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Leaves of The Banyan Tree
An epic spanning three generations, Leaves of the Banyan Tree tells the story of a family and community in Western Samoa, exploring on a grand scale such universal themes as greed, corruption, colonialism, exploitation, and revenge. Winner of the 1980 New Zealand Wattie Book of the Year Award, it is considered a classic work of Pacific literature.
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
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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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
October 2, 2017
A fascinating insight into Samoa across three generations of a family. Set in 1900-1970ish, Tauilopepe is the central character. He is the headman of his aiga and wants to be the most powerful man in his village. He is seriously ambitious and as his fortunes rise, he moves further away from his culture to reward himself with a big house, a flushing toilet, whisky, and the ability to send his sons to Western schools.
This is a book about greed, misuse of power, the use of religion to influence people and the impact of "progress". It is a clever book as all the problems are caused by Samoans. The colonialists are there, profiteering, acting like royalty, disrespecting Samoan culture, abusing women and becoming drunkards. But they are a side show to the problems the Samoans caused themselves.
Tauilopepe's son Pepe and his relationship with Samoan culture was the most complex. Pepe respected the past and rebelled against "progress", his father's wealth and his father's failure to listen to his history.
A fascinating book.
This is a book about greed, misuse of power, the use of religion to influence people and the impact of "progress". It is a clever book as all the problems are caused by Samoans. The colonialists are there, profiteering, acting like royalty, disrespecting Samoan culture, abusing women and becoming drunkards. But they are a side show to the problems the Samoans caused themselves.
Tauilopepe's son Pepe and his relationship with Samoan culture was the most complex. Pepe respected the past and rebelled against "progress", his father's wealth and his father's failure to listen to his history.
A fascinating book.
January 20, 2022
Multi-generational family saga set in Samoa from around 1900 to the 1970s. Patriarch Tauilopepe, an ambitious man, allows greed to overtake his life. It portrays a wide swath of Samoan history and provides insight into Samoan culture. Unfortunately, it is so slow in developing that I found it a chore to read. The characters are unpleasant, and the storyline reflects even more unpleasantness (e.g., rape, religious abuses, environmental devastation). The author was born in Samoa, and he provides a scathing indictment of colonialism its ongoing negative impact. It relates one horrible occurrence after the next, which is not the type of story that appeals to me.
June 10, 2021
This is a story of fathers and sons, of ambition and greed, of what is acquired and what is lost, a family saga set against a culture in change. I wish my library had more books by this author.
November 1, 2018
Samoa breaks into literature
I have long been interested in Samoa, ever since I wrote a term paper on Samoan culture in my sophomore year at college, but I have still not been lucky enough to visit the country. Having read Margaret Mead’s “classic” as a young scholar, I felt suspicious as to how she managed to come up with her conclusions when she couldn’t speak the language. Later works proved my suspicions correct. A few years ago I read about a new Samoan movie that had come out called “The Orator”. I tried to get it via interlibrary loan, only to learn that there was only one copy in the whole USA and that one was not available. I have yet to see it. I believe it was the first Samoan film made, though I could be wrong. The present volume was one of the first Samoan novels written, so I thought it would be worth reading such a landmark. Well, all this preliminary chat is to say that I have a long interest in Samoa, but reading Albert Wendt’s book did not do much to boost it. Sorry, folks, it’s just boring. While I will certainly not quarrel with his knowledge of his own society, he just doesn’t create a very readable story. The author had the laudable aim of writing a Samoan novel that would take its place among the works of world literature; that Samoans would be literary characters as well as flesh and blood ones not often heard from in world affairs. With this goal in mind, he produced many “types”, he took well-deserved swipes at colonial rule and the whites (papalagi) who dominated Samoa in the 1930s when the events in the novel take place. An ambitious younger man plans to build a plantation (named “Leaves of the Banyan Tree”) and rise in Samoan society. His family, a mistress, rivals, an older mentor—friend of his late father’s---a preacher, and many others appear. As in many other novels,[and in life] ambition forces you to pay a price. The next generation may reject your work totally. Wendt certainly writes well of human nature, as well as Samoan society---a society like others, anything but the romanticized South Sea island culture of Western novelists. But there are too many clunker sentences like this one, in which a ne’er-do-well addresses Tauilopepe, the main character.
“I did my best, sir, but all the men had already committed themselves to Malo and his money.”
The chief character asks if Toasa, his father’s old friend, knew about this.
“I don’t know, sir, perhaps Toasa will put a stop to Malo’s flagrant violation of customary practice if he finds out about it. Don’t you think so, sir?”
Trying to introduce Samoan tradition through the mouths of characters is probably a bad idea. I realize that this novel is one of the most famous to come out of the South Pacific, but I found it hard to get through. If what we are doing here is reviewing novels and not praising people for introducing their societies through literature, I have to say that this is not a great novel.
I have long been interested in Samoa, ever since I wrote a term paper on Samoan culture in my sophomore year at college, but I have still not been lucky enough to visit the country. Having read Margaret Mead’s “classic” as a young scholar, I felt suspicious as to how she managed to come up with her conclusions when she couldn’t speak the language. Later works proved my suspicions correct. A few years ago I read about a new Samoan movie that had come out called “The Orator”. I tried to get it via interlibrary loan, only to learn that there was only one copy in the whole USA and that one was not available. I have yet to see it. I believe it was the first Samoan film made, though I could be wrong. The present volume was one of the first Samoan novels written, so I thought it would be worth reading such a landmark. Well, all this preliminary chat is to say that I have a long interest in Samoa, but reading Albert Wendt’s book did not do much to boost it. Sorry, folks, it’s just boring. While I will certainly not quarrel with his knowledge of his own society, he just doesn’t create a very readable story. The author had the laudable aim of writing a Samoan novel that would take its place among the works of world literature; that Samoans would be literary characters as well as flesh and blood ones not often heard from in world affairs. With this goal in mind, he produced many “types”, he took well-deserved swipes at colonial rule and the whites (papalagi) who dominated Samoa in the 1930s when the events in the novel take place. An ambitious younger man plans to build a plantation (named “Leaves of the Banyan Tree”) and rise in Samoan society. His family, a mistress, rivals, an older mentor—friend of his late father’s---a preacher, and many others appear. As in many other novels,[and in life] ambition forces you to pay a price. The next generation may reject your work totally. Wendt certainly writes well of human nature, as well as Samoan society---a society like others, anything but the romanticized South Sea island culture of Western novelists. But there are too many clunker sentences like this one, in which a ne’er-do-well addresses Tauilopepe, the main character.
“I did my best, sir, but all the men had already committed themselves to Malo and his money.”
The chief character asks if Toasa, his father’s old friend, knew about this.
“I don’t know, sir, perhaps Toasa will put a stop to Malo’s flagrant violation of customary practice if he finds out about it. Don’t you think so, sir?”
Trying to introduce Samoan tradition through the mouths of characters is probably a bad idea. I realize that this novel is one of the most famous to come out of the South Pacific, but I found it hard to get through. If what we are doing here is reviewing novels and not praising people for introducing their societies through literature, I have to say that this is not a great novel.
January 31, 2009
I think the blurb gives a pretty good idea of what kind of book this is:
An epic spanning three generations, Leaves of the Banyan Tree tells the story of a family and community in Western Samoa, exploring on a grand scale such universal themes as greed, corruption, colonialism, exploitation, and revenge. Winner of the 1980 New Zealand Wattie Book of the Year Award, it is considered a classic work of Pacific literature.
It is, in other words, a Big Novel about Important Things. And although it occasionally feels a bit self-consciously epic, on the whole I think it pulls it off. It’s the story of Tauilopepe, a matai in the village of Sapepe. I can’t think of an English title which is quite equivalent to matai, but it means he is the official head of an extended family, one of three in Sapepe.
Having been expelled from theological college, Tauilopepe is ambitious, driven at the start of the novel by a resentful sense of underachievement, and convinced of the superiority of modern, European ways of doing things.
So the novel is partly about the decline of the traditional Samoan way of life; the coming of Western agriculture, a wage-based economy, Western buildings, and the loss of influence of the village council, the loss of the old stories. But it’s also a story of greed, power and dysfunctional family relationships that could take place in a shoe factory in Bradford.
On the whole I really liked it: it’s a successful portrayal of a time and place, Tauilopepe and his son Pepe are both great characters, and the whole thing moves along at a sufficient pace to keep me reading — it felt like quite a short 400 pages. If I was going to be super-picky, I’m not completely sure about the ending; without wanting to give away too many details, a new character unexpectedly turns up and throws everything up in the air. I’m not completely convinced by the character, who seemed a bit stagey to me, and that slightly diminished my pleasure in the ending, narratively neat though it is.
An epic spanning three generations, Leaves of the Banyan Tree tells the story of a family and community in Western Samoa, exploring on a grand scale such universal themes as greed, corruption, colonialism, exploitation, and revenge. Winner of the 1980 New Zealand Wattie Book of the Year Award, it is considered a classic work of Pacific literature.
It is, in other words, a Big Novel about Important Things. And although it occasionally feels a bit self-consciously epic, on the whole I think it pulls it off. It’s the story of Tauilopepe, a matai in the village of Sapepe. I can’t think of an English title which is quite equivalent to matai, but it means he is the official head of an extended family, one of three in Sapepe.
Having been expelled from theological college, Tauilopepe is ambitious, driven at the start of the novel by a resentful sense of underachievement, and convinced of the superiority of modern, European ways of doing things.
So the novel is partly about the decline of the traditional Samoan way of life; the coming of Western agriculture, a wage-based economy, Western buildings, and the loss of influence of the village council, the loss of the old stories. But it’s also a story of greed, power and dysfunctional family relationships that could take place in a shoe factory in Bradford.
On the whole I really liked it: it’s a successful portrayal of a time and place, Tauilopepe and his son Pepe are both great characters, and the whole thing moves along at a sufficient pace to keep me reading — it felt like quite a short 400 pages. If I was going to be super-picky, I’m not completely sure about the ending; without wanting to give away too many details, a new character unexpectedly turns up and throws everything up in the air. I’m not completely convinced by the character, who seemed a bit stagey to me, and that slightly diminished my pleasure in the ending, narratively neat though it is.
March 6, 2016
Set in Samoa and spanning three generations, I was eagerly looking forward to my first Samoan read. While the book provides an interesting look into the culture, history and life in Samoa, I'm sad to say I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. The writing didn't captivate or engage me and I found my mind wandering and having to consciously pull myself back into the story. Tauilopepe is the central character in the book and is driven by the need for power and money alienating many, including his son. Told against the background of colonialism and Christian missionary drive, the book points to the zeal of both ill-conceived endeavors that left their lasting stamp on cultures worldwide. Some day I may re-read this one and hope to enjoy it more than I did this time around.
October 19, 2023
Around the World Reading Challenge: SAMOA
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Multi-generational saga set in Samoa in the early to mid-1900s that I found unfortunately tedious. The characters are generally unpleasant, even the ones that we keep being told weren't. The plot and pacing is super slow, and while I can appreciate the author's critique of colonialism and its impact on Samoan history and communities, the way he went about it felt very roundabout and just didn't make for a compelling read. Even the characters whose viewpoints I knew I was supposed to root for I found so unlikable that the messaging felt a little muddled for me.
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Multi-generational saga set in Samoa in the early to mid-1900s that I found unfortunately tedious. The characters are generally unpleasant, even the ones that we keep being told weren't. The plot and pacing is super slow, and while I can appreciate the author's critique of colonialism and its impact on Samoan history and communities, the way he went about it felt very roundabout and just didn't make for a compelling read. Even the characters whose viewpoints I knew I was supposed to root for I found so unlikable that the messaging felt a little muddled for me.
February 9, 2022
I really enjoyed this book. It's the second time I've had the pleasure of reading a book by Albert Wendt. I can't remember much of Pouliuli, but I think this book "Leaves of the Banyan Tree" will stay with me longer. It's a family saga, while at the same time recording the changes colonisation and globalisation brought to Samoa. The characters mentioned in this book were all memorable, albeit mostly male.
Tauilopepe is the son of a village chief in Sapepe. His father lost many of his children during a pandemic and grew cold towards Tauilopepe, his only remaining son amidst daughters. When his father passes away, Tauilo inherits his father's village chief title and becomes very influential. Unlike his father, he is very ambitious and wants to make money out of the land. Thus, he builds a plantation called "Leaves of the Banyan Tree." We soon learn of Tauilo's sneaky ways: he manages to take hold of an influential position in church despite failing theological school, he cheats on his wife with his business rival's wife, he treats women and children poorly and only focuses on himself, his power and making more money.
Once again, history sort of repeats, or at least rhymes. Tauilo wanted to be different from his father, now his only son Pepe wants to be nothing like Tauilo. Pepe is such a memorable character, even though he is not without faults. He drops out of school, embarrasses his father in front of the whole community, engages in the criminal world, but deep inside I think he reacted out of disappointment. He doesn't believe in putting money and power above family and tradition. That's why he loses all respect towards Tauilo and makes fun of him. Tauilo cannot stand this and banishes his son out of his life. The person, who influenced Pepe a lot is Toasa, another village chief in Sapepe and a contemporary of Tauilo's father. Pepe also has bad relationships with women. Unfortunately, none of the main characters were female.
Next, Pepe's son Lalolagi is nothing like his father. He is spoilt and grows very close to Tauilo, although their relationship is somewhat superficial. Tauilo wants to feel loved and justified for what he did to Pepe, therefore he accepts Lalolagi's bad behavior. Lalaolagi, on the other hand, just wants the easy way out. He studies in New Zealand, but by the time he returns to Samoa, Galupo, his father's alleged illegitimate son and what I am sure is a 100% psycho, emerged and is going to turn this family's story upside down.
Overall, I found the writing was excellent, the story was engaging and the characters were very lively. Wendt managed to showcase once again the inevitable influence of the outside world on this small island in the vast Pacific Ocean. If Tauilo hadn't built the Leaves of the Banyan Tree, someone else would have built this plantation and the story of greed and power would have happened nonetheless. Pepe tried to fight back against his father, but ultimately didn't stand a chance. In the end, a complete psychopath seemed to have taken over, which symbolises a very bleak future.
Inside us we carry the seed of our own end, and I remember Toasa's words: 'The vanity in each of us makes us beasts of prey upon each other and all other living creatures. We must heal ourselves, destroy our self-love. If we do not we will continue to excrete our own self-destruction. We are capable of so much beauty.'
Tauilopepe is the son of a village chief in Sapepe. His father lost many of his children during a pandemic and grew cold towards Tauilopepe, his only remaining son amidst daughters. When his father passes away, Tauilo inherits his father's village chief title and becomes very influential. Unlike his father, he is very ambitious and wants to make money out of the land. Thus, he builds a plantation called "Leaves of the Banyan Tree." We soon learn of Tauilo's sneaky ways: he manages to take hold of an influential position in church despite failing theological school, he cheats on his wife with his business rival's wife, he treats women and children poorly and only focuses on himself, his power and making more money.
Once again, history sort of repeats, or at least rhymes. Tauilo wanted to be different from his father, now his only son Pepe wants to be nothing like Tauilo. Pepe is such a memorable character, even though he is not without faults. He drops out of school, embarrasses his father in front of the whole community, engages in the criminal world, but deep inside I think he reacted out of disappointment. He doesn't believe in putting money and power above family and tradition. That's why he loses all respect towards Tauilo and makes fun of him. Tauilo cannot stand this and banishes his son out of his life. The person, who influenced Pepe a lot is Toasa, another village chief in Sapepe and a contemporary of Tauilo's father. Pepe also has bad relationships with women. Unfortunately, none of the main characters were female.
Next, Pepe's son Lalolagi is nothing like his father. He is spoilt and grows very close to Tauilo, although their relationship is somewhat superficial. Tauilo wants to feel loved and justified for what he did to Pepe, therefore he accepts Lalolagi's bad behavior. Lalaolagi, on the other hand, just wants the easy way out. He studies in New Zealand, but by the time he returns to Samoa, Galupo, his father's alleged illegitimate son and what I am sure is a 100% psycho, emerged and is going to turn this family's story upside down.
Overall, I found the writing was excellent, the story was engaging and the characters were very lively. Wendt managed to showcase once again the inevitable influence of the outside world on this small island in the vast Pacific Ocean. If Tauilo hadn't built the Leaves of the Banyan Tree, someone else would have built this plantation and the story of greed and power would have happened nonetheless. Pepe tried to fight back against his father, but ultimately didn't stand a chance. In the end, a complete psychopath seemed to have taken over, which symbolises a very bleak future.
Inside us we carry the seed of our own end, and I remember Toasa's words: 'The vanity in each of us makes us beasts of prey upon each other and all other living creatures. We must heal ourselves, destroy our self-love. If we do not we will continue to excrete our own self-destruction. We are capable of so much beauty.'
March 29, 2013
This is one of my top five favorite books. It takes place in Samoa. It is fiction. I went to Samoa and had some ugly realizations about the long-term effects of imperialism/colonialism. Instead of committing genocide and rounding up the citizens of Samoa onto reservations (which there is no space for), the imperial powers dominated the culture using religion. The book is not directly about that, I had extra appreciation for the conquer-through-religion layer in the landscape of the book and its characters. The book addresses society in a microcosm of the globe so it does not have the clout of books like the Great Gatsby or 1984 but it is that powerful. It is also provides insight into Polynesian issues and cultures.
March 26, 2021
This is an extremely difficult book to review. In some ways I found it remarkable and in others I just hated it.
Originally I chose this book for New Zealand on my “around the world book tour.” But it’s all Samoan. Sure, New Zealand did oversee the protectorate until 1965, but, to check off NZ, I’ll find another book for that is genuinely Kiwi.
So - Samoa. My reading journey around the world is intentional. I’m looking for books that take me on a virtual exploration of a country. Wendt’s epic novel delivered this 100%. Following the three generation saga through nearly a century of socio-political changes, my understanding of traditional Samoan life and the impact of missionary conversions, colonization, and post-colonial life has expanded like the Grinch’s heart. I am thankful to the author for creating and sharing this story.
But, I didn’t like a single character in the book. Not a single one. The book is an unrelenting display of greed, environmental devastation, misogyny, lying, stealing, drunkenness, and betrayals. It is just unending - right up to the end.
Bottom line - if you want a dark, hopeless view of Samoa this is your book. I want to read some more literature from Samoan authors just to see if there is more balance out there.
I was, though, drawn online to look for images of Samoa and videos of the language and dance - that’s always a positive when exploring literature from a new-to-me country. If you are also reading your way around the world, I do recommend this book. Just don’t expect it to be uplifting.
Originally I chose this book for New Zealand on my “around the world book tour.” But it’s all Samoan. Sure, New Zealand did oversee the protectorate until 1965, but, to check off NZ, I’ll find another book for that is genuinely Kiwi.
So - Samoa. My reading journey around the world is intentional. I’m looking for books that take me on a virtual exploration of a country. Wendt’s epic novel delivered this 100%. Following the three generation saga through nearly a century of socio-political changes, my understanding of traditional Samoan life and the impact of missionary conversions, colonization, and post-colonial life has expanded like the Grinch’s heart. I am thankful to the author for creating and sharing this story.
But, I didn’t like a single character in the book. Not a single one. The book is an unrelenting display of greed, environmental devastation, misogyny, lying, stealing, drunkenness, and betrayals. It is just unending - right up to the end.
Bottom line - if you want a dark, hopeless view of Samoa this is your book. I want to read some more literature from Samoan authors just to see if there is more balance out there.
I was, though, drawn online to look for images of Samoa and videos of the language and dance - that’s always a positive when exploring literature from a new-to-me country. If you are also reading your way around the world, I do recommend this book. Just don’t expect it to be uplifting.
July 14, 2020
LEAVES OF THE BANYAN TREE (1979) is a family saga spanning three generations of Western Samoans. Tauilopepe, the grandfather (and protagonist), lives on his family's plantation in a farming village, respecting the traditional Samoan way of life until he decides to fight the European encroachment in order to extend his family's lands and acquire wealth, power, and prestige. He succeeds in his pursuit of worldly success, at a steep price, though.
The novel's world is very much a man’s world, and even the stronger female characters stay in the background. The main characters are the men: Tauilopepe, his son Pepe who rebels against his father, resenting him for the way he treated his mother, and Toasa, the elder, who tries to keep the old ways alive but realizes he is fighting a losing battle.
The novel explores the effects of colonialism before and after the country's independence from New Zealand, as well as issues such as racism, corruption and the deleterious effects of capitalism on nature. It also illustrates the dilemma of a family caught between holding onto old values as everything changes around them and compromising those values in order to survive.
Albert Wendt is an excellent storyteller from Western Samoa. He wrote several novels, short stories, poetry and academic essays. In 1988, after holding diverse teaching positions in Samoa and Fiji, he became professor of New Zealand literature at Auckland University, where he played (and still plays?) a key role in the debate on issues of indigenous culture. He won many honors and awards during his distinguished career. LEAVES OF THE BANYAN TREE is the perfect introduction to the Pacific islands literature, an engrossing story considered a classic.
The novel's world is very much a man’s world, and even the stronger female characters stay in the background. The main characters are the men: Tauilopepe, his son Pepe who rebels against his father, resenting him for the way he treated his mother, and Toasa, the elder, who tries to keep the old ways alive but realizes he is fighting a losing battle.
The novel explores the effects of colonialism before and after the country's independence from New Zealand, as well as issues such as racism, corruption and the deleterious effects of capitalism on nature. It also illustrates the dilemma of a family caught between holding onto old values as everything changes around them and compromising those values in order to survive.
Albert Wendt is an excellent storyteller from Western Samoa. He wrote several novels, short stories, poetry and academic essays. In 1988, after holding diverse teaching positions in Samoa and Fiji, he became professor of New Zealand literature at Auckland University, where he played (and still plays?) a key role in the debate on issues of indigenous culture. He won many honors and awards during his distinguished career. LEAVES OF THE BANYAN TREE is the perfect introduction to the Pacific islands literature, an engrossing story considered a classic.
December 12, 2014
The author Albert Wendt was born in Apia, Samoa, and wrote several books drawing on his knowledge of island life. The title story is a slow paced family saga about three generations and the history of post-colonialism. At the time (Western) Samoa was administered by New Zealand, but their hand rested lightly. The store owner who controls the copra trade is a native Samoan, not a representative of a foreign multinational company. Tauilopepe, the plantation owner who cuts down the native forest to plant cash crops, is another. There are land disputes, but between village families, not the villagers and a colonial power. It shows the last of the older generation clinging to tradition, the younger one adopting European ways and joining the capitalist economy and the youngest with a sentimental attachment to the past, but little understanding of it.
This is deservedly considered a classic in the region and I would recommend it to anyone seeking literature from the islands, but the tendency for nothing much to happen for several chapters means that you do need some patience to stick with it.
There are three stories in the book, which are all linked in some way. The second one is "Flying-Fox in a Freedom Tree". It is a first person narrative by the dreamy son from the first story while he is dying in a TB hospital and tells of his life from the end of the first book when his father decides he should go to school. The language is simple to show that his education level is not high, but he is one of few people from the village to have even that much. He starts off as a good student, but then decides he does not like school, his father, his village, working for a living, God, wealth and success, or anything else offered to him. He prefers to molest girls, cheat tourists, burn down churches, loot shops, get arrested and go to prison. He claims to see this as some sort of ancient warrior protest as a joke. He blames his father, although mainly for the wrong things.
Pepe has rejected both the traditional way of life of his grandfather and the modern Westernised way of his father, then for good measure he rejects his mother's love as well. His grandfather dies hoping that one day he will come back. His father finally runs out of patience, but mourns for his lost son. His mother dies and he does not go to the funeral. He gets a girl who is not a prostitute pregnant, marries her and treats her badly. One criminal friend is hung for murder, the other hangs himself. If the first book is about becoming a success in the eyes of the world, the second is about becoming a failure; there is a cost to both. I am not sure if this is supposed to show something about Samoans or not, unless their culture actually is about skiving, drinking, screwing around and beating up women. I did not enjoy this story as much as the first, as you can tell.
The third and final story, "Funerals and Heirs", takes up where the second story ends, with Pepe's father, Tauilopepe, and young son, Lalolagi. It is closer to the first story in style and theme, with the focus on family and village life. A few of the villagers remember the old legends and the old grandfather who believed in them and taught them, and they remember Pepe fondly from his childhood, when he was a kind boy. They also prove that it is possible to remember their traditions and live in the modern world.
Lalolagi is not an attractive boy, he is quite selfish and arrogant, but his self-confidence coupled with skill at rugby stand him in good stead when he goes to boarding school in New Zealand. He becomes very much a part of their culture, not his island one.
Tauilopepe is now in his sixties, drinking too much when under stress and with a heart condition. Two generations later, he is now from the old-fashioned, less educated generation and starting to lose his grip on the village. When Samoa becomes independent and most of the New Zealanders go home, a new group of young educated Samoans start to assert control.
Lalolagi looks outwards and there is some hope for him, despite his arrogance. The other characters are all inward looking and destructive in some way, either towards themselves like Pepe or others like Galupo, or towards the old traditions like Malo and Tauilopepe. All the nicer characters are also destroyed in the process. Pepe is seen as a hero in people's memories and as being destroyed, although I see him as self-destructive and can't go along with the veneration of his memory.
Galupo is intelligent, educated, hard-working and shows himself capable of creating instead of destroying when he rebuilds the plantation after a hurricane and distributes food aid fairly, but chooses to lie and cheat his way to power. In this book anyone who is kind or even anyone who loves someone or something is not going to have much reward for it and it makes the whole saga quite depressing.
This third story is quite a good one, but I perhaps should have stopped after the first.
This is deservedly considered a classic in the region and I would recommend it to anyone seeking literature from the islands, but the tendency for nothing much to happen for several chapters means that you do need some patience to stick with it.
There are three stories in the book, which are all linked in some way. The second one is "Flying-Fox in a Freedom Tree". It is a first person narrative by the dreamy son from the first story while he is dying in a TB hospital and tells of his life from the end of the first book when his father decides he should go to school. The language is simple to show that his education level is not high, but he is one of few people from the village to have even that much. He starts off as a good student, but then decides he does not like school, his father, his village, working for a living, God, wealth and success, or anything else offered to him. He prefers to molest girls, cheat tourists, burn down churches, loot shops, get arrested and go to prison. He claims to see this as some sort of ancient warrior protest as a joke. He blames his father, although mainly for the wrong things.
Pepe has rejected both the traditional way of life of his grandfather and the modern Westernised way of his father, then for good measure he rejects his mother's love as well. His grandfather dies hoping that one day he will come back. His father finally runs out of patience, but mourns for his lost son. His mother dies and he does not go to the funeral. He gets a girl who is not a prostitute pregnant, marries her and treats her badly. One criminal friend is hung for murder, the other hangs himself. If the first book is about becoming a success in the eyes of the world, the second is about becoming a failure; there is a cost to both. I am not sure if this is supposed to show something about Samoans or not, unless their culture actually is about skiving, drinking, screwing around and beating up women. I did not enjoy this story as much as the first, as you can tell.
The third and final story, "Funerals and Heirs", takes up where the second story ends, with Pepe's father, Tauilopepe, and young son, Lalolagi. It is closer to the first story in style and theme, with the focus on family and village life. A few of the villagers remember the old legends and the old grandfather who believed in them and taught them, and they remember Pepe fondly from his childhood, when he was a kind boy. They also prove that it is possible to remember their traditions and live in the modern world.
Lalolagi is not an attractive boy, he is quite selfish and arrogant, but his self-confidence coupled with skill at rugby stand him in good stead when he goes to boarding school in New Zealand. He becomes very much a part of their culture, not his island one.
Tauilopepe is now in his sixties, drinking too much when under stress and with a heart condition. Two generations later, he is now from the old-fashioned, less educated generation and starting to lose his grip on the village. When Samoa becomes independent and most of the New Zealanders go home, a new group of young educated Samoans start to assert control.
Lalolagi looks outwards and there is some hope for him, despite his arrogance. The other characters are all inward looking and destructive in some way, either towards themselves like Pepe or others like Galupo, or towards the old traditions like Malo and Tauilopepe. All the nicer characters are also destroyed in the process. Pepe is seen as a hero in people's memories and as being destroyed, although I see him as self-destructive and can't go along with the veneration of his memory.
Galupo is intelligent, educated, hard-working and shows himself capable of creating instead of destroying when he rebuilds the plantation after a hurricane and distributes food aid fairly, but chooses to lie and cheat his way to power. In this book anyone who is kind or even anyone who loves someone or something is not going to have much reward for it and it makes the whole saga quite depressing.
This third story is quite a good one, but I perhaps should have stopped after the first.
June 14, 2010
So I finally got myself to a library and read this book, widely known now as a modern classic of Pacific Literature.
It's about this seriously ambitious man, Tauilopepe, who decides that he's going to turn his family's matai land into a business - just like the Palagis do with their plantations. In his unfaltering drive for money and power, he betrays all the people who love him, loses his children - his only beloved son, even, rebels against him in a massive way - and spends the rest of his life in a painful battle to hold on to the status and material wealth he's won for himself.
The story itself is important to Samoans for a number of reasons.
The way our land relates to our titles is the foundation of our matai system, which in turn is the backbone of our Fa'asamoa. Tauilopepe's manipulation of matai land for his own benefit is a metaphor for the evolution of our culture under the influence of Christianity and The Palagi who introduced it.
Prof. Wendt also casts a harsh spotlight on some pretty unflattering imperfections in the way we as a people live - adultery, rape (of the night crawler type), violence, alcoholism, an overall lack of integrity - criticisms that I have heard, so often, echoed in the way that we as a people talk about each other.
This book is also important because it delves into the intricacies not only of the Fa'asamoa, but of life in Samoa, without being precious about the way we might be judged as a culture. In other words, Wendt tells it like he sees it - flaws and all.
I learned a lot about Samoa in this book, especially the Samoa of a few decades ago.
That's not to say that I enjoyed the education.
The characters in the story served their purpose - to illustrate Wendt's opinions about what's going on in Samoa - but I wanted to feel a stronger connection with them, to really understand why they did the things they did and to have more empathy for them as complex people in complicated situations.
And then the ending? Don't even get me started on how random that felt! It had me wrinkling my eyebrows going, huh?
The book reads like ponderous, macabre poetry. I didn't mind its slow pace so much - I like to be able to drink in the moments - but it was like an eloquent, 700+ page song about the woes of a people corrupted. After a while, you either hate all Samoans or begin to believe that Albert Wendt does.
I have had the privilege, though, of meeting Prof. Wendt a few times (most recently last month at a Pacific Literature symposium) and of interviewing him once, years ago. I remember asking him then who he writes for, as in, who is his audience.
He said that he writes for himself... and I can see that in 'Leaves of the Banyan Tree'. It was probably the only reason I made it to the end of the book. I kept reminding myself that this was most likely his way of exorcising some of his own demons about experiences he's had with our people and way of life.
It was kind of like listening to your mum badmouth an uncle you happen to love. You might not agree with the things she's saying - because you don't have the same perspective as she does - but what can you do?
How about write your own book about Samoa.
Review by Lei Ne'emia
Article Source: Book Review - Leaves of the Banyan Tree, by Albert Wendt
It's about this seriously ambitious man, Tauilopepe, who decides that he's going to turn his family's matai land into a business - just like the Palagis do with their plantations. In his unfaltering drive for money and power, he betrays all the people who love him, loses his children - his only beloved son, even, rebels against him in a massive way - and spends the rest of his life in a painful battle to hold on to the status and material wealth he's won for himself.
The story itself is important to Samoans for a number of reasons.
The way our land relates to our titles is the foundation of our matai system, which in turn is the backbone of our Fa'asamoa. Tauilopepe's manipulation of matai land for his own benefit is a metaphor for the evolution of our culture under the influence of Christianity and The Palagi who introduced it.
Prof. Wendt also casts a harsh spotlight on some pretty unflattering imperfections in the way we as a people live - adultery, rape (of the night crawler type), violence, alcoholism, an overall lack of integrity - criticisms that I have heard, so often, echoed in the way that we as a people talk about each other.
This book is also important because it delves into the intricacies not only of the Fa'asamoa, but of life in Samoa, without being precious about the way we might be judged as a culture. In other words, Wendt tells it like he sees it - flaws and all.
I learned a lot about Samoa in this book, especially the Samoa of a few decades ago.
That's not to say that I enjoyed the education.
The characters in the story served their purpose - to illustrate Wendt's opinions about what's going on in Samoa - but I wanted to feel a stronger connection with them, to really understand why they did the things they did and to have more empathy for them as complex people in complicated situations.
And then the ending? Don't even get me started on how random that felt! It had me wrinkling my eyebrows going, huh?
The book reads like ponderous, macabre poetry. I didn't mind its slow pace so much - I like to be able to drink in the moments - but it was like an eloquent, 700+ page song about the woes of a people corrupted. After a while, you either hate all Samoans or begin to believe that Albert Wendt does.
I have had the privilege, though, of meeting Prof. Wendt a few times (most recently last month at a Pacific Literature symposium) and of interviewing him once, years ago. I remember asking him then who he writes for, as in, who is his audience.
He said that he writes for himself... and I can see that in 'Leaves of the Banyan Tree'. It was probably the only reason I made it to the end of the book. I kept reminding myself that this was most likely his way of exorcising some of his own demons about experiences he's had with our people and way of life.
It was kind of like listening to your mum badmouth an uncle you happen to love. You might not agree with the things she's saying - because you don't have the same perspective as she does - but what can you do?
How about write your own book about Samoa.
Review by Lei Ne'emia
Article Source: Book Review - Leaves of the Banyan Tree, by Albert Wendt
January 11, 2014
I read this a few summers ago and cannot believe I failed to write a review of it. The result is that my summary will be short.
It takes you to another place. Invites you inside of another culture. And shows you what happens to a culture when the impulse of material acquisition is allowed expression. A year and a half later, the novel still has me in its grips. Powerful, beautiful, and haunting. A great book from a masterful writer.
It takes you to another place. Invites you inside of another culture. And shows you what happens to a culture when the impulse of material acquisition is allowed expression. A year and a half later, the novel still has me in its grips. Powerful, beautiful, and haunting. A great book from a masterful writer.
February 24, 2023
Leaves of the Banyan Tree
Una lectura interesante y diferente, una critica al progreso impuesto por el colonialismo, pero sin buscar echar culpas, donde muestra que finalmente, son los propios Samoanos quienes en esa búsqueda de progresar como los palalagi, ellos son los que se crean sus propios problemas antes el cambio de sus costumbres y creencias por las nuevas.
Novela familiar enmarcada en la comunidad de Sapepe en Samoa. Aunque la historia gira alrededor de Tailoupepe, vemos los cambios, tanto de Sapepe como de Samoa y de las generaciones posteriores de su familia y personas cercanas, y partes de la comunidad.
Fue muy interesante ir aprendiendo palabras nuevas, sobre cosas y costumbres de Samoa, su cultura, su historia, ya que al inicio son aun colonia, y en algún punto se vuelven independientes.
El cambio de la visión que tienen los habitantes de Sapepe guiados por la búsqueda de la prosperidad monetaria de Tailoupepe y su rival, Malo. Y los efectos que tiene en toda la comunidad, pero principalmente en su hijo Pepe
Aquí es la parte que cuesta del libro, todos los personajes son definidos principalmente por sus defectos, entonces llega un punto en que deja de interesarte la vida o desarrollo de cada personaje, es más un, vamos a ver que cosa mala hace ahora, que desgracia le pasa. También hay partes que son difíciles de leer por la violencia que retratan, finalmente así era tanto las costumbres locales, religiosa, y el efecto de esa nueva forma de ser traída por el colonialismo.
4 stars
Una lectura interesante y diferente, una critica al progreso impuesto por el colonialismo, pero sin buscar echar culpas, donde muestra que finalmente, son los propios Samoanos quienes en esa búsqueda de progresar como los palalagi, ellos son los que se crean sus propios problemas antes el cambio de sus costumbres y creencias por las nuevas.
Novela familiar enmarcada en la comunidad de Sapepe en Samoa. Aunque la historia gira alrededor de Tailoupepe, vemos los cambios, tanto de Sapepe como de Samoa y de las generaciones posteriores de su familia y personas cercanas, y partes de la comunidad.
Fue muy interesante ir aprendiendo palabras nuevas, sobre cosas y costumbres de Samoa, su cultura, su historia, ya que al inicio son aun colonia, y en algún punto se vuelven independientes.
El cambio de la visión que tienen los habitantes de Sapepe guiados por la búsqueda de la prosperidad monetaria de Tailoupepe y su rival, Malo. Y los efectos que tiene en toda la comunidad, pero principalmente en su hijo Pepe
Aquí es la parte que cuesta del libro, todos los personajes son definidos principalmente por sus defectos, entonces llega un punto en que deja de interesarte la vida o desarrollo de cada personaje, es más un, vamos a ver que cosa mala hace ahora, que desgracia le pasa. También hay partes que son difíciles de leer por la violencia que retratan, finalmente así era tanto las costumbres locales, religiosa, y el efecto de esa nueva forma de ser traída por el colonialismo.
4 stars
December 26, 2023
Around-the-world #182: Samoa 🇼🇸.
The benefit of this book is that it gives you great insight in Samoan society in the middle of the 20th century.
The issue is that it is poorly written and highly misogynistic. I was ready to give up on this novel after the first few sentences ready, crammed as they were with unnecessary Samoan words, making reading it a slog. Then it seemed to get more structure, but was still just telling disnoint stories without any character depth. The second part seemed better, but turned into the same style as well and continued depicting women as objects to be used for sex only. Even if Samoan society is or was like that, you can deal with it in a less critiqueless manner. And write better English in the process.
The benefit of this book is that it gives you great insight in Samoan society in the middle of the 20th century.
The issue is that it is poorly written and highly misogynistic. I was ready to give up on this novel after the first few sentences ready, crammed as they were with unnecessary Samoan words, making reading it a slog. Then it seemed to get more structure, but was still just telling disnoint stories without any character depth. The second part seemed better, but turned into the same style as well and continued depicting women as objects to be used for sex only. Even if Samoan society is or was like that, you can deal with it in a less critiqueless manner. And write better English in the process.
July 2, 2023
I loved this book so much. I keep thinking about it.
I adore social realism and this book hit all the spots for me. It tells the story of Tauilo, the plantation he builds with his aiga, and his son and grandson. The books portrays the deep changes in Samoan society that become visible over the span of these three generations, from the time under colonialisation until after the independence of Samoa.
It contrasts Tauilo's hardships as a young man when he is without means and trying to establish his plantation, to make a name for himself. The conflict is centred on the village, outside influences are only tangential. Tauilo has a rival in the village, but he comes out on top by daring to take the step towards the modern, colonial advantages (God, money and success). His forward thinking brings him his plantation and it brings him wealth and influence. It brings him conflicts that extend far beyond his village, and yet they start from within, as his search for wealth and power disconnects him from his immediate family.
In particular, he cheats on his wife, he quarrels with Toasa, who is an influential elder Tauilo used to have a close relationship with but who wants to hold on to tradition, and he fails to connect with his son, Pepe.
The central conflicts of the book are tradition vs modern, colonial lifestyle vs cultural identity, city vs village, man vs nature. It is the post-colonial question of "going with the times" or being left behind. Interestingly, Tauilo does go with the times, but his son, Pepe, gets overpowered by them: he gets swept up in the temptations of the city when he rebels against Tauilo. He had an unhappy life and marriage, from which he had a son, Lalolagi. Pepe is left adrift when Lupe (his mother) and Toasa die, and, unwell and alone, dies as well.
The story jumps back to Tauilo, who is now turning Lalolagi into everything Pepe never was: sending him off to boarding school in New Zealand, and trying to teach him about the legacy Tauilo has established for the family - the plantation. But Tauilo's life catches up with him when his old rival (another aiga from the village) re-emerges and, once again, Tauilo's power and standing, his identity gets called into question.
I disagree with the reading that "Samoa has turned bad in the face of modernisation". I think it just displays human nature in the face of a world that has turned upside down: Human greed and human conflict are defined in the face of shifting values. In other words, Albert Wendt is an existentialist.
Further reading: Keowan, M. 2002: The Samoan Sisyphus.
I adore social realism and this book hit all the spots for me. It tells the story of Tauilo, the plantation he builds with his aiga, and his son and grandson. The books portrays the deep changes in Samoan society that become visible over the span of these three generations, from the time under colonialisation until after the independence of Samoa.
It contrasts Tauilo's hardships as a young man when he is without means and trying to establish his plantation, to make a name for himself. The conflict is centred on the village, outside influences are only tangential. Tauilo has a rival in the village, but he comes out on top by daring to take the step towards the modern, colonial advantages (God, money and success). His forward thinking brings him his plantation and it brings him wealth and influence. It brings him conflicts that extend far beyond his village, and yet they start from within, as his search for wealth and power disconnects him from his immediate family.
In particular, he cheats on his wife, he quarrels with Toasa, who is an influential elder Tauilo used to have a close relationship with but who wants to hold on to tradition, and he fails to connect with his son, Pepe.
The central conflicts of the book are tradition vs modern, colonial lifestyle vs cultural identity, city vs village, man vs nature. It is the post-colonial question of "going with the times" or being left behind. Interestingly, Tauilo does go with the times, but his son, Pepe, gets overpowered by them: he gets swept up in the temptations of the city when he rebels against Tauilo. He had an unhappy life and marriage, from which he had a son, Lalolagi. Pepe is left adrift when Lupe (his mother) and Toasa die, and, unwell and alone, dies as well.
The story jumps back to Tauilo, who is now turning Lalolagi into everything Pepe never was: sending him off to boarding school in New Zealand, and trying to teach him about the legacy Tauilo has established for the family - the plantation. But Tauilo's life catches up with him when his old rival (another aiga from the village) re-emerges and, once again, Tauilo's power and standing, his identity gets called into question.
I disagree with the reading that "Samoa has turned bad in the face of modernisation". I think it just displays human nature in the face of a world that has turned upside down: Human greed and human conflict are defined in the face of shifting values. In other words, Albert Wendt is an existentialist.
Further reading: Keowan, M. 2002: The Samoan Sisyphus.
September 4, 2013
This is quite a story. Three books blend into one, and the family stories are carried through from one to another. The narrative is rich and dense, and ideas and words fill the pages.
This is the story of three generations of a family in Samoa, and the family and its relation to the surrounding community within which it finds itself. It is really a sad and tragic story, the patriach of the family chooses wealth and position repeatedly over the well- being of his own family, and the consequences of his choices play out over subsequent generations.
I would hate to think that this book is a damning indictment of choosing the 'palangi' way as has been mentioned in previous reviews, but rather that the seeds of destruction lie within each heart, and need only the right circumstances and conditions to grow.
There is much to think about in this book, and Albert Wendt opens the Samoan culture to us, warts and all.
This is the story of three generations of a family in Samoa, and the family and its relation to the surrounding community within which it finds itself. It is really a sad and tragic story, the patriach of the family chooses wealth and position repeatedly over the well- being of his own family, and the consequences of his choices play out over subsequent generations.
I would hate to think that this book is a damning indictment of choosing the 'palangi' way as has been mentioned in previous reviews, but rather that the seeds of destruction lie within each heart, and need only the right circumstances and conditions to grow.
There is much to think about in this book, and Albert Wendt opens the Samoan culture to us, warts and all.
September 10, 2012
This book was my introduction to Pacific Literature. Great development of characters and the underlying message is relayed. I loved this story of greed, love, and loss.
January 1, 2024
I just finished reading this book while traveling through the Cook Islands (whose original inhabitants came from Samoa and Tahiti) so I found myself seeing a lot of the culture and language from the book in real life. It is perhaps for this reason I totally got into the book and appreciated it for the sweeping three season, 24-36 episode Netflix series it would need to be. There is a lot going on in each chapter and a huge cast of characters definitely requires notes to keep track of. It was slow reading for me, but it was slow reading which I eventually found myself rereading because at the end of the book I was left with driving questions and I wanted to go back into the drama of the story.
The book indeed takes its time, but the characters, once they unfurl, are larger than life and embody huge themes.
The story follows four generations--Toasa (the head of the aiga), Tauilo (the main character, his *adopted son, a greedy, ambitious, successful, self-loathing Samoan rapist), Pepe (the son who rejects him), and Lalogagi (Pepe's spoiled rotten son who we follow to young adulthood). As others have commented, the story is about father son relationships, but it is also about competing "aigas" (which means family but also community). In this way, there is a bit of gang warfare and was evocative of Godfathers. (Although there are no homicides in Leaves of the Banyan Tree, the characters kill one another psychologically through cruelty and neglect. There is also plenty of Samoan-style violence and sexual cruelty.)
It is also very much about colonialism and about many Samoan's desire to be "papalagi" (white). Tauilo wants to be something that he is not: a rich, successful, well-read, civilized, English-speaker, but because he is never fully okay with himself, the book suggests, he is not able to have a real, healthy, non-transactional relationship with his sons or with anyone really. So he remains a violent drunkard, a Samoan stereotype.
I don't want to give the ending away but there is another larger than life character--a devil straight out of Southern blues--that emerges toward the end of the story years after the gang warfare has died down. The gang warfare, it turns out, has not died down! And the events we learn about the past are twisted and interesting.
The question that lingered for me once I finished the book was: Who was the stranger?? I found myself re-reading the book to check for mentions of a character that looked like the Joker card. I thought there was another character with that description but perhaps I'm misremembering.
One character to watch out for is Taifau. I didn't pay much attention to him and I kept getting him mixed up with Faitoaga, but the book suggests that Taifau is somehow related to the Stranger, Galupo. The stranger knows an awful lot about Taifau anyway.
Ultimately, the book leaves it up up for grabs as to who the stranger really is. Doing so, the book suggests the devil, this stranger character, is an Everyman. The cruel, awful, smart, handsome, hard-working vengeful young man could be any of us.
SPOILER:
The book ends with a Mwahaha. I loved it!
The book indeed takes its time, but the characters, once they unfurl, are larger than life and embody huge themes.
The story follows four generations--Toasa (the head of the aiga), Tauilo (the main character, his *adopted son, a greedy, ambitious, successful, self-loathing Samoan rapist), Pepe (the son who rejects him), and Lalogagi (Pepe's spoiled rotten son who we follow to young adulthood). As others have commented, the story is about father son relationships, but it is also about competing "aigas" (which means family but also community). In this way, there is a bit of gang warfare and was evocative of Godfathers. (Although there are no homicides in Leaves of the Banyan Tree, the characters kill one another psychologically through cruelty and neglect. There is also plenty of Samoan-style violence and sexual cruelty.)
It is also very much about colonialism and about many Samoan's desire to be "papalagi" (white). Tauilo wants to be something that he is not: a rich, successful, well-read, civilized, English-speaker, but because he is never fully okay with himself, the book suggests, he is not able to have a real, healthy, non-transactional relationship with his sons or with anyone really. So he remains a violent drunkard, a Samoan stereotype.
I don't want to give the ending away but there is another larger than life character--a devil straight out of Southern blues--that emerges toward the end of the story years after the gang warfare has died down. The gang warfare, it turns out, has not died down! And the events we learn about the past are twisted and interesting.
The question that lingered for me once I finished the book was: Who was the stranger?? I found myself re-reading the book to check for mentions of a character that looked like the Joker card. I thought there was another character with that description but perhaps I'm misremembering.
One character to watch out for is Taifau. I didn't pay much attention to him and I kept getting him mixed up with Faitoaga, but the book suggests that Taifau is somehow related to the Stranger, Galupo. The stranger knows an awful lot about Taifau anyway.
Ultimately, the book leaves it up up for grabs as to who the stranger really is. Doing so, the book suggests the devil, this stranger character, is an Everyman. The cruel, awful, smart, handsome, hard-working vengeful young man could be any of us.
SPOILER:
The book ends with a Mwahaha. I loved it!
April 6, 2025
A family epic spanning three generations, this story dives deep into the heartland of mid 20th century Samoa. The idyllic postcard of a pacific paradise is a world away from the village of Sapepe, home to the main character Tauilopepe and his family. The book deals with spirituality, colonization, and the interesting ways capitalism manifests itself in other host cultures.
The book captivated me from the first couple of chapters and carried me right until the ending. The prose was vivid and playful, while the pace was very slow moving - much like life in the islands. I enjoyed the three part structure. The choice of first person POV for the second book, compared to the second and third person POV for the remainder, solidified who the hero of the story really was for me. Living behind the eyes of Pepe is a pivotal piece of the story, and was my favourite part.
That said, this is not a book to read if you need to latch on to favourable or likeable characters. Each character is riddled with flaws, sometimes to fatal endings. The main men take stage front and centre, while the women are instruments used to highlight the characteristics of men. In fact many of the side characters serve a similar purpose, especially in the Sapepe centred stories. The only exception for me was the second book which followed Pepe. I felt each side character had a life of their own, and were real people with dreams to aspire to and nightmares to wake up from. Undoubtedly I believe the author intended this, as it fits nicely into the relationship juxtaposition between Tauilopepe and his son Pepe.
Overall this book is a must read for anybody interested in understand what Pacific Island literature, and life, is truly about. And the ending in particular stands out as one of the greatest 'bad guy wins' endings out of anything I've read.
An all time great.
The book captivated me from the first couple of chapters and carried me right until the ending. The prose was vivid and playful, while the pace was very slow moving - much like life in the islands. I enjoyed the three part structure. The choice of first person POV for the second book, compared to the second and third person POV for the remainder, solidified who the hero of the story really was for me. Living behind the eyes of Pepe is a pivotal piece of the story, and was my favourite part.
That said, this is not a book to read if you need to latch on to favourable or likeable characters. Each character is riddled with flaws, sometimes to fatal endings. The main men take stage front and centre, while the women are instruments used to highlight the characteristics of men. In fact many of the side characters serve a similar purpose, especially in the Sapepe centred stories. The only exception for me was the second book which followed Pepe. I felt each side character had a life of their own, and were real people with dreams to aspire to and nightmares to wake up from. Undoubtedly I believe the author intended this, as it fits nicely into the relationship juxtaposition between Tauilopepe and his son Pepe.
Overall this book is a must read for anybody interested in understand what Pacific Island literature, and life, is truly about. And the ending in particular stands out as one of the greatest 'bad guy wins' endings out of anything I've read.
An all time great.
June 26, 2025
A three-generation family saga set in an island in Western Samoa. The family group, the aiga, is headed by Tauilopepe Mauga and the novel tells the story of three generations of that family, a family that becomes wealthy and dominant in its area, but then fades.
The family lives in Sapepe, a village on an island that depends on small farm agriculture and one main export, copra, dried coconut from which oil can be extracted. Tauilopepe is ambitious and expands his farm using hired labor when most farming is a family affair. He becomes rich and powerful while still trying to use the traditional family power structure. He witnesses the riches derived by colonial capitalism in the larger towns and wants them too.
A dominant force in the community is the catholic church whose missionaries had successfully converted a large portion of the community, particularly women. As Tauilopepe increasingly uses borderline corrupt means to hang on to his power members of his family reject him and this sets up the tensions between generations that drives the narrative of this novel.
Wendt takes you into the world of Tauilopepe and his extended family with rich prose and descriptive narrative that brings the heat, the vegetation and the landscape vividly to life. The extended family is large, but each character is brought to multi-dimensional life.
This is an absorbing read that reveals the destructive impact of colonialism not just on the economic setup of a culture but on traditional structures, mores and beliefs which historically enabled communities like this to be happily self-sufficient.
The family lives in Sapepe, a village on an island that depends on small farm agriculture and one main export, copra, dried coconut from which oil can be extracted. Tauilopepe is ambitious and expands his farm using hired labor when most farming is a family affair. He becomes rich and powerful while still trying to use the traditional family power structure. He witnesses the riches derived by colonial capitalism in the larger towns and wants them too.
A dominant force in the community is the catholic church whose missionaries had successfully converted a large portion of the community, particularly women. As Tauilopepe increasingly uses borderline corrupt means to hang on to his power members of his family reject him and this sets up the tensions between generations that drives the narrative of this novel.
Wendt takes you into the world of Tauilopepe and his extended family with rich prose and descriptive narrative that brings the heat, the vegetation and the landscape vividly to life. The extended family is large, but each character is brought to multi-dimensional life.
This is an absorbing read that reveals the destructive impact of colonialism not just on the economic setup of a culture but on traditional structures, mores and beliefs which historically enabled communities like this to be happily self-sufficient.
November 5, 2017
This is a book of raw power. The characters in it are all giants. They are stark and energetic people, who move only with grand gestures. Wendt’s novel is an attempt at a Pacific epic, that will tell the origin of modern Samoa. Tauilopepe, Pepe, Masina, Lupe, Taifau, Galupo, Filipo, Ashton, and most of all Toasa are his mythical heroes, whose deeds create a new world and a new people.
It is a terribly sad story of material prosperity and spiritual decline. Wendt has a tragic vision of history. Tauilopepe in particular is a magnificent creation. His aspirations are thoroughly believable, as is their effect on him.
For all its power, the book is certainly raw. Some of the satire is cartoonish. There are rough edges to the narrative. Sometimes the roughness works. Pepe’s narrative, for example, is a brilliant piece of skaz, of storytelling in the old-fashioned yarn-spinning sense. But the book does occasionally have elements of soap opera.
It is altogether one of the most fascinating novels I’ve ever read. Wendt’s spare prose style and gift for narrative mean that it will appeal to the widest range of readers, despite it’s great philosophical weight.
It is a terribly sad story of material prosperity and spiritual decline. Wendt has a tragic vision of history. Tauilopepe in particular is a magnificent creation. His aspirations are thoroughly believable, as is their effect on him.
For all its power, the book is certainly raw. Some of the satire is cartoonish. There are rough edges to the narrative. Sometimes the roughness works. Pepe’s narrative, for example, is a brilliant piece of skaz, of storytelling in the old-fashioned yarn-spinning sense. But the book does occasionally have elements of soap opera.
It is altogether one of the most fascinating novels I’ve ever read. Wendt’s spare prose style and gift for narrative mean that it will appeal to the widest range of readers, despite it’s great philosophical weight.
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October 27, 2020This novel takes the reader through a couple of generations of Samoans and gives a feel for how the traditional way of life has changed. I found the various story lines more and more interesting as I progressed through the book.
A small dictionary is provided at the end of the book and it comes in very handy because the author uses a lot of Samoan words throughout. In the beginning, this made reading slow for me but after a while I knew the words so I could stop looking everything up and just read.
A small dictionary is provided at the end of the book and it comes in very handy because the author uses a lot of Samoan words throughout. In the beginning, this made reading slow for me but after a while I knew the words so I could stop looking everything up and just read.
May 3, 2018
A little patience from the reader while reading this slow moving epic pays off. This novel is a marvelously big ideas book playing out in a very local description of three generations of a Samoan family. I first read it twenty years ago and recently picked it up to reread... powerful read, worth reading again with more life experiences than twenty years ago. I hope I read it again in another twenty years.
May 13, 2021
Another book that I found in the house. I don't know where is came from. It was published in 1983, but was probably published in the UK and New Zealand first. It takes place in Samoa and spans three generations of a family. The Samoans were brutal, but considered themselves very religious.
Want to read
June 27, 2019American Samoa
September 22, 2025
someone needs to adapt this for the screen. i have a dream it’ll be me! lol
April 15, 2018
God, Money and Power plus men, a recipe for disaster.
April 28, 2013
Although this is apparently considered one of the classics of South Pacific literature, I hadn't heard of it before a reading challenge forced me to dig out a selection from this region. I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised. It's a generation-spanning epic that remains an exploration of distinctly Samoan experiences while tapping into universal issues like pride, betrayal and the frustration of fighting against a class system that will never let you win.
The writing makes little effort to make considerations for a Western audience. Words like fale, aiga and papalagi are bandied about from the first pages with the expectation that the reader should be familiar with the terms. I personally love novels that demand a sort of cultural immersion, but I know it can also be a turn-off for many—even with the glossary provided at the end.
The story is quite engrossing, though, and an unexpected twist about two-thirds of the way through sustains the intrigue right through to the last page.
The writing makes little effort to make considerations for a Western audience. Words like fale, aiga and papalagi are bandied about from the first pages with the expectation that the reader should be familiar with the terms. I personally love novels that demand a sort of cultural immersion, but I know it can also be a turn-off for many—even with the glossary provided at the end.
The story is quite engrossing, though, and an unexpected twist about two-thirds of the way through sustains the intrigue right through to the last page.
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