The Mango's Kiss

by Albert Wendt

Pele's first moment of remembered consciousness is the morning kiss of the mango fruit on her cheek. That kiss brings with it the awareness of mortality, pleasure and pain. It is a gift from her father, Mautu Tuifolau, the local pastor, the man she adores. Love is never simple, though, and in this story of the struggles and passions of Pele and her family, it must adapt to the growing world that stretches out from village life in Samoa to the cities of Europe, America and New Zealand. It must accommodate the conflicts of a gifted family and the attraction of extraordinary outsiders, from a famous English writer to an American anthropologist, missionaries and the trader Barker, with his quest for gold and epic tales of an adventurous past. And it must encompass the family's links to the ancient gods of pre-missionary times and move through the turn of the nineteenth century, the First World War, the terrible Spanish Influenza Epidemic and beyond.

Genres: Historical Fiction

463 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Albert 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.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s a lot that’s great about this book - most importantly the view it gives you of its Samoan setting. Woven throughout is the history of the islands, their local customs and beliefs and a portrait of everyday life as Samoa moves through several different versions of colonialism towards independence. However it often that the story itself is retro-fitted back on to this and as a result the narrative can be a bit stilted and uneven. When the ‘action’ moves to New Zealand towards the end it also takes quite a jarring turn that to me didn’t particularly fit with the rest of the book although I’m sure that the author had his reasons for doing this and it’s very possible that I’ve just missed something. It’s still a satisfying and immersive read - just for me one to read more for the interesting world that it opened up rather than things like its characterisation or narrative arc.

[Minakshi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first "island" novel. It spans years and takes you from colonial Samoa into the modern world. Some parts could've been edited better, but overall you become engrossed in the character's lives. Plus, I could relate to the island culture.

[Manuel Baraja · Rating 2 out of 5]

No me ha terminado de convencer, quizá porque no ha sido lo que me esperaba, sensación que ha ido aumentando conforme avanzaba la historia e iba cogiendo unos derroteros que no podía prever al principio.

La galería de personas es interesante, aunque a veces cuesta quedarse con los nombres, algo que también ocurre dentro de la propia narración, en la que se introducen palabras samoanas que, al menos en la edición que he leído, carecían de traducción, perdiéndose el significado de algunas frases.

Algunos capítulos de la parte central creo que podrían haberse reducido o incluso eliminado para dar más dinamismo al conjunto de la obra.

[SarahRuth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this 14 years ago and it is one of the best novels I have ever read, I really loved Pele and how she was so resourceful and ahead of her time.. also appreciated the historical account of the Influenza epidemic..