons for the Return Home” paints a poignant and accurate picture of how racial politics pervade into the intimacies of everyday life. Who is the real villain here? Not the conservative Christian, traditionally racist mother (ironically, this description extends to both mothers in the context of the story), nor the ignorant and privileged white New Zealander, nor the marginalized and understandably bitter Samoan. White supremacy is not a dichotomy of bad versus good, or even white versus color. It is an archaic framework that has given birth to the world as it is today, and the world’s constituents have inherited it whether they want to or not.
*Spoiler alert*
Yet in light of the despicable actions that unfold throughout the novel, we feel so much for the characters. Why are we not disgusted, at either the boy or the girl, as he rapes her? Nor at her decision to abort their child? Or his mother’s insistence that she do so? It is painfully tragic, not merely because of the actions in of themselves but because of the context by which these decision are made and guided by the invisible hand of post-colonialist thought. We feel for them because this invisible hand feels all too familiar. How do we deal with racism, not only when it is institutionalized, but when it is embedded in the consciousness of those we love and those who love us, and find it butting its head again and again into areas of our lives that we want to keep pure and untainted by politics and prejudice, areas that we believe are exempt from such secular trivialities? After all, isn’t something as base as politics so terribly beneath the all-powerful panacea of love?
*Spoiler alert*
Yet in light of the despicable actions that unfold throughout the novel, we feel so much for the characters. Why are we not disgusted, at either the boy or the girl, as he rapes her? Nor at her decision to abort their child? Or his mother’s insistence that she do so? It is painfully tragic, not merely because of the actions in of themselves but because of the context by which these decision are made and guided by the invisible hand of post-colonialist thought. We feel for them because this invisible hand feels all too familiar. How do we deal with racism, not only when it is institutionalized, but when it is embedded in the consciousness of those we love and those who love us, and find it butting its head again and again into areas of our lives that we want to keep pure and untainted by politics and prejudice, areas that we believe are exempt from such secular trivialities? After all, isn’t something as base as politics so terribly beneath the all-powerful panacea of love?
November 26, 2023
Read mid 2023
- 2023 book of the year honestly
- really influenced my writing
- writes about new zealand in a way that feels true and not trite. Just treats new zealand like a place. No anxiety or cultural cringe or cliches. Writes in a way that if you know it, you know it.
- so fricken beautiful. feels interesting structurally though need to put more thought in about why - the narrative flows and has distinct phases. Location is always very potent. The final section is potent, profound, cathartic.
- captures that feeling of the beginning of love so well - in a way that both feels incredibly specific (the in jokes between characters etc that are genuinely believable and not cringe to read), but also very relatable and universal. Reminds me of that saying or whateva that the universal is felt through the specifics, the details.
- also i found someone i love very much reading this book on a hill, once. <3
- 2023 book of the year honestly
- really influenced my writing
- writes about new zealand in a way that feels true and not trite. Just treats new zealand like a place. No anxiety or cultural cringe or cliches. Writes in a way that if you know it, you know it.
- so fricken beautiful. feels interesting structurally though need to put more thought in about why - the narrative flows and has distinct phases. Location is always very potent. The final section is potent, profound, cathartic.
- captures that feeling of the beginning of love so well - in a way that both feels incredibly specific (the in jokes between characters etc that are genuinely believable and not cringe to read), but also very relatable and universal. Reminds me of that saying or whateva that the universal is felt through the specifics, the details.
- also i found someone i love very much reading this book on a hill, once. <3
October 9, 2021
A beautiful book written by Albert Wendt (one of my favourite Pacific scholars) which focuses on a young Samoan man who moves to New Zealand in the 1970s, the racism he endured and the cross-cultural romance with a white woman set in a world of differing views. Wendt writes simply and beautifully - focussing on the protagonist's struggle with his identity as a Samoan-New Zealander and the world he finds himself in. The book itself weaves through time and touches on the importance of cultural traditions, oral histories, genealogies/mythologies and themes relating to family, the past and the present as a part of one's future. It's an absolutely gorgeous book which I thoroughly enjoyed. Given that the book is told from a Samoan perspective towards the experiences of racism in seventies New Zealand, it was moving for me to read Wendt's writing and how he was able to evoke the feelings of his protagonists and their inner thoughts. A line I felt was most impactful to me was this: "We forget too easily what we are, and - most of all - the beauty we are capable of if we heal ourselves." This harks to the characters in the book who are haunted by the deeds of their ancestors and the consequences that persist - further emphasising the notion that one's history is never over. Five stars! A poignant and thought-provoking read!
January 27, 2009
This is a well written book from an interesting view point-a Samoan man raised in New Zealand returning with his family to Samoa. It was written in the 70s but the topic is still completely relevant to today. I have been living in American Samoa for the past two years and think Part 3 should be mandatory reading for anyone thinking of expating to Samoa.
March 29, 2010
I kept forgetting that this book was written in the '70s. It reads very current.
November 19, 2017
If you want to understand the world through another's eyes, then open a book. 'Sons for the Return Home' helped me understand what it was like for a young Samoan boy to move to NZ in the 70s, the racism he endured, and how a cross-cultural romance can suffer against a fabric of differing world views. Every New Zealander should have a copy of this seminal text on their bookshelf.
Wendt writes simply, beautifully, insightfully, and straight to the heart of the matter. No wonder our new Poet Laureate, Selina Tusitala-Marsh, names him as her number one influence. The book weaves through time, from the present day and his time at university, and back to childhood when he first moved to New Zealand.
Quotes:
He hoped she would return to him soon and make him feel part of the party and the world she could move through so easily and from which he had deliberately ostracised himself. - Page 23.
The starless sky seemed to press down on the car as it rushed headlong into the neon lights of the city, pursuing tram rails that glittered like knife blades. -page 24.
Wendt writes simply, beautifully, insightfully, and straight to the heart of the matter. No wonder our new Poet Laureate, Selina Tusitala-Marsh, names him as her number one influence. The book weaves through time, from the present day and his time at university, and back to childhood when he first moved to New Zealand.
Quotes:
He hoped she would return to him soon and make him feel part of the party and the world she could move through so easily and from which he had deliberately ostracised himself. - Page 23.
The starless sky seemed to press down on the car as it rushed headlong into the neon lights of the city, pursuing tram rails that glittered like knife blades. -page 24.
June 18, 2013
Fast forward to 2013 and the author of this little book is a celebrated New Zealand author recently appointed a member of the Order of New Zealand, the highest award available to New Zealanders. But in 1973 when this book was published, Albert Wendt was a young Samoan author with the dubious honour of being the first published Samoan in New Zealand.
Sons for the Return Home is a simple but beautiful story, written in simple sparse language. The two main characters are referred to as "he" and "she" throughout. "He" is Samoan, and " she" is palangi, and by using their relationship as a background, issues of race, racism and cultural identity are explored.
The New Zealand of today is a vastly different place to the New Zealand of 1973, but I am sure young immigrants from the islands still struggle with some of the same issues highlighted in the book.
The book ends on a hopeful note, having explored his identity in New Zealand, and then back in Samoa, the "he" of the book finds a way to " be" in both cultures.
Sons for the Return Home is a simple but beautiful story, written in simple sparse language. The two main characters are referred to as "he" and "she" throughout. "He" is Samoan, and " she" is palangi, and by using their relationship as a background, issues of race, racism and cultural identity are explored.
The New Zealand of today is a vastly different place to the New Zealand of 1973, but I am sure young immigrants from the islands still struggle with some of the same issues highlighted in the book.
The book ends on a hopeful note, having explored his identity in New Zealand, and then back in Samoa, the "he" of the book finds a way to " be" in both cultures.
December 31, 2021
There's a mistake in the summary, the story is set in Wellington, New Zealand, not Auckland. I still live in Lower Hutt myself and went to the same University(Victoria, though it's unnamed of course), I was surprised reading about them walking down the past the cemetery where he'd go for peace. I'd do the same myself as a student in the 1999-'05 period, this book is set in the late sixties as towards the end Easy Rider(1969) is showing at theatres.
The idea of having everyone unnamed is a new one on me, was interesting. I'm not sure just how biographical this story is, there's tragedy and romance, it seems teen/young adult aimed like a lot of the New Zealand/Pacific fiction we studied at secondary school, maybe a little fanciful. It's a bit Once Were Warriors(later kiwi book and film concerning domestic violence) he's quite angry a lot of the time and takes it out on people. The reasons for his anger are quite complex and near the end his father explains that it comes from his grandfather who refused to accept post-missionary, Christian Samoa and made his own way, separate from the pack.
There's a brief moment of bliss where he and she are delivering mail together, with their sense of humour mocking the society they live in with each house. When they travel north on a camping trip there's conflict leading to violence and pregnancy causing more problems. He returns home to Samoa with his parents and brother where he can't adjust, even after moving to Apia(capital), availing himself to the library and trying to start another love affair with a Samoan girl at his hotel. His father seems to understand how his son's unhappiness comes from his grandfather, how his son seems to take after his grandfather more than him and how he tried to keep him being an outsider too. The son finally decides what to do when things come to a violent head with his family.
The idea of having everyone unnamed is a new one on me, was interesting. I'm not sure just how biographical this story is, there's tragedy and romance, it seems teen/young adult aimed like a lot of the New Zealand/Pacific fiction we studied at secondary school, maybe a little fanciful. It's a bit Once Were Warriors(later kiwi book and film concerning domestic violence) he's quite angry a lot of the time and takes it out on people. The reasons for his anger are quite complex and near the end his father explains that it comes from his grandfather who refused to accept post-missionary, Christian Samoa and made his own way, separate from the pack.
There's a brief moment of bliss where he and she are delivering mail together, with their sense of humour mocking the society they live in with each house. When they travel north on a camping trip there's conflict leading to violence and pregnancy causing more problems. He returns home to Samoa with his parents and brother where he can't adjust, even after moving to Apia(capital), availing himself to the library and trying to start another love affair with a Samoan girl at his hotel. His father seems to understand how his son's unhappiness comes from his grandfather, how his son seems to take after his grandfather more than him and how he tried to keep him being an outsider too. The son finally decides what to do when things come to a violent head with his family.
August 22, 2025
wow. my favorite kind of writing, here and now as well as vignettes from the past, a tragic love story. an intense and important character study of a young samoan man navigating life in new zealand and at home, upon return, to samoa. interracial relationship w a palangi girl, crazy tragic trauma between them that was ultimately avoidable but the mom wasn’t having noneee of that. some quotes i liked:
“if love is the painful, joyous, frightening feeling that i need to be consoled by you and only you; and if i want so much to console you, then i do love you.”
“money and the quality of a person’s english were two of the town’s peculiar ways of estimating status.”
“we forget too easily what we are, and —most of all — the beauty we are capable of if we heal ourselves. there are no evil spirits or wrathful gods; we are, in the final instance, not victims of circumstance either. we are all equal in our affliction and our guilt. we secrete the poison of that affliction. the cute is love, he said finally.”
the domestic, inter-gender violence was a lot but honestly and unfortunately, realistic. no one was good or bad in this story, they all were simply human and had human flaws. def need more albert wendt stories in my life. praying for resolve and to never (again) date a white man. solid read, thank you and rip uncle albert.
“if love is the painful, joyous, frightening feeling that i need to be consoled by you and only you; and if i want so much to console you, then i do love you.”
“money and the quality of a person’s english were two of the town’s peculiar ways of estimating status.”
“we forget too easily what we are, and —most of all — the beauty we are capable of if we heal ourselves. there are no evil spirits or wrathful gods; we are, in the final instance, not victims of circumstance either. we are all equal in our affliction and our guilt. we secrete the poison of that affliction. the cute is love, he said finally.”
the domestic, inter-gender violence was a lot but honestly and unfortunately, realistic. no one was good or bad in this story, they all were simply human and had human flaws. def need more albert wendt stories in my life. praying for resolve and to never (again) date a white man. solid read, thank you and rip uncle albert.
February 3, 2022
Reading the Samoan perspective of racism, towards all other ethnic groups, even those Polynesian descendants, the narrative was enlightening. Racism takes on many forms and is not limited to the color of skin. It's is also self inflicted and imposed.
What did I expect. An immigrant family leaves Samoa for New Zealand with the parents aspirations to give their children more. The more they seek, is not embraced by their ancestral homeland and the family lives for two decades between the two cultures. Although the parents brought their children to the world of the Palagi, the sons are expected to forgo assimulating into the New Zealand culture. They should not become Palagi. This would seem, and proved to be difficult even for the parents.
The book took on a number of timely topic from the Era it was written. Unfortunately, mankind has not moved very far from the same issues. Essentially, Boy meets girl, and does not live happily ever after. Due to the social influences and demands of Familia infringements.
The first 75% of the book lagged for me. I kept waiting for the pace to increase. It did in the last 25% earning the third star. I really wanted to enjoy the book more, and may read another by the author for a true temperature gage.
What did I expect. An immigrant family leaves Samoa for New Zealand with the parents aspirations to give their children more. The more they seek, is not embraced by their ancestral homeland and the family lives for two decades between the two cultures. Although the parents brought their children to the world of the Palagi, the sons are expected to forgo assimulating into the New Zealand culture. They should not become Palagi. This would seem, and proved to be difficult even for the parents.
The book took on a number of timely topic from the Era it was written. Unfortunately, mankind has not moved very far from the same issues. Essentially, Boy meets girl, and does not live happily ever after. Due to the social influences and demands of Familia infringements.
The first 75% of the book lagged for me. I kept waiting for the pace to increase. It did in the last 25% earning the third star. I really wanted to enjoy the book more, and may read another by the author for a true temperature gage.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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June 20, 2020So glad a colleague encouraged me to read this beautiful book which at first is hard to put together as you read the different segments. The conflict about halfway through really brings pace and intrigue to the characters now established. Like many Polynesian novels, the density and wealth of 'people-antecedents' - prior family members - and the importance of them to the story later is something that is always a slightly awkward fit to the form of the novel, which I will hereby perhaps outrageously claim were really invented to describe the situations of one European immediate family, and one generation or at most two generations of them. Wendt's storytelling is very openly sexual and celebratory. The novel becomes a survey of different classes and ethnicities of New Zealand Society, not just the Samoans, but from the ambitious and rapacious Pakeha to the open-armed and dispossessed Maori of the 1970s. It's convincing and a sad love story that also attempts to be the great NZ novel - which made it an interesting comparison to 'Normal People' that paints a thinner, defter political backdrop to two Irish lovers.
March 29, 2021
Den første roman skrevet af en samoaner (Selvom Vi Elsker Hinanden på dansk). Jeg var desværre ikke særligt imponeret. Bogen behandler et vigtigt emne. Kan et par med en samoansk mand og en new zealandsk kvinde overkomme fordomme og diskrimination og leve sammen? Og hvad betyder det for et menneske at bruge sit voksne liv i en kultur, der er markant anderledes end hvor man er opvokset? Bogen viser også meget godt, at negative fordomme opstår i alle kulturer. New zealænderne har dem især for samoanere, samoanere har det for maorier, maorierne har dem for new zealænderne osv.. Desværre er bogen bare ikke særlig velskrevet. Sproget prøver mislykkende at være dybt og poetisk, men det fremstår bare overfladisk, og der er masser af underlige sætninger som "Han arbejdede uden ophold, som om han ville afdække et mysterium, der lå begravet inde i ham selv", uden at man nogensinde føler man egentlig kommer tæt på de to hovedkarakterer. De opfører sig i øvrigt også temmelig uforudsigeligt og meningsløst.
Det er en bog man godt kan læse én gang for at blive klogere på samoansk kultur, men man læser den næppe to gange.
Det er en bog man godt kan læse én gang for at blive klogere på samoansk kultur, men man læser den næppe to gange.
January 1, 2024
There were moments when the writing was so lovely that it just lifted the reader above the medium of simple ink on paper and it was a complete, practically spiritual experience -- like a straight shot of meaning and language. Other times, it was drudgery to get through the mansplaining of the world and the fetishization of the the palangi female. Some parts were just pornographic and others were strange and unfocused -- like sitting in the mind of a misogynistic fiepoto. A lot of blame was placed on women whose characters never breathed further than 2 dimensional. The plot line was driven by the decisions of men, but the follies were placed almost circumstantially at the feet of the women - which was just one of the barfy ways the author imagined the world.
I found the descriptions of island ideologies and mythology pretty great - explanations of the island life as well as that of race were incredibly helpful.
While I'll never read this piece again, I will definitely go back to my notes on the cultural elements of being inside and outside and between cultures. The author created some pretty brilliant observations in those areas.
I found the descriptions of island ideologies and mythology pretty great - explanations of the island life as well as that of race were incredibly helpful.
While I'll never read this piece again, I will definitely go back to my notes on the cultural elements of being inside and outside and between cultures. The author created some pretty brilliant observations in those areas.
October 31, 2017
In my challenge to read books from different parts of the world I selected this which was written by a Samoan author and set in the US and Samoa.
It tells of a family who move from Samoa to the US in the hope of saving enough money and getting their sons a good education before returning to their native Samoa.
It was interesting to see that parents struggles to fit in while in the US but the one son struggles when he went back with them to Samoa.
The characters were well written and believably human but I struggles in that no one had a name. They were referred to as 'the father' and 'the boy' etc which I found confusing especially when the cast grew bigger and sometimes I forgot who was who.
There were some amusing moments such as the mother driving in the US but also some really upsetting parts.
It was an interesting read and I liked the end section when they returned to Samoa as the descriptions reminded me of my time spent there.
I quite enjoyed the story and found it an easy to follow, well written book but would have liked the characters to have names .
It tells of a family who move from Samoa to the US in the hope of saving enough money and getting their sons a good education before returning to their native Samoa.
It was interesting to see that parents struggles to fit in while in the US but the one son struggles when he went back with them to Samoa.
The characters were well written and believably human but I struggles in that no one had a name. They were referred to as 'the father' and 'the boy' etc which I found confusing especially when the cast grew bigger and sometimes I forgot who was who.
There were some amusing moments such as the mother driving in the US but also some really upsetting parts.
It was an interesting read and I liked the end section when they returned to Samoa as the descriptions reminded me of my time spent there.
I quite enjoyed the story and found it an easy to follow, well written book but would have liked the characters to have names .
June 12, 2021
47📱🇼🇸SAMOA 🇼🇸 Wendt is one of the ‘big names’ in Pacific literature, so it would have been remiss of me not to read something from him in this tour. Sons for the Return Home is an interesting book; it’s both a love story and a study in racism. Like the Cook Islands and Nuie, Samoa (formerly known as Western Samoa, and distinct from American Samoa) was administered by New Zealand until 1962, when it gained independence. Samoans constitute one of New Zealand’s the largest ethinic minorities, and they share a complicated relationship with the Maori and the Paheka alike. So, it’s not surprising when a Samoan boy falls in love with a the daughter of a wealthy white business man as university students that there is trouble. Published in 1973, Wendt wrote this autobiographical story of cross-racial lovers when he was teaching. Written solely in the third person, where none of the characters are named, it makes for a confusing read at times. Made into a movie in 1979, it’s easy to see why this is considered a classic - a modern day Romeo and Juliet. 🌏📚
January 1, 2021
I didn't like this book… I understand its importance and relevance as the first novel to be published by a Samoan author. I think the novel gave a really good insight into the culture and lives of Samoans, it could have delivered a wonderful critique and exploration of racism and intersectionality but any hopes for that was overshadowed by the toxic relationship between the two main characters and continuous sex scenes. Any critique of racism and intersectionality was overshadowed by the constant sex scenes, which was incredibly frustrating. There were some passages and chapters in the book that I truly enjoyed and just when I got my hopes up I would be let down by another sex scene or another manipulative tactic between our two main characters.
I think the book is good reading as part of the canon, but not necessarily what I would choose for an introduction to Pacific Islander literature.
I think the book is good reading as part of the canon, but not necessarily what I would choose for an introduction to Pacific Islander literature.
April 10, 2024
Another Noveltea book down. I'm only one book behind now, hallelujah.
The liked the first two parts of this book, describing the boy and girl's relationship, and the issues encountered within. Although racism is at the forefront of the text, being a relationship with a white/papalagi woman and a Samoan man, there is a lot more at play. Wealth, class, immigration, education. These envelope the couple and effect their lives. There's a continuous feeling of the cards being stacked against them from the start.
The last part of the book, I feel, missed me. It wasn't bad, and I'm sure if someone had an interest in the immigration and the effects it can have on an individual and a community.
Either way, this is an important cultural novel, and one that speaks of cross-cultural identity, and one of a particularly niche area.
The liked the first two parts of this book, describing the boy and girl's relationship, and the issues encountered within. Although racism is at the forefront of the text, being a relationship with a white/papalagi woman and a Samoan man, there is a lot more at play. Wealth, class, immigration, education. These envelope the couple and effect their lives. There's a continuous feeling of the cards being stacked against them from the start.
The last part of the book, I feel, missed me. It wasn't bad, and I'm sure if someone had an interest in the immigration and the effects it can have on an individual and a community.
Either way, this is an important cultural novel, and one that speaks of cross-cultural identity, and one of a particularly niche area.
March 21, 2021
Expat Samoan uni student falls in love with kiwi palagi girl. They both have LOTS of sex, and then she gets pregnant and has an abortion.
I am not sure why the guy doesn't do anything to stop her (from having an abortion). But this was in the 70s and cross cultural romances are mostly kept hidden because both families don't understand the other's way of life and are suspicious of each other. Basically in the 70s everyone was kinda racist.
It's not as heartbreaking as it seems though because it's written in a detached way. The guy and the gal are never named. In the end I think because the guy is such an atheist he doesn't really care that much about the girl or his child after all.
Actually I find it a bit dubious that the girl would decide to have an abortion and then also say we can get married AFTER the abortion. And then fly all the way to Australia to have it. But maybe it was written that way to favour the guy, but even so, I thought that part was not really true to life.
Aside from that it was an interesting read about the contrast between Samoan and Palagi/Pakeha families and their attitudes and prejudices towards each other. The hopes and dreams of the dad though are poignant but tragic that the dad, who sent his son to NZ so he could become a doctor as a palagi doctor cured his wife of infertility, then has his own son gets a girl pregnant (but she goes to Australia to have it killed). I'd be like GROW up man.
I am not sure why the guy doesn't do anything to stop her (from having an abortion). But this was in the 70s and cross cultural romances are mostly kept hidden because both families don't understand the other's way of life and are suspicious of each other. Basically in the 70s everyone was kinda racist.
It's not as heartbreaking as it seems though because it's written in a detached way. The guy and the gal are never named. In the end I think because the guy is such an atheist he doesn't really care that much about the girl or his child after all.
Actually I find it a bit dubious that the girl would decide to have an abortion and then also say we can get married AFTER the abortion. And then fly all the way to Australia to have it. But maybe it was written that way to favour the guy, but even so, I thought that part was not really true to life.
Aside from that it was an interesting read about the contrast between Samoan and Palagi/Pakeha families and their attitudes and prejudices towards each other. The hopes and dreams of the dad though are poignant but tragic that the dad, who sent his son to NZ so he could become a doctor as a palagi doctor cured his wife of infertility, then has his own son gets a girl pregnant (but she goes to Australia to have it killed). I'd be like GROW up man.
January 22, 2022
Judging myself for the cultural cringe that has prevented me reading this in the 25 odd years since Wendt was one of my lecturers at Auckland Uni. I’m pleased to say it has surprised me!
A Bildungsroman which covers cultural identity, first love and offers a strong sense of place, both in NZ and Samoa. Very readable but a book you think about also - the lack of names is an interesting device. Normally it would universalise a story but the protagonist is a highly specific and flawed individual. Hmmm
A Bildungsroman which covers cultural identity, first love and offers a strong sense of place, both in NZ and Samoa. Very readable but a book you think about also - the lack of names is an interesting device. Normally it would universalise a story but the protagonist is a highly specific and flawed individual. Hmmm
February 28, 2024
It is absolutely wild to me (though perhaps it shouldn't be) that a man can write a "semi"-autobiographical novel about him degrading, hitting, and raping every woman he comes into contact with, admit in the final passage that he has learned nothing and has no regrets, and then spend the next 50 years receiving literary accolades.
I'm even more angry because the narrative voice is beautiful and evocative in the rare moments that he isn't blaming a woman for his own actions. True talent, wasted on this guy. Samoan men deserve far better representation.
I'm even more angry because the narrative voice is beautiful and evocative in the rare moments that he isn't blaming a woman for his own actions. True talent, wasted on this guy. Samoan men deserve far better representation.
September 11, 2018
Not as epic as the Leaves of the Banyan tree, but a beautiful novella about love and family as an immigrant to NZ. Some parts of the book have not aged perfectly, so to say, but some have. My favorite part of the book as that the character actually tells some of the juicy and more interesting Maui legends, which you do not hear as often.
July 28, 2021
Global Read 154: Samoa
I was surprised to see that this book was written 50 years ago because it feels so modern. It was really interesting and I loved the dual perspective of taking place in New Zealand and Samoa. However, the through line of how bad abortion is really bothered me and kept me from being fully immersed in the book.
I was surprised to see that this book was written 50 years ago because it feels so modern. It was really interesting and I loved the dual perspective of taking place in New Zealand and Samoa. However, the through line of how bad abortion is really bothered me and kept me from being fully immersed in the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 19, 2023
Friends of mine from Switzerland bought this novel for me as a gift, while holidaying in NZ. I have always read a lot, but never read NZ literature after leaving school.
I love this novel! As a half caste Samoan, who was born and raised in NZ, I can relate so much to the main character in this story. This book inspired me to read more NZ/Pacific literature.
I love this novel! As a half caste Samoan, who was born and raised in NZ, I can relate so much to the main character in this story. This book inspired me to read more NZ/Pacific literature.
January 12, 2021
Reminded me a bit of Normal People except I liked it more. Has stayed relevant over many decades.
November 4, 2022
I am not sure why it took me soon to get round to reading this book. Having spent some time in Samoa the last part of the book really took me back there.
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